Srilanka

Sri Lanka pulled off a nerve-wracking 2-1 victory over India in the opening match of the XIV West Asia Baseball Cup at the Sri Lanka-Japan Friendship Baseball Stadium at Diyagama yesterday.The game was tied at 1-1 with Sri Lanka batting the bottom of the ninth when Sahan Gunasekera grounded out for vice-captain Naveen Anuradha to complete the winning run to jubilation of the home team after an enthralling three-hour contest.

Showery and windy conditions are likely to enhance particularly over South-western parts of the island from 16th to 19th July 2019.Fairly strong gusty winds up to 50 kmph are likely along the North-western, Western and Southern coastal areas.Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Sabaragamuwa, Central, Western, Southern and North-Western provinces. Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Uva province and in Ampara, Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.Heavy falls above 100 mm are likely at some places in Western, Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in cooperation with the Tourism and Christian Affairs Ministry, held a joint seminar on the ‘Recovery of the Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka after the Easter Bombings 2019&, targeting officials and professionals in the tourism sector.

Jetstar Airways, an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne will operate flights to Sri Lanka soon, said High Commissioner for Australia in Sri Lanka - Maldives, David Holly.Jetstar is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the competition by low-cost airline Virgin Blue.Holly said that the Colombo Melbourne direct flight operated by SriLankan is very popular and the national carried is also expected to operate flights to Sydney soon. Over 4,000 tourists had arrived from Australia to Sri Lanka mostly by air during the month of June this year.