Donald Trump's plane declares mid-air emergency with JD Vance onboard

Trump Force Two declared an emergency mid-flight with JD Vance onboard and has been forced to divert.

from Daily Express :: US Feed https://ift.tt/6e4VlJM

Joes dominate Western Province Basketball tournament

St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road dominated the recent National Schools Western Province basketball tournament with both their Under-20 and Under-17 sides cruising to win the championships.

The Under-20 final played between St. Joseph’s and Royal College was a one-sided game with the Joes winning 99-63 after leading 56-36 at half-time.

Darren Bernard had an outstanding game finishing with 29 points while Charaka Perera contributed 24 points. Methika Jayasinghe chipped in with 18 points while Abhaya Gajamange ended up with 13 points.

St. Joseph’s played Ananda College in the Under-17 final and secured a hard fought one point win. Joes were leading 25-19 at half-time and went on to win 57-56.

Chamindu Wijesinghe with 22 points and Aaron Gerald with 15 points were the main scorers while Damketh Dammalage finished with 12 points.The winning teams were coached by Roshan Randima and Shane Daniel.

St. Joseph’s Under-20 team

from The Island https://ift.tt/yZ4j8ab

Shaikh, Aldridge lead the way for England Lions as SL face fight to save tour game

In their only tour match ahead of their three-match Test series in England, Sri Lanka face a fight to save the game after conceding a heavy first-innings deficit to an inexperienced Lions team in Worcester.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 139 in just 43.5 overs on Wednesday, with no batter reaching 30 and Gloucestershire’s Zaman Akhter  taking 5 for 32, the second five-wicket haul of his first-class career. Lions took a six-run lead heading into the second day after losing four wickets on the first evening, three of them to Prabath Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin.

But by the time rain brought the second day to an early finish, Lions had secured a first-innings lead of 185. Hamza Shaikh  the 18-year-old Warwickshire batter on first-class debut, made 91 from No. 4, sharing a 104-run stand for the seventh wicket with Kasey Aldridge  the Somerset allrounder, who himself made 78.

Jayasuriya finished with 5 for 102 from his 31.2 overs, with Kasun Rajitha  taking 2 for 51 from 19. But Lahiru Kumara, who has not played a competitive match since June, was expensive, leaking 92 runs from his 18 overs and dismissing only tailender Ajeet Singh Dale.

Lions are fielding an under-strength side, with two first-class debutants in Shaikh and Farhan Ahmed, whose elder brother Rehan has played in all three formats for England. The ECB have only pulled one player – Josh Hull, who has made two appearances for Manchester Originals – out of the Hundred, which features most of the country’s best young players.

Sri Lanka have not played a Test since their tour to Bangladesh earlier this year, which ended at the start of April, and most of their squad have not played any first-class cricket since the domestic four-day tournament finished in early May. Vishwa Fernando, who is not playing against Lions, took 12 wickets in two appearances for Yorkshire in June.

Sri Lanka’s 18-man squad will travel from Worcester to Manchester after the tour game ahead of the first of three Tests against England, which starts on Wednesday at Emirates Old Trafford. They will be joined in Manchester by former England batter Ian Bell, who has been recruited as a batting coach  for the series to provide local knowledge.

Brief  scores:

England Lions 324 (Hamza Shaikh 91,  Kasey Aldridge 78, Ptabath Jayasuriya 5-102) lead Sri Lanka 139 by 185 runs

(Cricinfo)

from The Island https://ift.tt/WZbTwPv

Akila replaces Namal as head of Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations

MP Akila Ellawala was recently unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations.

The name of Akila Ellawala was proposed by Premanath C. Dolawatte, MP and was seconded by Kokila Gunawardena, MP.

