Royal College, Colombo beat Trinity College, Kandy 27-17 in the second leg of the 77th Bradby Shield, to retain the shield in Colombo.

Royal College won the Shield on an aggregate with aggregate score of 37-30, despite Trinity College winning the first leg of the annual school rugby encounter in Kandy.

Royal College beat Trinity 27 to 17 at the Royal College Sports Complex this afternoon (05 August), while the Trinitians had won the first leg of the Bradby Shield in Kandy, 13 to 10 points.

The first leg of the Bradby Shield annual rugby encounter was held at the Pallekele Rugby Stadium on Saturday (22 July).

A special committee has been appointed to come up with recommendations to combat organized crime gangs and tackle the drug menace.

The committee is headed by Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province, Deshabandu Tennakoon.

The other members of the committee are the senior DIGs of the Northern and Southern provinces, the DIG in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, the DIG in charge of the Police Narcotics Bureau and the Commanding Officer of the Special Task Force.

Additionally, the Deputy Inspector General of the Special Police Unit and the Director of the Colombo Crimes Division are other members of the committee.

The committee was appointed by the Inspector General of Police upon instructions of Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles.

The main task of the committee is to provide a detailed report to the Minister in charge and the Inspector General of Police, including measures to be taken to combat organized crime gangs and the drug menace.

(newsfirst)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been given three-year jail sentence over corruption allegations.

Mr Khan was found guilty of not declaring money earned from selling gifts he received in office. He denies the charges and says he will appeal.

After the verdict, Mr Khan was taken into custody from his home in Lahore.

In a pre-recorded statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, he told his supporters: “I have only one appeal, don’t sit at home silently.”

The former cricketer-turned-politician, 70, was elected in 2018, but was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military.

Mr Khan is facing more than 100 cases brought against him since his removal – charges he says are politically motivated.

Saturday’s verdict centred on charges that he incorrectly declared details of presents from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale.

The gifts – reported to be worth more than 140m Pakistani rupees ($635,000; £500,000) – included Rolex watches, a ring and a pair of cuff links.

“His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” judge Humayun Dilawar wrote in his ruling.

Mr Khan’s barrister Gohar Khan said the verdict was “a murder of justice”.

“We weren’t even given a chance. We weren’t even allowed to cross [examine], to say anything in defence or conduct our arguments. I haven’t seen this kind of injustice before,” he told Dawn newspaper.

As the court decision was announced, a crowd, which included some prosecuting lawyers, began chanting “Imran Khan is a thief” outside the building.

His party, Tehreek-e-Insaf, confirmed to the BBC that after being arrested in Lahore, Mr Khan was flown to the capital, Islamabad, to begin serving his sentence.

For months he had avoided arrest, with his supporters at times fighting pitched battles with police to keep him out of custody.

In May, Mr Khan was arrested for not appearing at court as requested. He was then released, with the arrest declared illegal.

Since then, his party has been under intense pressure from the authorities.

Many senior officials have left and thousands of supporters have been arrested, accused of being involved in the protests that followed Mr Khan’s arrest.

When questioned by BBC HARDTalk as to whether he had created an atmosphere of hostility to the military resulting in violence, Mr Khan said he and his party had never advocated the use of violence and had a record of peaceful protest.

Mr Khan said the army in Pakistan was “petrified” of elections which his party would win “hands-down” and, for that reason, “they’re dismantling a democracy”.

Pakistan’s army plays a prominent role in politics, sometimes seizing power in military coups, and, on other occasions, pulling levers behind the scenes.

Many analysts believe Mr Khan’s election win in 2018 happened with the help of the military.

In opposition, he has been one of its most vocal critics, and analysts say the army’s popularity has fallen.

Since being ousted, Mr Khan has been campaigning for early elections.

Conviction would disqualify Mr Khan from standing for office, possibly for life.

Pakistan’s parliament will be dissolved on August 9, leaving a caretaker government to take over in the run up to the elections.

No election date has been announced, although constitutionally they should take place by early November.

Source – BBC