Pro golfer Gene Siller shot dead at Georgia country club, gunman remains at large
The Georgia State Golf Association identified the victim as Gene Siller, a pro golfer, golfing instructor and Director of Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, where the shooting occurred on Saturday afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with Gene Siller's family and friends,' the Georgia State Golf Association tweeted. Thoughts and prayers for his family and the Pinetree Country Club family.' Details surrounding the shooting remain scant, other than it happened around 2.30pm Saturday at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, about 27 miles outside Atlanta. The suspect was last seen in the area of Pinetree Country Club and was headed toward Frey Lake Road.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 19:30 UTC
Section of players to sign contracts after England tour
A section of the current Sri Lanka squad in England is likely to sign their contracts ending a protracted dispute between the players and local cricket boardAt least a dozen of Sri Lanka players are to sign their contracts with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) after their return from England, the Sunday Morning reliably learnt yesterday (3). Sources in England said 12 to 14 players of the 24-member current Sri Lanka squad in England are likely to sign the contracts ending months of stalemate and dispute between players and the board over the new contract scheme for the ensuing one-year period. After signing the contracts the players will enter the Covid-19-instigated bio-security bubble for the India white-ball series which is to commence on 13 July. This will effective see the absence of veteran players such as former Captains Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne. Sources added those seniors who are now in Sri Lanka have not begun the mandatory quarantine for the India series.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 19:30 UTC
Sri Lanka tennis in landmark move
The coaching staff and the participants with the President of the SLTA Iqbal Bin Issack, its Secretary Pradeep Goonasekera, Chairman of Coaching and Promotion Rukmal Cooray, National Sports Council (NSC) Secretary Thiyumi Abeysinghe, Sri Lanka tennis legend Arjun Fernando, and some of the members of the NSC at the launching of the High-Performance Training Programme at SLTA, Colombo on Friday (2)The first-ever High-Performance Training Programme or a quintessential Sri Lanka national tennis squad has now been formed. A long-due initiative, made by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports, was launched on Friday (2) at the SLTA headquarters in Colombo. According to the new project, spearheaded by Bharatiraj Pillai, 21 players have already been picked in girls and boys Under-16 and 18 age groups as well as men’s and women’s segments, in order to give them free coaching while offering them much-needed overseas exposure. The programme, which is to be headed by former Davis Cup player and current Coach Renouk Wijemanne, will be assisted by Sylvester Francis and Ashan Dep as coaches, and the renowned fitness instructor Bilal Yusuf as its Strength and Conditioning Coach. According to the programme’s plans, the players are scheduled to be sent for at least six international tournaments per year.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 19:18 UTC
SLRFU picks 30-member pool for Asia 7’s
It has been more than a year since we last saw a kick off in the schools or the club circuit. However, with Asia Rugby 7’s lurking around the corner, the SLRFU, lead by Rizly Illyas has been put under scrutiny for not commencing any sort of coaching camps or matches for the players to get their legs kicking before the Asia 7’s. SLRFU Secretary Jude Dmitri speaksHowever, the SLRFU have finally responded and they are now in the process of organising a coaching camp for a pool of 30 players in the coming weeks. The national selectors have submitted the 30-man national pool for approval of the National Sports Council and from the Sports Ministry. Jude Dmitri, Secretary of SLRFU, speaking to The Morning Sports on Friday (2) said, “Our main goal for now is to prepare for the Asia 7’s which will most probably commence in August.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 18:45 UTC
New Kelani suspension bridge to be lit up
Scheduled for completion by end SeptemberChief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando has issued instructions to illuminate the country’s first-ever state-of-the-art suspension bridge, the New Kelani Bridge, to become an attraction for tourists both local and foreign. The construction work on the New Kelani Bridge, which is aimed at solving the traffic congestion in Colombo and surrounding areas, is scheduled to be completed by end-September. The Minister has also instructed the officials to widen and develop the section from Orugodawatta Junction to the New Kelani Bridge, and to renovate the old Kelani Bridge, the Ministry Of Highways announced in a press release yesterday (4). Minister Fernando issued those instructions during a meeting held at his ministry to review the progress of the construction of the New Kelani Bridge. The minister also instructed to use indigenous plants and florae to decorate the elevated section of the bridge held by pillars.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 18:33 UTC
India undertakes first training session in SL amid Ranatunga sarcasm
– Arjuna Ranatunga# Out of the 20 India players now in SL, 14 have represented India. Out of the 20-member India squad, 14 players have represented India across all formats or in some form. Team India’s touchdown in Sri Lanka on Monday, 28 June, for the upcoming white-ball series consisting three ODIs and three T20Is. Second-string side insult to Sri Lanka – RanatungaHowever, India sending a ‘second-string’ team to Sri Lanka hasn’t gone down well with the country’s World Cup-winning Captain Arjuna Ranatunga. I blame our board for that,” added the legendary batsman, who led Sri Lanka to the 1996 ODI world title.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 18:33 UTC
Basil in Parliament next week: Rohitha Abeygunawardena
Basil Rajapaksa has accepted the invitation made by the members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) for him to enter Parliament, according to Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena. Economic Revival and Poverty Eradication Presidential Task Force Head Basil Rajapaksa returned to the country on 24 June, after he left the country on 12 May for the US. Speaking to the reporters, Lanza said that Basil Rajapaksa would follow quarantine regulations. Basil Rajapaksa was a Member of Parliament from 2007 to 2015. Most of the responsibilities of the Finance Ministry, according to said sources, are to be transferred to the new Ministry.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 18:33 UTC
