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Kulasuriya and Athapaththu lead Sri Lanka to consolation win in tour-ending ODI
Athapaththu won the toss on this occasion and opted to bowl, but Sri Lanka wouldn’t have expected the rewards they got early on. Indeed, when Sri Lanka had opted to field in the last game, Ireland rode on half-centuries from Amy Hunter (66), Leah Paul (81) and Rebecca Stokell (53*) to put up 255 for 5, enough for a 15-run win. This time, though, quick bowler Kulasuriya struck off the first two balls of the innings, sending back Sarah Forbes and Hunter for ducks. Orla Prendergast, the captain, fell next, also to Kulasuriya, for 3. Inoshi Priyadharshani and Amy Kanchana chipped in with a wicket apiece, and it was 28 for 5 in the 15th over.
The fightback came courtesy Paul and Arlene Kelly. It was slow going, painfully so at times, but they added 36 runs between them in just under 15 overs. Kelly was starting to pick up speed, but Paul fell to Sachini Nsiansala for 19 (in 53 balls), and then there was a rush of wickets again. Canning became Athapaththu’s first wicket, Kelly the second, and between them Athapaththu and Nisansala finished the innings off.
Priyadharshini returned remarkable figures of 10-5-7-1 with an economy rate of 0.70, second on the list of most miserly ODI spells by a Sri Lanka woman cricketer, behind Rose Dovey’s 1 for 5 (with eight maidens) against Pakistan back in 2002.
It had been a quiet ODI series for Athapaththu, as she recorded scores of 0 and 22 in the first two games. Her opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne and No. 3 Samarawickrama took charge in Athapaththu’s place in those two games, scoring centuries, but Ireland were the superior side on both occasions.
This time, Athapaththu dominated the opening stand of 32 with Gunaratne, and then put on a 62-run stand for the second wicket with Samarawickrama in 11-and-a-half overs, taking Sri Lanka to 94 with 32 overs left in which to score 29 runs. Athapaththu’s 48 came off 49 balls and included ten fours.
The win was just around the corner, and Samarawickrama took Sri Lanka there with an unbeaten 48 in 56 balls, hitting seven fours of her own, with Kavisha Dilhari on 10 off 15 balls with her at the end, which came in 23.1 overs.
Ireland won the ODI series 2-1, after the two-match T20I series had ended 1-1.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women 123 for 2 in 23.1 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 48*, Chamari Athapaththu 48; Ava Canning 1-14, Freya Sargent 1-38) beat Ireland Women 122 in 46.3 overs (Arlene Kelly 35; Chamari Athapaththu 3-15, Achini Kulasuriya 3-35, Sachini Nisansala 2-35, Inoshi Priyadharshani 1-07, Ama Kanchana 1-14 ) by eight wickets
The family of Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu says he will be buried in South Africa in a private ceremony following a row with the government over the funeral arrangements.
Late on Thursday, President Hakainde Hichilema cut short a period of national mourning after Lungu’s family refused to allow his body to be repatriated from South Africa as planned. His funeral had been set for Sunday in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.
The family now says it will announce later when Lungu will be buried in Johannesburg in “dignity and peace”.
It will be the first time a former head of state of another country is buried in South Africa.
In his will, Lungu said that Hichilema, his long-time rival, should not attend his funeral.
The government and his family later agreed he would have a state funeral before relations broke down over the precise arrangements.
“We wish to announce that the funeral and burial of our beloved Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu will take place here in South Africa, in accordance with the family’s wishes for a private ceremony,” family spokesperson Makebi Zulu said in a statement.
Mr Zulu thanked the South African government for “non-interference” and honouring the family’s decision and desire during “this deeply emotional period”.
In his address on Thursday, President Hichilema said that Lungu, as a former president, “belongs to the nation of Zambia” and his body should therefore “be buried in Zambia with full honours, and not in any other nation”.
However, because of the row, he announced an immediate end to the mourning period, saying the country needed to “resume normal life”.
“The government has done everything possible to engage with the family of our departed sixth president,” he said.
The national mourning period initially ran from 8 to 14 June but was later extended until 23 June, with flags flying at half-mast and radio stations playing solemn music.
President Hichilema and senior officials had been prepared to receive Lungu’s coffin with full military honours on Wednesday.
However, Lungu’s family blocked the repatriation of his remains at the last minute, saying the government had reneged on its agreement over the funeral plans.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF), the party Lungu led until his death, has stood with the family over the funeral plans.
