Cricket governing body Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has called an emergency meeting of its Executive Committee to look into several matters including an inquiry into cricketer Lasith Malinga.

In a statement issued today, SLC said that an emergency meeting had been called to table and regularize a number of items which include the resignation of Graham Ford; the interim appointment of a national coach; the Under 23 Inter-Provincial/ Super Provincial tournament; the Zimbabwean tour and a disciplinary inquiry against Lasith Malinga.

Elaborating further, SLC said Malinga had, on two occasions since his return from the Champions Trophy acted in contravention of the terms of agreement which specifically bar him from making any statement to the media without prior written consent of the Chief Executive Officer.

It said it was decided, on the instance of his first infraction, on or about 19th June to take disciplinary action but noted that Lasith Malinga was a player with experience ductus exemplo - who led by example.

On his second breach of contract on 21st June the Committee had decided to expedite the inquiry against Lasith Malinga. The inquiry against Malinga will be conducted by a panel comprising Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Mohan de Silva, Chief Executive Officer Ashley de Silva and Chairman Disciplinary Committee Asela Rekewa.  

Admission to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) and the awarding of degrees at the institution will be halted until the government gazettes the terms and conditions relating to the private medical college, the Presidential Secretariat said.

President’s Secretary P.B. Abeykoon, in a directive issued on Sunday, said the government would gazette all the requirements including the minimum standards applicable to private medical institutions in the country.

The statement said further, the government would seek the Attorney General’s advice on the government’s stance on the university to the Supreme Court. It said further it intends to continue on the process of transforming the university into a public-private partnership.

It further said the curriculum followed by current students would be restructured in line with a method accepted by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and that a mechanism would be implemented to have the students that have already completed their degree registered with the SLMC.

President Maithripala Sirisena, addressing a ceremony at the Lankapura Maha Vidyalaya in Polonnaruwa yesterday, said he didn’t blame university students for the mayhem they were causing, as certain political groups were using them as tools.

“These groups are misleading university students,” the President said. “I don’t blame university students for the actions of those who conspire to use university students as tools.”

He said these “politically indecent” groups were attempting to persuade people that the government was planning on deprive local university students of opportunities.

The President pointed out that nearly 2, 50,000 students sit for AL exam annually and while 90,000 are eligible for university education, university admission is only offered to 25,000 students.

“To make the dreams of the rest of the students a reality, state universities as well as private universities with higher standard should be established,” he explained. “We cannot limit the educational rights of any child at any time in the country”, he said.

The President said that nearly 80,000 students left the country for higher education and warned that this should be a matter of concern, as families often pawned their houses and land to sponsor the education of their children abroad.

“The government has taken the policy decision that the private sector university or educational institute should provide education according to the rules recognized by the government,” he assured those at the ceremony.

Chief Minister of North-Central Province Peshala Jayarathne, Provincial Minister Sampath Sri Nilantha and the Principal of the Lankapura Maha Vidyalaya Sarath Hemakumara also participated in this event.

President Maithripala Sirisena emphasized that the politicians as well as the public servants should join hands with the public to find solutions for the waste management issue and the Dengue menace.

He made these remarks addressing the Colombo District Special Environment Conference held at the Maharagama Youth Centre Auditorium, yesterday (20).

President Sirisena said that many issues have arisen due to the irresponsible involvement of the Ministers and MPs in public protests against disposal of garbage. He added that everybody should fulfill their respective duties towards the country and themselves in the process of the waste management and preventing the spread of Dengue.

 He also said that a national programme on apprising the public regarding the importance of waste management and recycling will be implemented shortly.

The President recalled a recent media report, which stated that the Army Media Spokesperson had said that the Army will not take the responsibility of collecting garbage, and said that the Army Media Spokesperson had not made such statement and as the Minister of Defence he will not under any circumstances will order the Army to collect garbage.

The President said that only the responsibility of scrutinizing whether the relevant institutions for waste management and disposal of garbage fulfill their respective duties, is vested with the Army.

The President requested all the Ministers, Heads of Corporations, relevant authorities, departments, public servants as well as the school principals to give priority for waste management and preventing the spread of Dengue menace, and to be a messenger to make the public aware in this regard. He also gave instructions to the institution heads to establish special units for waste management and prevention of Dengue at their respective institutions, if those were not yet established, and to inspect the tasks of those units.

President Sirisena further said that what is more important in this situation is to act according to one’s own conscience and in a humane manner rather than do things according to the official guiding instructions, Orders and Circulars.

This conference was organized under the theme prevention of dengue menace and waste disposal issue as the first conference of a series of Environmental Conferences to be organized at the district level. The second conference will be held in Gampaha district.

Specialist Dr. Hasitha Tissera delivered a special lecture on prevention and control of dengue disease. Senior Lecturer at the University of Moratuwa Dr. Mahesh Jayaweera also delivered a special lecture on waste management.