Website owner and 27 others arrested
SDIG Rohana said that the arrests of these two suspects were made by the Cyber Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). SDIG Rohana said at the time that the girl had been sold to various people for Rs. Therefore, those arrested in connection with the incident will be charged under the relevant sections of the Penal Code”. SDIG Rohana also said that the CID was also tasked with investigating the matter later. SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam also said in the statement issued by the party that disciplinary action would also be taken against Edirisinghe.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 18:33 UTC
Teachers to boycott online education centres
Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo yesterday (4), the Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) and the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) warned that teachers would not report to work at these centres until the Covid-19 vaccine is given to them. The Regional Learning Centres have been set up by the Ministry of Education with the required facilities to enable students who do not have adequate resources to receive education online, and are scheduled to be opened today. He, however, claimed that the Education Ministry had not allocated any monetary provisions to resolve such issues. Therefore, we urge teachers not to report to work at these centres until the Covid-19 vaccine is received,” he noted. When contacted by The Morning to inquire about the issue of teachers planning to not report to these centres, Education Ministry Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera seemed unperturbed.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 18:22 UTC
Kiwi Skipper narrates tale of beautiful friendship
Winning against India, a team led by his very good friend Virat Kohli, made it more special for Williamson. The picture speaks thousand words about the friendship between two of the modern day legends. At the end of it, after a long, tough match like that, there’s an appreciation by both teams,” Williamson added. The winning team’s skipper further mentioned that India have always pushed them as they have often set high benchmarks in the games that they play. The quality the Indian team have in all departments.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 17:48 UTC
SAGE versus Sajid: Doom-monger lashes new Health Secretary's 'frightening' plans to scrap lockdown
'We are not going to put the Covid-19 virus behind us forever, we are going to have to learn to live with it,' he said. As of 9am on Sunday, there had been a further 24,248 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the Government said. Projections presented to the Government by scientists at the University of Warwick in early June suggested that by the beginning of July there could be nearly 1,000 Covid hospital admissions a day. James Ward believes that, following the easing of all restrictions on July 19, hospital Covid admissions could peak somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000 a week. Prior to the arrival of the vaccines in December, there were roughly as many Covid cases in the over-60s as there were in the under-20s.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 17:48 UTC
Psychiatric patients sexually discriminated in SL
Intimate partners of psychiatric patients at the short end of the long arm of the lawBy Ruwan Laknath JayakodyIn Sri Lanka, there is not only discrimination in the context of the sexual rights of psychiatric patients but also the vulnerability, in legal terms, of partners who engage in sexual activities with psychiatric patients. Torkelson in “Sexual rights in psychiatric facilities” and R. Tiwana, S. McDonald, and B. Vollm’s “Policies on sexual expression in forensic psychiatric settings in different European countries”. However, even though consensual sexual relationships among adults constitute a legal right, in the case of sexual activity involving psychiatric patients, it is oft, legally prohibited. Sathasivam and Vidanapathirana noted however that this highlights the failure of safe sex and health education and the unavailability of contraceptive advice for long-term psychiatric patients. Hence, Sathasivam and Vidanapathirana explained that the aforementioned case report points to the failure of the Sri Lankan laws on sexual offences, to protect the sexual rights of vulnerable psychiatric patients.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 17:37 UTC
Our weekly Tennis Column – Mobile phones in sports: A curse or cure?
Last week in this column, I argued against having mobile phones during a session. And there were some very compelling arguments as to why mobile phones should NEVER be welcome near a session. This week, we will examine as to how, if used properly and efficiently, mobile phones can certainly form part of the cure. Therefore, the uses that the mobile phone can have are to be decided by the user of the phone itself. Mobile phones can be categorised as being falling very much into the same category.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 17:26 UTC
Why is there a connection between GSP+ and human rights?
The connection between human rights and a trade concessionBy Sumudu ChamaraLast month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the European Commission to consider a temporary withdrawal of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) trade concession granted to Sri Lanka, taking into consideration Sri Lanka’s prevailing human rights situation. Sri Lanka’s commitment to protecting human rights is, in fact, a condition upon which the GSP+ trade concession was granted to the country. He explained the overall situation pertaining to Sri Lanka receiving the GSP+ trade concession from an international relations perspective. “This liberalisation does not necessarily mean economic liberalisation, but also human rights and so on. If we have to manage our markets, we have to manage our domestic image, which includes human rights matters.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 17:26 UTC
Fooling ourselves by ignoring scientific evidence
Through the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (which I set up through a new Act), and the Sri Lanka Standards Institute, quality products resulted (17 exported, 64 sent to local food chains, and 53 to hotels). However, simply as a Parliamentarian, I am unable to build on this scientific foundation and contribution. Current scientific evidence suggests that the virus only grows and multiplies in live cells of the human respiratory tract. The Covid-19 committee members would help enforce the health rules. For industrial development, the revival of Vidatha and SLINTEC, as well as other high tech institutes, like the Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology, are essential.
Source:The Nation
July 04, 2021 17:26 UTC