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Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law to be amended
In addition to the officials and categories of individuals required to disclose their assets and liabilities as specified in the amended Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law No. 01 of 1975 by Act No. 74 of 1988, Section 80 of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 09 of 2023 introduces provisions for further disclosure by various other officials and categories of individuals. The necessity for disclosing liabilities is emphasized.
According to this recent amendment, the President, Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, Provincial Governors, Provincial Council Members, and officers of the Provincial Public Service, elected representatives, and officers of Local Government bodies, as well as judges and government officials appointed by the President, are mandated to disclose their assets and liabilities. This requirement extends to members and officers of ministries and government departments, as well as individuals appointed under Article 41A(1)(e) of the Constitution who are not Members of Parliament.
Additionally, it applies to chairpersons or members of specified Commissions outlined in the Schedule to Article 41B of the Constitution, staff officers of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and State Banks established under Article 41A(1)(c) of the Constitution or any relevant statute. Staff officers of independent commissions, chairpersons, commissioners, members, and staff officers of independent regulatory and supervisory commissions, or personnel boards established under any statute, along with chairpersons, directors, and members of boards of public corporations established under any statute, are also included. Furthermore, it pertains to executive officers and members of the personal staff of Members of Parliament, Provincial Council Members, and members of Local Government bodies.
Additionally, this encompasses the officers of the Sri Lanka Army, as established and governed by the Army Act (authority 357), the officers of the Sri Lanka Navy, established and governed by the Navy Act (authority 359), and the Commissioned officers of the Sri Lanka Air Force, established and governed by relevant legislation. It also includes individuals under the jurisdiction of the Election of the President Act No. 15 of 1981, the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981, and the Provincial Council Elections Act No. 2 of 1988 (authority 262). Furthermore, it extends to office-bearers of recognized political parties for the purposes of the Local Government Elections Ordinance or the Trade Unions Ordinance (authority 138), as well as Executive Officers of Registered Trade Unions (authority 138). Candidates nominated for election under the Local Government Polls Ordinance, as well as chairpersons, directors, and staff officers of companies registered under the provisions of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007, where a government corporation holds at least 25% of the shares, are also covered.
Furthermore, individuals falling under specific designations such as Heads of State Missions of Sri Lanka, Officials appointed by the Cabinet to State Missions of Sri Lanka (authority 180), Proprietors, editors, and members of the editorial board of newspapers registered under Section 2 of the Newspaper Ordinance, No. 25 of 1991, Owners of media companies, editors, and members of the editorial board, office bearers of national sports associations established under the Sports Act No. 25 of 1978, and certain officials licensed under Section 17 of the Telecommunications Act of Sri Lanka, are subject to asset and liability declaration requirements due to the nature of their positions and the potential risk of bribery or corruption.
Moreover, the relevant legislation mandates the establishment of a centralized electronic system for declaring assets and liabilities. Amendments have been introduced to the declaration process to align with the provisions of the new Act until the electronic system is fully operational.
In accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act No. 09 of 2023, the Bribery or Corruption Allegations Investigation Commission has published a circular outlining the procedures for declaring assets and liabilities, along with revised declaration forms, on their website (www.ciaboc.gov.lk) on 01.03.2024. Interested parties can download the necessary documents from this date onwards.
Until further instructions are provided, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption urges concerned officials to promptly submit their asset and liability declarations as per the guidelines outlined in the aforementioned circular.
Pakistan withstood a middle-order counterattack from Pavan Rathnayake and Janith Liyanage to see off Sri Lanka by 37 runs. In the first match of a tri-series that also includes England, the pair appeared to have put Sri Lanka on course with a 119-run fifth wicket partnership, with the visitors well in front and requiring just 55 from the last seven overs. Liyanage’s wicket, however, saw the bottom fall out of the side, with Sri Lanka losing their last five wickets for 15 runs to allow Pakistan to breathe a sigh of relief.
The win had been set up by Salman Agha, who marked his return to the Pakistan side with his fourth ODI hundred to hold off a collapse and steer the hosts past 300. By the 22nd over, Pakistan had lost four wickets, and looked vulnerable with a relatively long tail. However, Salman’s 90-ball 107 navigated Pakistan expertly out of danger with sizeable partnerships with Hasan Nawaz and Arafat Minhas.
Sri Lanka deprived Shaheen Afridi’s side of a big finish, though, with Eshan Malinga and Asitha Fernando striking multiple blows in the death overs to ultimately bowl Pakistan out for 305. Those runs they had left on the table looked set to cost them dear at the climax of the context. The dew had set in, and Rathnayake and Liyanage were beginning to reverse Pakistan’s early dominance that had seen them skittle Sri Lanka’s top four with few dents made to the chase.
Afridi rotated his cast of bowlers, but aside from Naseem Shah, there appeared no remedy to the free flow of runs. Haris Rauf, Minhas, Saim Ayub and Afridi himself were all worked over, particularly by Rathnayake, who was especially methodical in the way he timed his innings to dance in tune to the required rate. Afridi was sensationally blown out of the attack with a pair of pulled sixes off the hips, in stark contrast to Pakistan’s own struggles against the short ball.
