এর ফলে গতকাল ক্রীড়া মন্ত্রণালয় কর্তৃক বরখাস্ত করা ক্রিকেট বোর্ড পুনর্বহাল হয়েছে বলে জানিয়েছে শ্রীলঙ্কার সংবাদমাধ্যম ডেইলি মিরর। সংবাদমাধ্যমটি জানিয়েছে, ক্রিকেট বোর্ডের দায়িত্ব নিতে আজ এসএলসি কার্যালয়ে গিয়েছিলেন অন্তর্বর্তীকালীন কমিটির চেয়ারম্যান অর্জুনা রানাতুঙ্গা। তবে আদালতের আদেশের পর তিনি বেরিয়ে গেছেন।

এদিকে আজ পার্লামেন্টে ক্রীড়ামন্ত্রী রোশান রানাসিংহে জানান, গতকাল রাতে মন্ত্রিসভার বৈঠকে প্রেসিডেন্ট রনিল বিক্রমাসিংহে অন্তর্বর্তীকালীন কমিটি বিলুপ্ত করতে বলেছেন। রানাসিংহে তাতে রাজি হননি জানিয়ে বলেন, ‘প্রেসিডেন্ট বলেছেন ক্রীড়াঙ্গনকে তিনি তাঁর অধীন নিয়ে যাবেন। আমি তখন বলেছি, আমাকে মন্ত্রিসভা থেকে বের করে দিন।’

শাম্মি সিলভার নেতৃত্বাধীন যে ক্রিকেট বোর্ডকে রানাসিংহে বরখাস্ত করেছিলেন, তাদের ইঙ্গিত করে তিনি বলেন, ‘শ্রীলঙ্কার ক্রিকেট চালাচ্ছে ডাকাতেরা। যে কারণে আমি অন্তর্বর্তীকালীন কমিটি বিলুপ্ত করব না। অন্তর্বর্তীকালীন কমিটির বিরুদ্ধে বিচার বিভাগের স্থগিতাদেশের সিদ্ধান্ত স্বার্থের সংঘাত।’

অভিনয়ে পরিচিতি পাওয়ার পর কোথাও গেলে চিত্রনায়িকা বিদ্যা সিনহা মিমের আসন থাকে সবার সামনে। ইচ্ছা করলেও পেছনে গিয়ে বসতে পারেন না। কিন্তু স্কুলের দিনগুলো সামনে বসতে ইচ্ছা করলেও সেটা সম্ভব ছিল না। এর কারণ ছিল এই চিত্রনায়িকার উচ্চতা। এ নিয়ে মিম বলেন, ‘আমি ছোট থেকেই অনেক লম্বা। যে কারণে বন্ধুমহলে যেকোনো কিছুতে আমাকে সবার শেষে থাকতে হতো। চাইলেও কখনো সামনের সারিতে বসতে পারতাম না। বসলেও শুনতে হতো মাথা নিচু করো, দেখা যায় না। স্কুলে লাইন ধরে যখন পিটি করতাম, তখনো আমি শেষে। এখনো বন্ধুরা আমার যত গ্রুপ ছবি পাঠায়, সেখানে আমি শেষে। যে স্কুল ও কলেজে পড়েছি, আমি ছিলাম উচ্চতায় সবার বড়।’

বিদ্যা সিনহা মিম

অর্জনের খাতায় এখন পর্যন্ত নিজেদের প্রথম ম্যাচে আফগানিস্তানের বিপক্ষে পাওয়া একটি মাত্র জয়। এর পর থেকেই টানা হেরে চলেছে বাংলাদেশ দল। অথচ আফগানিস্তানের বিপক্ষে জেতা সেই ম্যাচের আগে বাংলাদেশের কোচ চন্ডিকা হাথুরুসিংহে দেখিয়েছিলেন সেমিফাইনালে খেলার স্বপ্ন।

