Latest News
Openers give Australia strong foundation on a rain-marred day
On a day where rain played spoilsport, Usman Khawaja and David Warner both got to their respective fifties as their century stand drove Australia’s strong start in pursuit of 384. Both batters continued from where they left off in the morning to get the visitors to 135/0 at the drinks break in the afternoon, before bad weather intervened. What started off as a steady drizzle intensified into a proper downpour, forcing the umpires to call for an early Tea. Hopes for a resumption soon faded away and incessant rains forced a premature abandonment of the day’s play.
Much of the morning’s talk was about Stuart Broad’s overnight announcement regarding his retirement. England chose to continue batting with Broad and his bowling partner-in-crime James Anderson together at the crease. The fun lasted only for about 10 minutes which included a slogged six from Broad against Mitchell Starc, much to the delight of the vocal crowd at The Oval. However, Todd Murphy got Anderson LBW to close out the innings, leaving Broad unbeaten in his final Test innings. Having walked into the ground to a guard of honour from the Australians and a huge reception from the crowd, Broad walked off to a similar response.
Despite Broad hogging the limelight, it were the Australian openers who shone bright in the morning, thereby ensuring that the visitors ticked the first box in pursuit of the big target. Unlike his first innings, Khawaja batted with positive intent from the word go and didn’t miss out on scoring opportunities. Warner was his usual self, being very busy at the crease and the two openers got Australia off to a strong start. The scoring rate was healthy enough and neither batter gave England a chance.
In the brief session of play after lunch, Australia’s opening batters continued to look very comfortable with the pitch seemingly flatter than it was on previous days. There was also a general lack of pace off the deck which allowed the batters to adjust to any deviation that the bowlers were getting. There was spin on offer but with the foot marks being very wide on both sides, there were no real alarms for Warner or Khawaja who did their part by batting with a fluent tempo.
With Moeen Ali not fully fit, Joe Root continued to handle the specialist spinner’s role and the premier batter did get some purchase from the deck. However, he too wasn’t able to create any chances although the odd ball did grip and turn big to keep the fielders interested. After a slow start, Warner picked up pace and got to just his second fifty on the tour. A lofted check-drive off Anderson was the highlight as the opener gradually found his rhythm.
At the other end, Khawaja batted with assurance and while getting to fifty, also got past Zak Crawley to top the run-scorers charts for the series. He had his unorthodox methods to handle spin and it worked once again for him.
The Ministry of Education has announced that all schools will be closed on 05th and 06th May 2025, for the Local Authorities Election which is scheduled to be held on 6th May.
The Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake stated that the government has taken a policy decision to continue, without interruption, “School Nutrition Programme’’ aimed at reducing anemia among schoolchildren, which is being implemented with the assistance of the World Food Programme.
He made these remarks on Wednesday (23), during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat with representatives from relevant Ministries and government institutions involved in the programme, along with officials from the World Food Programme, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Pathfinder Foundation.
The school meal programme, aligned with the government’s initiative to provide nutritious lunch to primary school students in districts identified as having high levels of malnutrition, specifically targets the reduction of iron deficiency among schoolchildren. The initiative is jointly coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, Provincial Councils, the Food Promotion Board and the Partnership Secretariat for the World Food Programme Cooperation. The government has allocated Rs. 32 billion for this programme for the current year.
A pilot project is currently being implemented in four selected districts. Based on a formal health and nutrition study assessing the outcomes of this pilot project, there are plans to expand the programme island-wide. The study aims to determine the extent to which iron deficiency among schoolchildren can be reduced through this initiative.
As part of the programme, fortified rice enriched with iron and folic acid will be included in the school meals to specifically address anemia among students.
The World Food Programme, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gateway Foundation and the Pathfinder Foundation have pledged their continued support for this effort.
Present at the occasion were Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Kapila Janaka Bandara, Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media Dr. Anil Jasinghe, and Secretary to the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Malarmathy Gangatharan, along with other government officials and representatives from partner organizations.
[PMD]
Latest News
Heat index at ‘Caution level’ at some places in Northern, North-central and Eastern provinces and Monaragala, Hambantota districts
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology at 3.30 p.m. 23 April 2025, valid for 24 April 2025
The public are warned that the Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in Northern, North-central and Eastern provinces and Monaragala, Hambantota districts
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.
Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated. Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.
All schools will be closed on 5th and 6th May for LA elections
Inform the Ministry of education if any injustice occurs in school admissions – Prime Minister
“School Nutrition Programme’’to continue, without interruption
-
Business6 days agoDIMO pioneers major fleet expansion with Tata SIGNA Prime Movers for ILM
-
News5 days agoFamily discovers rare species thought to be extinct for over a century in home garden
-
Features7 days agoProf. Lal Tennekoon: An illustrious but utterly unpretentious and much -loved academic
-
Foreign News5 days agoChina races robots against humans in Beijing half marathon
-
Features3 days agoRuGoesWild: Taking science into the wild — and into the hearts of Sri Lankans
-
Editorial6 days agoSelective use of PTA
-
News2 days agoOrders under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruptions Act No. 9 of 2023 for concurrence of parliament
-
Features5 days agoThe ironies of history