A pair of tight overs from Faheem Ashraf finally induced Rathnayake into a false stroke as he spooned one to Salman at short cover, only for Dasun Shanaka to pick up the slack. But with 53 runs to go, Liyanage chipped Rauf to long-on, and Pakistan blew the house down. Afridi prised Shanaka out the following over, and though the tail limped on briefly, it was only a matter of time.
Pakistan will look back fondly at their dominance in the first 25 overs, which closely mirrored Sri Lanka’s own success in the first innings. Sri Lanka’s top order was ineffective in keeping pace with the asking rate, and Naseem bowled a tidy spell up front, which included the wicket of Avishka Fernando. Ashraf took a sharp catch after Saad Baig dropped the skier, the allrounder showing good reflexes to scoop the ball up. It was, all told, a difficult evening behind the stumps for the debutant, and, in truth, a poor day out for Pakistan’s fielders throughout the innings.
Sri Lanka’s fortune with the toss had carried over to the ODI series, and they inserted Pakistan in Rawalpindi. There was early swing on offer, but it was the extra pace from Dilshan Madushanka that accounted for both openers. Ayub and Fakhar Zaman were both undone by the short delivery, leaving Babar Azam and Baig to rebuild.
The duo put on 74 and were beginning to get the asking rate ticking upwards. However, Babar’s frustrating recent knack of giving away auspicious starts reared its familiar head once more. Malinga was Sri Lanka’s quickest bowler through the innings, and he landed one short that rushed onto Babar, who was late on the pull just five shy of a half-century. Soon after Baig, who had shown promise as well as a willingness to pull rather than back away from bouncers, miscued one himself, holing out to deep fine leg.
It was precisely the sort of situation Salman – dropped from both the Test side and T20 captaincy in the last two months – thrives in, rebuilding during the middle overs of an ODI. He did so flawlessly, halting Sri Lanka’s momentum while staying on top of the run rate, keeping the strike ticking along, and adeptly covering for Nawaz, who had made a more sluggish start. He capitalised when Sri Lanka erred by turning prematurely to Kamindu Mendis’ spin, taking 11 off the 25th over to turn momentum around.
Sri Lanka began to look more toothless with the ball through those middle overs as Salman’s comfort grew. He dominated the stand and brought up his half-century off 48 balls. Nawaz had begun to loosen his shoulders too, illustrated by a six off legspinner Sachindu Colombage, but Asitha rooted him out the following over, ending the fifth-wicket stand ay 97. Salman played a similar shepherding role with Minhas for the sixth wicket, the pair putting on 64, with Salman once again taking on the lion’s share.
Twenty-six runs came off the 44th and 45th overs, but just as Pakistan looked for a big finish, Sri Lanka’s bowlers hit back. Minhas and Salman fell trying to hit sixes, and Pakistan’s lower order soon followed, with Malinga getting rid of Ashraf and Naseem off successive balls. A pair of lusty blows from Afridi allowed Pakistan to scratch past 300.
For long stretches of Sri Lanka’s chase, it appeared as if Pakistan’s unproductiveness in those death overs would cost them. Instead, on a dewy early autumn night in Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s pace attack – which shared nine wickets between them – ensured Salman’s efforts would not be wasted.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 305 in 49.5 overs (Babar Azam 45, Salman Agha 107; Eshan Malinga 4-46, Asitha Fernando 3-59, Dilshan Madushanka 2-67) beat Sri Lanka 268 in 48.1 overs (Kamindu Mendis 44, Pavan Rathnayake 79, Janith Liyanage 60; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-55, Naseem Shah 2-43, Haris Rauf 2-48, Faheem Ashraf 2-49) by 37 runs
[Cricinfo]
An estimated 550,000 people took part in demonstrations across France today to protest against teaching conditions in schools, rising fuel prices and the cost of living.
Marches were largely peaceful and took place in several major French cities, including Paris, where 110,000 people attended.
“We just want to study, we just want a future” one student taking part in the protest in the capital told BBC News, while another said they were ” just trying to make things change”.
But French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said some groups “at the margins of these protests” caused the situation to “degenerate”.
According to the French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, 1200 people were arrested. Officials also reported looting in cities such as Marseille, where masked 8ntruders also entered the city hall. In Lyon, the tourist office was set on fire and shops were damaged.
French President Emmanuel Macron said any vandals and looters would be “prosecuted and punished”, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of left-wing party La France Insoumise, said demonstrations had been calmly mobilised.
Meanwhile, firefighters are continuing to battle a blaze at Limoges City Hall after a reported break-in and arson inside the 19th-century building during protests there.
(BBC)
A large fire near a Canadian military base in Alberta has killed and injured some people, the defence minister said, without confirming the number of casualties.
The Canadian Armed Forces were working with local authorities to manage the fire and were looking into what caused it, David McGuinty said, describing the situation as “very, very active and delicate”.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X that a “serious incident creating a major fire” had occurred, adding his “thoughts are with all the brave women and men affected”.
Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where the fire broke out, is one of the country’s busiest military training bases.
The blaze “spread rapidly due to high winds” and had torn through the fences of the base, the Municipal District of Wainwright said.
McGuinty told reporters he “cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory”.
It is unclear when the fire broke out, but the district first posted about the incident at about 17:30 local time.
Local authorities have urged residents to avoid the area and give all emergency vehicles right of way.
(BBC)
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