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Presidential Scholarship Program 2024/25: deadline for submitting applications extended till 01 April

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The acceptance of applications for the “Presidential Scholarship Program 2024/25” has been extended and the new deadline has been  set for April 01. This program, initiated by the President’s Fund under the advice of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and guided by President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, will benefit students who are pursuing their education  despite various economic difficulties.

Zonal education directors have informed  principals, divisional secretaries, and Grama Niladhari Officers about the program.

Additionally, as per the directives issued by the Secretary to the Ministry of Education, the allocation of scholarships to each school based on the number of students will be determined by the Regional Director of Education. These scholarships will then be distributed to the respective school principals within their regions.

In line with this, all school principals are required to form a selection committee and, starting from April 1, 2024, select the scholarship recipients based on the allocated scholarships for their school.

Furthermore, according to the instructions already given by the Secretary to the Ministry of Education, the number of scholarships that can be given to each school will be decided by the Regional Director of Education.

Therefore, all school principals are advised to form a selection committee, which will be responsible for selecting recipients for the scholarships  allocated to their respective schools. This selection process is scheduled to take place after April 01, 2024.

Scholarships will be disbursed over the course of the next 12 months, beginning in April 2024.

The program targets supporting 100,000 students from Grade 01 to Grade 11 in all 10,126 schools across Sri Lanka. An allocation of Rs. 3600 million from the President’s Fund has been designated for the entire scholarship program.

Selected scholarship recipients have been notified to open joint bank accounts at Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, or National Savings Bank branches, in collaboration with their parents or guardians. These respective banks have also agreed to deposit the related initial deposit amount in the scholarship recipient’s account by the banks itself as required.

Following the selection of scholarship recipients, the school principal will enter the recipient’s information and send a letter to the bank manager. The scholarship recipient, accompanied by their parent/guardian, will then meet with the managers of the respective bank branches to open a bank account as per instructions. After which they must provide the bank account details to the principal.

For more details, you can visit the official Facebook page of the President’s Fund at www.facebook.com/president.fund.



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Afghanistan lose ICC Champions Trophy 2025 warm-up match to New Zealand

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Devon Conway top scored for New Zealand with 66 [Aljazeera]

New Zealand completed a stunning chase to beat Afghanistan by two wickets in their final one-day international (ODI) warm-up before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz top scored with 110 off 107 deliveries, while Sediqullah Atal hit 52, as Afghanistan posted 305-9, batting first at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday evening.

The Kiwis, who open the tournament on Wednesday against hosts Pakistan,  looked in trouble when they were reduced to 152-5 in the 30th over as Rashid Khan snared two of the wickets. Dean Conway (66), thereafter, and Glenn Phillips (46), previously, were, however, both able to retire out to offer match practice for those following.

Daryl Mitchell, who ranks seventh on the list of ICC ODI batters, made full use of the opportunity, proving the ever-reliable finisher for the Black Caps as he and Matt Henry saw their team over the line with an unbeaten 74-run partnership for the ninth wicket.

Mitchell’s 36 off 25 balls was heavily complimented by Henry’s 31 off 20.

epa11901967 Afghanistan's Rashid Khan bowls during a warm up match ahead of the ICC men's champions trophy in Karachi, Pakistan, 16 February 2025. EPA-EFE/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan bowls during a warm-up match before the ICC Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan, February 16, 2025 [Aljazeera]

Both sides used 15-man teams on rotation for the 11-a-side match, which substantially helped to the aggregate total of 613 runs as batter after batter was sent to the middle.

It was still a close call for New Zealand, though, with Henry having to play his part to seal the victory with the highest strike rate of the match by anyone reaching double figures.