“The government has turned a solemn occasion into a political game,” said PF acting president Given Lubinda. “This is not how we treat a former head of state.”
Civil society groups have called for an urgent resolution of the matter, with a section of religious leaders saying the stand-off was “hurting the dignity of our country”.
“We appeal for humility, dialogue, and a resolution that honours the memory of the former president while keeping the nation united,” said Emmanuel Chikoya, head of the Council of Churches in Zambia.
Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, died earlier this month in South Africa where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.
After six years as head of state, Lungu lost the 2021 election to Hichilema by a large margin. He stepped back from politics but later returned to the fray.
He had ambitions to vie for the presidency again but at the end of last year the Constitutional Court barred him from running, ruling that he had already served the maximum two terms allowed by law.
Despite his disqualification from the presidential election, he remained hugely influential in Zambian politics and did not hold back in his criticism of his successor.
[BBC]
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Committees with accountable district-level officials to be appointed to resolve Human-Elephant Conflict
President Anura Kumara Disanayake instructed relevant officials to swiftly implement a formal mechanism to resolve the human-elephant conflict, which significantly impacts both the rural economy and people’s lives.
The President issued these directives during a discussion on resolving the human-elephant conflict, held this (20) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, particular attention was paid to the districts most affected by the human-elephant conflict, including Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Polonnaruwa, Ampara, Hambantota, Monaragala, Kurunegala, Badulla and Trincomalee. The respective District Secretaries presented the specific issues in their districts to the President.
Discussions also covered existing vacancies within the Department of Wildlife, vehicle requirements and the challenges faced in carrying out their duties.
The President emphasised the need to streamline the mechanism for resolving the human-elephant conflict and highlighted the importance of implementing this programme in close collaboration with the public.
Accordingly, the President instructed that committees comprising accountable officials from the relevant districts be appointed within the next month to carry out these activities.
The President also directed that retired officers be recruited on a contract basis to fill current vacancies in the Department of Wildlife. As an immediate measure, he instructed officials to assign Civil Security Department officers to the Department of Wildlife with specific training and to enact relevant legislation for this purpose.
Furthermore, the President instructed that the ongoing joint operations by the Police, other security forces and the Department of Wildlife to resolve the human-elephant conflict be made more systematic and efficient.
The event was attended by Professor Chandana Abeyrathne, Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government; Ananda Wijepala, Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs; T.B. Sarath, Deputy Minister of Housing; Aruna Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Defence; Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the President; Ranjan Marasinghe, Director General of Wildlife; Major General Lasantha Rodrigo, Army Commander; Priyantha Weerasuriya, Acting Inspector General of Police; as well as District Secretaries and other government officials.
The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka has successfully increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by US$96 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024.
This was disclosed today (20) during a progress review meeting of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, chaired by President Anura Kumara Disanayake at the Presidential Secretariat.
BOI officials also noted that, relative to the first quarter of 2024, domestic investment rose by US$21 million, while export income increased by US$176 million during the first quarter of 2025. In total, Sri Lanka has attracted US$4,669 million in investment proposals thus far in 2025.
The meeting also focused on the issues and challenges associated with attracting investment to the country and discussed potential strategies to address them.
Addressing the gathering, President Anura Kumara Disanayake stated that the Board of Investment holds a pivotal role in enhancing the national economy and improving the living standards of the rural population.
He stressed that opportunities to attract investment in traditional sectors are becoming increasingly limited and therefore the nation must identify new areas for investment, an endeavour that falls under the BOI’s mandate.
The President further noted that Sri Lanka has attracted only around US$22 billion in investment since 1978. In comparison to other countries in the region, he stated, Sri Lanka must advance rapidly, referencing Vietnam’s achievement of securing US$23 billion in investment in 2022 alone.
He went on to state that the BOI should prioritise the expansion of investment in the services sector and proactively seek new investment opportunities, rather than focusing solely on recapturing missed ones.
The event was attended by senior officials of the Board of Investment, including Duminda Hulangamuwa, Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs; Arjuna Herath, Chairman of the Board of Investment; and Ms Renuka Weerakone, Acting Director General of the Board of Investment.
Zambian ex-president to be buried in South Africa after funeral row
Committees with accountable district-level officials to be appointed to resolve Human-Elephant Conflict
Students from Thambuttegama Central College visit President’s House
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