Iqbal Bin Issack of Negombo Tennis Club (on left) and Pradeep Goonasekera of the SLTA Playing Section were elected uncontested as President and Secretary respectively for another term at the SLTA AGM held last week in Colombo. Photo Ishan WanniarachchiFormer tennis player and administrator Iqbal Bin Issack, who represents Negombo Tennis Club, was elected uncontested as President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) for another term at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held last week at the SLTA headquarters in Colombo. Iqbal Bin Issack – President (Negombo TC), Pradeep Goonasekera – Secretary (SLTA Playing Section), Six Vice Presidents – Maj. Gen. Shiran Abeysekera (SL Army TC), Capt. Pradeep Karunatilake (SL Navy TC), Suresh Subramaniam (SLTA Playing Section), Asoka Abeywardane (SLTA Playing Section), Rukmal Cooray (Kandana-Ja-Ela TC), and Sujani Bogollagama (Kurunegala TC); S. Sudarshan – Treasurer (SLTA Playing Section), Vipul Perera – Assi. Secretary (SL Air Force TC); The 17 Committee Members: Lt. Col. P. Vithanage (SL Army TC), Seewali Wickramaarachchi (Ratnapura TC), T. Rubashanthan (Trincomalee TC), DIG Lalith Pathinayake (SL Police Dept.

The Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports signed an agreement establishing a special High Performance Training Programme for Sri Lanka’s tennis on Monday (24) at the SLTA headquarters in Colombo. The Sports Ministry will be funding partially to the programme as part of its national squad training initiative. “The occasion marks the first time the SLTA is signing a long-term agreement with the Ministry of Sports. As soon as the pandemic situation will be under control, the High Performance Programme for the national squads will begin,” said an SLTA communiqué yesterday (25). “The SLTA would like to thank the Ministry of Sports for joining hands with us for this initiative and we hope for a successful partnership between the two parties in the journey that will take Sri Lanka’s tennis to the next level,” it further added.

Following are excerpts from the media conference Flower had yesterday (27) virtually from Bangladesh:Sri Lanka Batting Coach Grant Flower is still hopeful Sri Lanka will come up with a better performanceLosing the series already after the first two games:I am obviously disappointed. When I see the guys playing in the nets, they look really good and are playing with freedom. Dropping a couple of seniors from the Sri Lanka ODI team:There is a very big impact of it at this stage. From people whom I have spoken to, Sri Lanka seem to have had a problem with playing spin before my time, like five years back. And straight back after that, India are coming out to Sri Lanka.

On 20 May, Shammi Silva was elected uncontested as Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President for another two-year term. Sri Lanka have experimented as many as 19 Captains across the three formats since the beginning of year 2015, the year the current slide in Sri Lanka cricket began quite startlingly. Ratnayake / Sri Lanka Freedom Party / 1972-77 / Sirimavo Bandaranaike3. Dissanayake / Sri Lanka Freedom Party / 1994-2001 / Chandrika Kumaratunga6. Mangala Samaraweera / Sri Lanka Freedom Party / 2001 / Chandrika Kumaratunga7.

While all of that is true, it’s technically a piece of revisionism (as evidenced by the multitude of towns who lay claim to the first Memorial Day tributes), and one that places whites at the forefront of a cherished American pastime. Why do we celebrate Memorial Day? Unlike Veterans Day, which pays homage to all military service members at home and abroad, Memorial Day actually applies specifically to the Civil War. Traditionally, Memorial Day marks a day of mourning for the lives lost on both sides of the conflict. The parade dispersed, giving way to picnics and social gatherings—the very stuff we now recognize as the lifeblood of Memorial Day.

“There have been three containers of plastic pellets onboard the ship, each weighing 26,000 metric tonnes (MT). The plastic pellets have to further break down to be considered microplastics,” said MEPA officials speaking to The Morning yesterday (27). “Plastic pellets are a type of primary microplastics. Gunawardana further said that once the plastic pellets are in any waterway, they absorb any harmful chemicals like sponges and thus become more toxic. The MV X-Press Pearl came to Sri Lankan waters on 20 May, which was when a fire was reportedonboard the ship.

