Two teens self immolate

Two teenage girls who self-immolated last Monday (1) evening, over a love dispute, have succumbed to their injuries, Police said.

The girls, both aged 17 years were cousins. They had set themselves ablaze after the father of one had lodged a complaint with the Police regarding his daughter having an affair with a boy, Police said.

The incident had taken place in the Madulsima area. According to the Police, one girl had succumbed to her injuries on the same day, while the other died yesterday (2) afternoon.

Madulsima Police are conducting investigations.

'Tuk Tuk Scam' Targeting Foreigners Captured On Camera

A tourist from UK has released a video which apparently shows a tuk tuk scam in Colombo, where two people attempt to lure him in to taking a ride which he is not interested in.

The incident takes place at Fort, Colombo.

One individual starts a conversation with the foreigner and informs him that there was a religious event taking place nearby which could be seen once a year. The event showcases a number of elephants, he adds.

A three wheeler appears and the local man claims that it is a government three wheeler. He shows the state emblem on the number plate as proof of his claim.

However, the foreigner refuses to take the ride to the 'religious event' saying that he has to meet a friend.

The government of Sri Lanka has no three wheeler taxi service.

According to the man who filmed the incident, he was aware of the scam which is in operation in Colombo.

"I read about scammers in Colombo Sri Lanka who lure people that are alone and vulnerable into their Tuk Tuk with the intention to rob them. I read about one girl who was lured into a Tuk Tuk by a man who befriended her on the street and told her it was a special day and there was a big ceremony a short distance away. As he was talking a Tuk Tuk pulled up and the man told her it was a government Tuk Tuk with a meter and was very cheap, he showed her a coin and put it next to the sign on the number plate as proof it was a genuine government Tuk Tuk..The girl fell for the story and got into the Tuk Tuk and was taken to a remote part where she was forced to pay a fare of $100 dollars or be stranded. She paid out of fear. I was testing out my GoPro camera when I was approached by a man who told a similar story I left my camera running and pretended to show some interest. I knew they were scammers from the start. There are no government Tuk Tuks in Sri Lanka" he wrote on youtube.

Many missing After Bridge on Indian Highway Collapses

At least 22 people are missing after a highway bridge connecting the city of Mumbai with the beach resort state of Goa in western India collapsed.

Officials said two buses carrying passengers plunged into a flooded river after the collapse early on Wednesday.Police officer Sanjay Patil told the Associated Press that rescuers had not spotted any vehicles or survivors.

Heavy rains are hindering rescue operations. Traffic has been diverted to a new bridge in the area.

OP Singh, chief of the state-run National Disaster Response Force, said 80 rescuers, including divers, had been rushed to the area.

He said early reports indicated that at least two buses, travelling on the old bridge, fell into the Savitri river which was flooded by heavy monsoon rains.

"The buses are not traceable within a kilometre of the bridge. Due to downstream current, the buses may have been swept further away," Rakesh Ranjan of the National Disaster Response Force told.

In March, a flyover under construction in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) collapsed, killing at least 20 people and injuring nearly 100.

And in 2011, some 32 people died and 132 were injured after a bridge collapsed at a political event in Darjeeling in West Bengal.

Mother, two children die in train crash

Three people including two children were killed after a train collided with a motorbike at an unprotected railway crossing in Ganewatta area in Kurunegala.

The accident occurred a short while ago on Wednesday (03) morning.

The remains of the deceased will be taken to the Kurunegala hospital for a post-mortem.

The accident occurred while the gatekeepers of unprotected railway crossings across the country are engaged in a strike. The strike has been commenced since this morning. The gatekeepers say that despite numerous previous instances of protests carried out over the issue, authorities have still not provided a solution to the problem.

Howeve, due to the strike launched by the gatekeepers, police officers have been assigned to duty at several unprotected railway crossings, according to reporters

Former cricketer complains to Dayasiri Over Aravinda

Former star batsman - Aravinda de Silva, who has been appointed to the post of Advisor of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been accused of obtaining commissions when bringing in foreign coaches to the country, internal sources from the Sports ministry says.

The complaint is said to have been made on this regard to the Sports minister - Dayasiri Jayasekera by a former Test cricketer who is a former team mate of Aravinda and a member of the victorious 96' squad.

This individual had earlier made several statements to media hinting that Aravinda was linked to match fixing. However, the then President had severely reprimanded him for doing so, reports add.

Attempts to contact Sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera were unsuccessful.

Former President Mahinda to Visit South Korea

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to leave for South Korea later this week. The former President will be accompanied by former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris.

Use Child to insult President, PM condemned

Petroleum Resources Development Minister Chandima Weerakkody yesterday condemned the behaviour of certain Paada Yathra protesters who used an eight-year-old child to insult the President and the Prime Minister. The minister said that this incident completely contradicted with the policies of the SLFP since the SLFP is the party which is dedicated to protect the culture, traditions and the children of this country.

Meanwhile, National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Chairperson Natasha Balendra told the Daily News the NCPA will look into the matter

Injured Suranga Lakmal dropped from Test squad

Sri Lanka who are one-up in the three-Test series against Australia are contemplating a change in the batting order especially with the openers.

For the past two years Sri Lanka has gone with Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva as openers, but over a period of time it has been established that neither of them are attacking players.

The pair does not carry the fight to the opposing bowlers and thereby badly exposes Sri Lanka’s middle order to the new ball.

In England although they fought hard under extreme conditions they were unsuccessful in seeing the England new ball bowlers Anderson, Broad and Finn off until the third and final Test at Lord’s where they figured in a century partnership only their third in 20 Tests.

“We have a few options up our sleeves and opening with Kusal Perera is one of them,” said chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya. “If we decide to open with Kusal then Dimuth will bat at number three.”

That would mean that Kusal Mendis will come in at number four – the position where he scored that monumental match-winning knock of 176 followed by skipper Angelo Mathews and wicket-keeper/bat Dinesh Chandimal.

In his heyday Jayasuriya, a plunderer of runs formed Sri Lanka’s most successful Test opening partnership with the resilient Marvan Atapattu.

Kusal Perera has been compared more or less to Jayasuriya the way he bats but he has still a long way to go before filling in the great man’s shoes. He has shone only in patches and so far has lacked in consistency.

Jayasuriya said that he has had chats with Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews about making changes to the top order batting but nothing has so far been finalized.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said after the Pallekele post-match press conference that they had tried out Kusal Perera as opener with Silva to wipe out as much of the deficit quickly as possible but the ploy didn’t work when Perera was dismissed for four. However Mathews didn’t rule out using Perera as an opener during the series.

LAKMAL OUT OF SQUAD

Despite the mounting number of injuries Sri Lanka has decided to stick to the same squad. The only change is that injured fast bowler Suranga Lakmal who has a hamstring strain has been omitted from the squad that was named for the first Test at Pallekele thus reducing it to 14.

Sri Lanka won the first Test by 106 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series.

Jayasuriya said that Nuwan Pradeep, the latest casualty in the Lankan camp is due to undergo a fitness test today.

If Pradeep who damaged his hamstring doesn’t come through the fitness test one of the two uncapped fast bowlers in the squad is likely to make his Test debut – Vishwa Fernando or Asitha Fernando, both of them with very little first-class experience. Vishwa has appeared in 44 first-class matches while 18-year-old Asitha has played in only two.

In the Pallakele Test, Pradeep bowled only six of the 88.3 overs in Australia’s second innings dominated by the spinners.

SRI LANKA TEST SQUAD FOR GALLE: Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Roshen Silva.