The Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Damian Fernando paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the Parliament, Dr Jagath Wickramaratne at the Office of the  Speaker, today (7 July
2026).

The meeting marked the Commander of the Navy’s first official interaction with the Speaker following his assumption of command of the Sri Lanka Navy. During the cordial discussion, they exchanged views on the Navy’s role in matters of national importance.

The formal meeting drew to a close with an exchange of mementoes, signifying the importance of the occasion.

The woman suspected of carrying out a parcel bombing in Monaco which injured a sanctioned Ukrainian multi-millionaire and his family has been found dead, Ukraine’s security service (SBU) has said.

The intelligence officer subsequently confessed to Berezovska’s murder and said he had done so with “another suspect”, the agency said.

It continued: “During the search of the former law enforcement officer’s home, a basement room resembling a torture chamber was found.

“Both suspects were detained on suspicion of committing murder with premeditation by a group of individuals.”

An investigation is ongoing with the “personal assistance” of the head of the intelligence directorate Oleg Ivashchenko.

Monaco’s deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond said Berezovska had spent days casing out the residence and was “disguised as a man” during the attack last Monday.

Three people were injured, two of them seriously, when a package exploded just as they entered the building shortly after 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

Berezovska was believed to have fled in a hire car to Italy and onwards to Germany – where special forces searched an apartment rented by a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman “currently on the run” in the central state of Hesse on Thursday, police said.

Interpol issued a red notice alerting police worldwide that she was a fugitive wanted for attempted murder, placing an explosive device on a public road with criminal intent and criminal conspiracy on Friday.

The SBU said Ukrainian authorities had shared all available information with officials in Monaco, with who its prosecutor general was in “close co-operation”.

Law enforcement authorities were working to identify “other suspects” in the attack, it added.

Authorities in Monaco have not confirmed the victims’ identities, but local media reported Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner and his 13-year-old son had been targeted.

Yermolaiev, a real estate developer, was named the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes magazine in 2020 with a reported fortune of $230m (£173.8m).

He has major interests are in wine and alcohol in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and has been the subject of sanctions imposed by the government in Kyiv since 2023.

He is a Cypriot citizen, having renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019, and has been living in Monaco.

(BBC)

Belgium dumped USA out of their own World Cup on Monday, as Charles De Ketelaere’s brace secured a 4-1 win that was eclipsed by the bitter row over Folarin Balogun’s ban.

Victory means the Belgians face Spain in the quarterfinals, while the USA follow the other World Cup cohosts, Canada and Mexico, out of the tournament with elimination in the round of 16 after a thoroughly flat performance.

All attention pre-game had been on Balogun’s place in the USA starting lineup, after US President Donald Trump had asked FIFA to review the striker’s one-game suspension for a red card, and the governing body controversially obliged.

Belgium’s starting lineup had a few surprises of its own, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku among the heavyweights benched. But coach Rudi Garcia’s gambit proved inspired, with De Ketelaere grabbing an early goal to puncture the feel-good vibes in Seattle.

Malik Tillman grabbed one back from a free kick, but De Ketelaere swiftly restored Belgium’s lead. A catastrophic piece of goalkeeping by Matt Freese and a late Romelu Lukaku goal left the Americans dead and buried.

FIFA’s move to suspend Balogun’s ban after he was sent off in the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina has been slammed by football fans, pundits and players around the world, but there were no such misgivings among the Seattle crowd.

A colossal roar greeted the stadium announcement of Balogun’s name in the starting lineup, vastly dwarfing the cheers even for USA talisman Christian Pulisic.

The “USA” thunderclap then echoed around the stadium, utterly drowning out a small corner of chanting Belgium fans in the opening minutes.

But the American party was swiftly silenced. The majority of 67,000 fans fell silent in the ninth minute as De Ketelaere scored, easily tapping home from close range after Nicolas Raskin’s cross evaded some lax defending.

It was the first time the Americans had conceded the opener all tournament. With the atmosphere deflated, no immediate fightback was visible on the pitch either. The midfield was outgunned, and the defence looked nervous.

On the half-hour mark, Balogun drew a foul on the edge of the area and whipped the crowd back to life. He waved his arms frantically as Tillman – fresh from scoring a free kick against Bosnia – lined up the ball.

Tillman’s shot deflected off the Belgian wall and spun into the net, and the stadium shook.

But the joy was again short-lived. In the 33rd minute, De Ketelaere leapt up to meet Leandro Trossard’s cross, and comfortably out-jumped an off-balance Tim Ream to score his second.

The US inched back into the game as the first half closed out, with Balogun blasting over from a long Tillman throw, then narrowly failing to catch a long ball, again from the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder.

US coach Mauricio Pochettino switched formation at half-time, sending Gio Reyna into the number 10 role and pushing Weston McKennie out to the right. The Americans resumed play with more intensity, pushing higher up the pitch.

But self-inflicted disaster struck in the 57th minute. Freese came out to collect a Belgium long ball, turned to evade the charging De Ketelaere, but then hesitated with his pass.

De Ketelaere jabbed the ball to Hans Vanaken, who made no mistake with an open goal from long range.

Pulisic limped off with an injury minutes later, and with him went the US dreams of reaching a first World Cup quarterfinal since 2002.

His replacement, Sebastian Berhalter, flashed an ambitious shot narrowly wide in the 79th minute, and Balogun had a close-range effort saved soon after.

But Chris Richards handed the ball to Lukaku in stoppage time, and the veteran striker did not hesitate to seal the rout.

[Aljazeera]