Ranjith Fernando new SL Team Manager

Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed Ranjith Fernando as the Team Manager for this month’s tour of South Africa, SLC confirmed today.

Fernando will replace Charith Senanayake, who was appointed for a second stint in 2015. Senanayake’s contract is due to expire in September.

Senanayake confirmed that he had been replaced – on a rotation basis – and that he was informed of the decision only yesterday, two days before the team’s departure to South Africa.

“I was not told until last evening. I was in office doing all the preliminary work to go on this tour and a journalist called and asked me for a clarification. I said I had no clue. I was only told yesterday officially that I am not going on the tour as manager,” Senanayake said, speaking to the media today.

Sri Lanka Cricket also named the Test squad for the tour of South Africa, subject to the approval of the Sports Minister.

Sri Lanka tops Google search for ‘Sex’

Sri Lanka, for the fifth consecutive year, topped the list of countries that searched for the word ‘sex’, data from Google Trends show.

Interestingly, the search shows a spike during the months of August and December - traditionally the school holidays.

Sri Lanka is followed by Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nepal and India, data shows.

Homagama, in the Western Province shows the most number of hits for the word ‘sex’, followed by Pune, Dhaka, Chennai and Hyderabad.

“WINTER WONDERLAND ‘’ An Evening of Christmas Carols

“WINTER WONDERLAND ‘’ An Evening of Christmas Carols of Lyceum International School, Anuradhapura was held , recently and was a smashing success.

Bishop of Anuradhapura district Most Rev. Norbert Andradi graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, together with Mr. Athula Weerasinghe, Senior Superintendent of Police, Anuradhapura,  Mr.Rajeeve Abeysekara, Manager of Dialog Axiata  , Anuradhapura , Mr. Nikitha Grero, Director of Lyceum International Schools, Ms. Dilrukshi Peiris , Headmistress of Lyceum Anuradhapura also participated.


The students and staff of Lyceum Anuradhapura did a great job with an excellence performance !

Red cards set to be introduced to cricket

Cricketers could be 'red-carded' by umpires and ejected from the ground for the duration of a match from next October after the sport's lawmakers on Wednesday recommended on-field sanctions to address declining standards of player behaviour.

The world cricket committee of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the guardian of the game's laws, has recommended that a player should be removed from the field for threatening an umpire, physical assault or any other act of violence.

Match officials currently report players or incidents to the match referee at the end of the day after which action is taken.

Following a two-day meeting in Mumbai, MCC world cricket committee chairman Mike Brearley said umpires needed to be empowered to impose on-the-spot sanctions, noting that there were more disciplinary problems in the lower-tier leagues.

"There was a survey done of the umpires and 40 percent said they are considering giving up the game or giving up umpiring because of verbal abuse," former England captain Brearley told reporters at the Wankhede Stadium.

"Anecdotal evidence from people who are familiar with leagues in parts of England say that the behaviour has got worse.

"The umpires have to be respected and given the best possible chance and I think cricket is the only game in which there isn't this possibility of an in-match punishment or deterrent."

The committee discussed sanctions like run penalties and sin bins but felt it would be hard to apply them consistently around the world.

"It got to the state where something had to happen to prevent those things happening on the international stage," former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, a member of the committee, said.

"The modern player now understands their role in society, about being role models, and want to play the game the right way for younger kids."

The committee also decided that no changes were required to the current ball-tampering laws despite recent incidents.

The age-old practice of shining the cricket ball has become a grey area for some cricketers who called for clarity after South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was declared guilty of ball-tampering by the International Cricket Council last month.

Television footage appeared to show du Plessis applying saliva to the ball while sucking on a sweet during the Hobart test against Australia leading to him being sanctioned and losing his entire match fee.

The committee also agreed that the game had tilted too far in favour of the batsmen and therefore recommended specific bat size limitations to the edges and depth of a bat.

The new laws will be implemented at all levels of the game from Oct. 1 next year, subject to approval by the MCC's main committee.

Rs.25,000 fine, jail term for errant driver

A man was fined Rs.25,000 and sentenced to three months jail for driving without a valid licence under the influence of liquor, by the Kandy Magistrate Buddhika Sri Ragala yesterday.

The accused, a three-wheeler driver from the Aruppala area was arrested near the Wewelpitiya grounds in Kandy. The arrest was made under the directions of Kandy OIC (Traffic) W.S. Uvindasiri by the Deputy Police Inspector K.R.Gomez, Police Sergents M.R. Weerasinghe and Ajith.

Rakna Lanka to be liquidated

Cabinet this week made a decision to liquidate government affiliated security service Rakna Araksha Lanka Ltd.