Hashmat Shahidi (40) and Ibrahim Zadran (32) helped to top up the Afghan total before their Champions Trophy debut against South Africa on Friday. Zadran shared an opening stand of 96 with Gurbaz, who was eventually removed by a combination of Mitchell with the ball and Henry in the field.

epa11901965 New Zealand Mark Chapman (R) and Devon Conway run between the wickets during a warm up match ahead of the ICC men's champions trophy in Karachi, Pakistan, 16 February 2025. EPA-EFE/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Mark Chapman, left, and Devon Conway had a 113-run partnership at less than a run-a-ball [Aljazeera]

The latter claimed two wickets, as did Jacob Duffy and Mitchell Santner. Afghanistan had reached 234-3 in a dominant start before Mitchell’s intervention to remove Gurbaz slowed matters.

The chase played out in reverse fashion with the slow start from the Kiwis, but cameos from Mark Chapman (47) and Santner (33) ensured there was at least a foundation upon which Mitchell and Henry were able to launch.

The Kiwi victory was achieved with 13 balls to spare and was a considerable marker laid down by a side considered dark horses for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

Mitchell Santner’s side already warmed up for their opener by beating hosts – and second favourites – Pakistan by five wickets in their tri-series on Friday. New Zealand will play Pakistan again in the opening match of the Champions Trophy in Karachi on Wednesday.

The Champions Trophy, regarded as second only to the World Cup in the one-day game, runs until March 9 and is the first global cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades.

[Aljazeera]

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Delta plane flips upside down upon arrival in Canada, all 80 on board survive

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First responders work at the Delta Airlines plane crash site at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario [Aljazeera]

A Delta Air Lines jet carrying 80 people has flipped upside down upon landing at one of the busiest airports in Canada, injuring at least 18 people but causing no deaths.

The plane carrying 76 passengers and four crew turned over onto its roof as it landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport at about 3:30pm (20:30 GMT) on Monday.

Deborah Flint, the CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said there had been no loss of life and those on board had suffered only “relatively minor injuries”.

“17 injured passengers were taken to local area hospitals. At this time, we do not know of any of those passengers having critical injuries,” Flint told reporters at a news conference.

“No airport CEO wants to have these types of press conferences but this is exactly what our emergency, our operations and our first responders are all practised and trained for,” Flint added.

“And again, this outcome is in due part to their heroic work and I thank them profusely.”

Toronto Pearson International Airport said in a later update that an 18th passenger had been transported to hospital after the others.

Ornge, an air ambulance service in the province of Ontario, said earlier on Monday that a child, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 40s had all been transported to hospital with critical injuries.

The reason for the differing accounts of the patients’ condition was not immediately clear.

Footage shared on social media showed passengers exiting the upside-down CRJ-900 plane, which had been travelling from Minneapolis in the United States, while shielding their faces from strong wind and falling snow.

“We just landed. Our plane crashed. It’s upside down,” one passenger, identified as John Nelson, explained on a cellphone video he recorded and posted as he walked away from the upturned aircraft. “Most people appear to be OK.”

While authorities have not provided a cause for the crash, the botched landing came as Toronto was reeling from back-to-back winter storms.

Over the weekend, an estimated 22cm (8.7 inches) of snow blanketed the airport, in addition to snowfall from the week before.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the Peel Regional Police in Ontario said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The US National Transportation Safety Board said a team of its investigators would also assist the investigation.

The Association of Flight Attendants urged the public against speculating about the cause of the incident while “everyone works to gather information and support those involved”.

The crash is the fourth aviation accident to occur in North America in less than a month, the most serious of which – a midair collision between a commercial jetliner and a US Army helicopter near Washington, DC – killed 67 people.

The incident also comes as the US aviation sector is reeling from mass layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has maintained that thinning the federal government workforce is necessary to reduce spending and peel back waste.

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, a union of air traffic control employees, has warned that the “draconian” job cuts will increase the workload of a workforce that is “already stretched thin”.

[Aljazeera]

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Colombo High Court serves indictments against SLPP Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa

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The Colombo High Court has served indictments against Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa.over alleged misappropriation of Rs. 70 million provided by Krrish Company for development of rugby in Sri Lanka.

 

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