The Maha Sangha, other religious leaders, Health Minister Rajitha Senarathne, Western Provincial Governor K.C Logeswaran, Western Province Minister Gamini Thilakasiri, Secretary to the President. P.B Abeykoon, public servants, Tri Forces Commanders , Inspector General of Police and military heads participated on this occasion.

 (PMD) 

Business tycoon Harry Jayawardene has tied up with two of Japan’s leading airlines to make a bid for SriLankan Airlines.

Accordingly, Japan’s All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have teamed up with Harry Jayawardene to acquire a 49% stake in Sri Lankan Airlines.

The bid comes amid interest expressed by Emirates Airlines, which previously handled management of SriLankan Airlines.

The government is looking for an entity with which to tie up to manage SriLankan airlines in a Private-Public Partnership (PPP).

Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera, at his first official overseas visit after assuming office, told the Board of Governors meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Jeju Island, Korea, that the government’s plan was to make Sri Lanka an export driven economic and financial hub of the Indian Ocean.

Minister Samaraweera said that to achieve these objectives, the government has set out a high-level reform agenda in several key sectors of the economy, facilitating and empowering the private sector as the principle engine of growth.

The Finance and Mass Media Minister also spoke about Sri Lanka's economic growth, which has been driven by large infrastructure projects and said developing physical infrastructure must be done along with administrative and legal frameworks to ensure required policy or regulatory support to streamline and boost public and private investments.

“Given the rapid increase in climate related disasters in many countries, like the floods Sri Lanka faced 2 weeks ago, the building of climate/disaster resilient infrastructure will be of paramount importance for the future,” the Minister said. “If we are to meet this challenge, we must incorporate climate resilient concepts into all future infrastructure development projects.”

Minister Samaraweera also met with Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Strategy and Finance of Republic of Korea Kim Dong-yeon, Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Finance Minister of Indonesia for bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the AIIB Conference.

A hartal is currently in progress in the Northern province in support of Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran against whom 21 members of the Northern Provincial Council brought a ‘no confidence’ motion.

The hartal is reportedly in effect in the areas of Jaffna, Killinochchi and Mullaitivu with shop owners closing down shops and hoisting black flags in protest of the move against Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran.

The No Confidence Motion against Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneshwaran comes on the heels of him asking two ministers of the Northern Provincial Council – T. Kurukularaja and P. Aingaranesen – for their resignation, following allegations of corruption.

President Maithripala Sirisena, during his visit to the North, met with the families of missing persons while at the Northern Province Governor’s office in Jaffna, where he assured them that swift action would be taken to release their missing family members.

The President assured the families of the missing that any person detained without charge would be released, and further assured the families that no detention camps were in operation in the country.

The subject of secret detention camps was included in the letter the families of the missing handed over to the President, listing their grievances. The President promised he would direct the relevant authorities to look into the issues.

The family members of the missing representing eight districts of the Northern and Eastern province had requested the release of lists of all who surrendered to the armed forces during and after the war, particularly during the last phase; a list of all secret detention centers, their status and list of detainees; and a list of all political prisoners held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The President had promised the families that he would also instruct the National Security Council to release lists of persons who surrendered to the Armed forces in the final phase of the war. The President also said the Police would support the search for those missing since the end of the war.

The President also said the Parliament would debate the Bill to establish a permanent Office of Missing Persons (OMP) that was passed in August 2016. He also ordered that state funds allocated for development work in the North and East are utilized effectively, adding that the political leaders representing the two provinces would be held responsible.

Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation and Resettlement D.M. Swaminathan, Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine Rajitha Senaratne, Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Vigneswaran, Provincial Minister of Health Saithyalingam, Governor Reginald Cooray, Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara, and the SLFP General Secretary, Duminda Dissanayake were present at the meeting with the families.

The Finance Ministry has warned against any increase in the retail price of sugar.

In a statement yesterday, the Government Information Department warned that any such increase would be illegal.

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) yesterday also warned against the maximum retail price of sugar being increased.

The Special Commodity Levy on sugar was increased by Rs. 10 on Monday (05) but the government said the maximum retail price on sugar would remain unchanged.

Sri Lanka has named its 12-man squad for today's must-win game against Pakistan.

The ICC Champions Trophy group stage game between Sri Lanka and Pakistan has become a virtual quarter final as the winner of today's match will qualify for the seni-finals.

Specialist spinner Lakshan Sandaken and fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekera have not been included in the team..

SLC sources said according to the pitch conditions, Dhananjaya de Silva or Seekkuge Prasanna would be chosen to the playing XI.

The Sri Lankan team for today's match is as follows:

Niroshan Dickwella, Dhanushka Gnathilake, Kusal Medis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Dhanjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Seekkuge Prasanna