This appointment was made at the meeting held on 08 Aug., as a result of MP Namal Rajapaksa’s resignation from the committee.

from The Island https://ift.tt/0ZAyqnN

'Neglectful' parents slammed as babies in nappies seen crawling down road after crash

Two toddlers were flung from a car during a violent crash, leaving both to wander precariously in the slow lane clad in only diapers.

from Daily Express :: US Feed https://ift.tt/QaPpXVK

MMBL-Pathfinder Group joint-venture foreign exchange earnings to top US$ 425 million this year

The MMBL-Pathfinder Group joint-venture portfolio of investments is expected to yield nearly US$ 425 million in foreign exchange to Sri Lanka in 2024, a significant increase from the US$ 250 million it earned in 2023.

The MMBL-Pathfinder Group’s joint-venture investment portfolio consists of partnerships and strategic alliances with a wide network of globally reputed companies. These operate in niche markets dealing in financial and remittance services, export logistics, petroleum support services, pioneering ventures in tourism and leisure, and technology and innovation-related activities.

Sri Lanka will face new and unforeseen challenges as the international economic environment becomes increasingly complicated and global supply chains fall under continuous stress, especially with emerging geopolitical tensions, multiple wars, and social conflicts. Against this backdrop, MMBL-Pathfinder is committed to a proactive investment strategy that will focus on identifying new sectors that will bring in the maximum possible foreign exchange to the country. MMBL-Pathfinder will continue to support the Pathfinder Foundation, which has emerged as a highly regarded regional strategic studies centre.

from The Island https://ift.tt/Hhid9OD

Gaby Lewis smacks 75-ball 119 as Ireland hold off Sri Lanka to level series 1-1

Gaby Lewis’ smashing second T20I century backed up by Orla Prendergast’s  all-round show helped Ireland record a close seven-run win in the second T20I against Sri Lanka to level the two-match series 1-1.

Batting first in Dublin, Ireland lost Amy Hunter inside the powerplay, but Lewis kept the hosts going. She found an ally in Prendergast with the duo adding 119 runs for the second wicket off 80 balls. Lewis did the bulk of the scoring in the partnership with 78 off 49 balls while Prendergast scored 38 off 31.

Lewis reached her fifty off 40 balls with both batters upping their pace after the halfway mark. Prendergast struck Achini Kulasuriya for back-to-back fours in the 12th over before Lewis followed suit in the next striking Shashini Gimhani for two fours of her own. Even with Prendergast not finding the boundaries often, Lewis made sure to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Lewis raced to her second T20I century in the 19th over smashing Kanchana for a six and four, getting to the mark in 68 balls. An emotional Lewis hugged her partner and removed her helmet raising her bat to the crowd and her team-mates. She then took three fours off Kulasuriya in the final over and was run out off the final ball for 119 off 75 ball as Ireland raced to 173 for 3, their sixth highest total in T20Is. Lewis struck 17 fours and two sixes in her innings.

Sri Lanka lost Vishmi Gunaratne early in the chase but Harshitha Samarawickrama threatened to repeat her first T20I heroics once again. She started with two fours in the first over against Freya Sargent before hitting Jane Maguire for six.

Samarawickrama got good support from No. 4 Kavisha Dilhari with the duo adding 72 off 49 balls for the fourth wicket. Just when things looked to be going Sri Lanka’s way, Jane Maguire struck a telling blow removing Samarawickrama for a 44-ball 65.

Dilhari, however, kept finding the boundaries at regular intervals even as Sri Lanka lost wickets at the other end. The visitors required 22 off the last two overs and 16 off six. Dilhari struck a six in the final over to reach her fifty but with eight needed off two, failed to get a clean connection as the hosts managed to level the series.

Brief scores:
Ireland Women  173 for 3 in 20 overs (Gaby Lewis 119, Orla Prendergast 38; Achini Kulasuriya 1-36, Shashini Gimhani 1-24) beat Sri Lanka Women 166 for 7 in 20 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 65, Kavisha Dilhari 51*;  Orla Prendergast 2-28, Freya Sargent 2-36, Jane Maguire 1-26, Ava Canning 1-10) by seven runs

[Cricinfo]

from The Island https://ift.tt/bY5pLnW