The company was established through a Cabinet decision in 2006 to provide security to special institutions such as economic targets, public institutions and private institutions during the war as army officers who were responsible for such tasks were deployed for other security purposes around the country.

“With the present peaceful situation in the country, it has been observed that such a firm is unnecessary”, said Co-cabinet spokesperson Minister Gayantha Karunathilake yesterday.

The work undertaken by Rakna Araksha Lanka is to be reassigned to the Civil Defence Force and the Sri Lanka Navy, he added speaking at the Parliamentary Complex.

According to the Cabinet memorandum on the company, its net assets as of 31 August 2016 stands at Rs 3,264 million.

The company also holds a deposit worth Rs 160 million from Avant Garde Security Services and Rs 2.5 million to be paid to the Sri Lanka Navy for having using the armoury at the Welisara naval camp.

The security service has 1972 security staff on land and 420 security staff at sea and according to the government, many are contract employees and a significant portion ended their contract in September of this year.

The President who had submitted the proposal to liquidate the company, had explained that the government no longer needed a private security firm and that the firm itself had acted beyond their ‘Articles of Association’ by providing security at sea and for private organizations.

Furthermore the company had suffered considerable losses given that the government no longer provided patronage to it and it was no longer sensible to keep it going as a government entity.

The COPE report in August this year had also pointed out that there were legal issues over the third party agreements Rakna Araksha Lanka had signed on to and that the profit share system of the company was not favourable to the government, as over 75 percent of it was being paid to Avant Garde.

The company was also investigated by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) for having used Rakna Lanka employees for election work during the 2015 Presidential elections.

Rakna Lanka would be liquidated in accordance with the Attorney General’s recommendations.

Jayampathy complains of death threat

UNP MP and Constitutional Expert Dr. Jayampathi Wickramaratne told Parliament yesterday that he had received death threats over the phone demanding to stay out of the constitution making process.

He made this revelation raising a privilege issue with the permission of Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala. The MP said that he received an anonymous call on Tuesday demanding that he withdraw from the constitution making activities or be prepared to face death. The unknown caller had threatened to kill the MP and his family members.

Wickramaratne said that he lodged a complaint in this regard with the Welikada Police. He requested the Chair to hold a separate investigation with regard to this incident.

“I commenced my politics with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and will not give in to threats from anonymous callers. I will not resign from the constitution making process which is of utmost importance to the nation,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker said he would order the IGP to conduct a formal investigation into the incident.

He also referred the matter to the Privileges Committee. The Deputy Speaker assured that he would take maximum possible action against the threats to the life of MP Wickramaratne.

JO lodges complaint against Thalatha

The joint opposition today lodged a complaint against Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Atukorale at the Bribery Commission and the Financial Crimes Investigation Division over a case of financial misappropriation causing the State loss of Rs. 1,500 million.

Addressing a media briefing, the joint opposition MP Niroshan Premaratne said Minister Atukorale had caused the State a loss of Rs. 1500 million by the mandatory insurance scheme of Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) for all Sri Lankan migrant workers since August 2015.

“The SLBFE has announced all Sri Lankan migrant workers to get the insurance from the Gulf Insurance and Reinsurance Company in Kuwait by paying USD 100 each. The Supreme Court has ordered the SLBFE to refrain from choosing a selected company to provide the insurance,” he added.

He said the SLBFE had ignored the Supreme Court’s order and had arrived to an agreement with the Gulf Insurance and Reinsurance Company despite two other companies were given quotations for USD 60 each to provide the same insurance with more facilities.

He said the Minister Atukorale was involved in this financial misappropriation by gaining excess of people’s money worth USD 40 (Rs. 6,000) from each Sri Lankan migrant worker.

“There are nearly 263,307 of Sri Lankan migrant workers who have obtained the insurance during the period from August 2015 to December 2016. Therefore the total of Rs. 1,417, 842, 000 (nearly Rs. 1,500 million) of excess amount has been taken by the SLBFE from these innocent people,” he added.

He said this insurance scheme has been cancelled by Minister Atukorale on December 1 with the enquiry made by him in Parliament about this financial misappropriation on November 30.

“Minister Atukorale has tried to prove her innocence by denying my allegations. But her guilt was proved with the immediate cancellation of the insurance scheme. We have lodged a complaint against the SLBFE Chairman along with Minister Atukorale” he added.

Meanwhile, the joint opposition today onwards launched a website named www.yahapalanatop10.com to make people aware of the financial misappropriations which took place during the ‘Yahapalana’ regime. The people were also enabled to make their complaints against them through info@yahapalana.com.