The comments came as Mr Gove gave evidence to the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee this afternoon. Tory MPs have been voicing deep disquiet about the civil liberties implications of a certification scheme, stressing that if cases are low it should not be necessary. But Mr Gove said there were 'frictional costs' involved with certification as testing would have to be continued for those who had not been vaccinated. Gove said there was not an 'ironclad' link between the June 21 date earmarked for the next stage of the road map out of lockdown and the possible introduction of Covid status certification. 'People have quite rightly linked Covid status certification to stage four.

May 27, 2021 11:38 pmA consignment of Sputnik V has arrived in the country a short while ago, State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana confirmed. The 50,000 doses of the Russia-produced COVID-19 vaccine have been ordered by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) to boost the country’s inoculation drive. Accordingly, the stock of vaccines arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) today.

Nine Sri Lankan ships and three Indian vessels have been working with international salvage experts to douse the eight-day-old inferno on the Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl. Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has said it fears the vessel could break up and leak oil onto coastal beaches. The ship’s operator, X-Press Feeders of Singapore, confirmed they knew about the acid leak, but said attempts to leave the leaking container in India and Qatar had failed. Sri Lankan authorities have lodged a formal complaint with police ahead of initiating legal action against the ship’s captain. Sri Lankan soldiers were deployed on Thursday to clean Negombo beach as debris from eight containers that fell into the sea after the explosion washed ashore.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today that between half and three quarters of all Covid cases in the UK are now being caused by the Indian variantThe Indian Covid variant now makes up between half and three quarters of all cases in the UK, Matt Hancock said today. Mr Hopson said hospitals in Indian variant hotspots in England were seeing cases rise steadily. Britain's mammoth vaccine drive has continued at full steam ahead amid the threat of the Indian variant. Government advisers sounded the alarm about the Indian variant last month before it became the UK's dominant strain, saying it may be up to 50 per cent more infectious than the Kent variant. Despite fears the rapid spread of the Indian variant could threaten plans to ease lockdown restrictions next month, Britain's coronavirus outbreak may not be spiralling out of control.

If you’re moving to a city in a different country, you might need to learn new apps, new food brands, and even a new language. “When you’re moving, especially if you’re moving as a single person, it’s often a time of loneliness,” Dr. Marisa J. Franco, a psychologist and friendship expert, says. Ruth Sangree, a law student who recently moved from New York to Seoul, South Korea, suggests using Facebook groups to research popular apps in the city you’re moving to if you’re heading overseas. Take long, aimless walks — through your neighborhood, through the neighboring neighborhood, through the neighborhood next to that, and all through the city, if you’ve got comfy shoes and feel so inclined. “It’ll make your surroundings feel familiar and help you get a sense of the neighborhood vibe,” Mira Fox, a journalist who moved from Boston to New York City in November 2019, writes in an email.

One of the Government's most prominent scientists today hailed encouraging data showing that coronavirus hospitalisations across England remain low, despite cases rising across the nation. It comes as MailOnline analysis of official statistics showed Covid cases are only clearly rising in three of England's Indian variant hotspots. WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAKS IN THE EIGHT INDIAN VARIANT HOTSPOTS? Its case rate per 100,000 people rose slightly on May 21 to 193.9, compared to 186.4 the day before. KirkleesKirklees is the third Indian variant hotspot to see a noticeable increase in Covid cases.

May 27, 2021 08:08 pmThe Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 790 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,572. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 174,849. As many as 143,789 recoveries and 1,298 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic. The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 29,762 active cases are currently under medical care.

May 27, 2021 07:06 pmThe Ministry of Health reports that another 1,782 persons have tested positive for coronavirus today (May 27). All new cases are associated with the New Year Covid-19 cluster. This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the country thus far to 174,059. Presently 28,972 infected patients are being treated at hospitals and treatment centers across the island. Meanwhile, the number of total recoveries has reached 143,789.

Video evidence has been released of the Mayor of Moratuwa deliberately disrupting the proceedings at a vaccination centre by insisting that the health officials should only vaccinate those in possession of tokens for vaccination. A health officer in charge insisted that all those who have arrived at the vaccination centre will be vaccinated as the vaccine stocks provided are higher than the amount of people who have received tokens. However, the Mayor insisted that only those who have received tokens should be vaccinated even if vaccine stocks will be left over. The Mayor was also seen to be verbally abusive towards the health officials, claiming that they are overriding the protocol of the vaccination process. Meanwhile, a dispute ensued at the scene as several people in line to receive vaccinations complained that they had been standing in line since 4 am and had not received the vaccine yet due to the Mayor’s interference.