কিন্তু বাস্তবতা হচ্ছে, এ বিশ্বকাপে বাংলাদেশ পুরোপুরি ব্যর্থ। শ্রীলঙ্কা ম্যাচের আগে আজকের সংবাদ সম্মেলনে এসে তাই সাংবাদিকদের কাঠগড়ায় দাঁড়াতে হলো কোচ হাথুরুসিংহেকে। দলের এই ব্যর্থতার দায় কতটুকু নেবেন তিনি—করা হয়েছিল এমন প্রশ্ন।

এর উত্তরে হাথুরুসিংহে বলেন, ‘এ দলের অন্য সবার মতো এই ব্যর্থতার দায় আমিও নিচ্ছি। আমরা সমর্থকদের হতাশ করেছি, একই সঙ্গে আমরা নিজেদেরও হতাশ করেছি। আমরা নিজেদের সেরা খেলা খেলতে পারিনি। কিন্তু প্রথম ম্যাচ থেকে এ পর্যন্ত কিছুই পরিবর্তন হয়নি। শুধু একটা যে জিনিস পরিবর্তন হয়েছে, সেটা আমাদের মাথার মধ্যে যা ঘুরছে, আমাদের চিন্তাভাবনা।’

সেরা খেলাটা খেলতে না পারার প্রশ্ন ধরেই এসেছে বিশ্বকাপে বাংলাদেশ দলের ব্যাটিং অর্ডার বারবার পরিবর্তনের বিষয়টি। সেটা কি ব্যাটসম্যানদের কিছুটা হলেও অস্থির করে তোলেনি? হাথুরুসিংহে বললেন, ‘বিষয়টি নিশ্চয়ই ব্যাটিং অর্ডারের নয়, তাই নয় কি? আপনি কত নম্বরে ব্যাট করতে নামলেন, এর চেয়ে বেশি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ আপনি যেখানে ব্যাট করতে নামেন আর কততম ওভারে কখন ব্যাট করতে নামেন, তা।’

হাথুরুসিংহেকে প্রশ্ন করা হয়েছিল, বিশ্বকাপের পর বাংলাদেশের কোচের পদে আর থাকতে পারবেন কি না! এই প্রশ্নের উত্তরটা হাথুরুসিংহে দিয়েছেন এভাবে, ‘আমাদের সবাইকে আয়নার সামনে দাঁড়াতে হবে এবং দেখতে হবে কী ভুল হয়েছে। আর আমার কোচ হিসেবে থেকে যাওয়ার কথা—এটা আমার হাতে নয়। এই সিদ্ধান্ত বোর্ড নেবে।’

A professional photographer from Charlottetown, P.E.I., has been fined $230 for "loitering"  while he was taking pictures of Quebec City's iconic Château Frontenac hotel.

John Morris says he was standing on a sidewalk opposite the U.S. consulate near the famed hotel around noon on Tuesday, waiting for some clouds to arrive to get the perfect shot, when police officers approached him and told him to leave.

"[They] said, 'You can't be standing outside for 30 minutes,'" he said.

Morris said he did not understand what he was doing wrong.

"It's a public sidewalk," he said. "I'm not disturbing anybody. I'm not blocking any views. I'm out of the way."

He said he refused to provide his identity unless the police told him what offence he was committing. He said at one point, he took out his phone to film the interaction, and that's when police handcuffed him.

He said the officers only explained that he was loitering and issued the fine for it after he was put in the back of a police cruiser.

"It's absolutely crazy that you would be given a fine for waiting for clouds on a public sidewalk. I'm a professional photographer. I do this for a living," said Morris, who produces books, calendars and jigsaw puzzles with his photographs.

Morris said he has pleaded not guilty and plans on contesting the ticket.

"It kind of does make you question, like what are the rules of being on a public sidewalk in Canada anymore if that's what happens."

Consulate allegedly 'afraid' of being photographed

Morris said police told him those at the U.S. consulate were "afraid that I could see inside their building and take photos."

Morris said a guard from the consulate did approach him earlier that day to ask him to leave, but he refused.

"I said, 'Well, it's a public sidewalk, and I'm allowed to take photos on a public sidewalk."

Morris says he was standing on the sidewalk on the right to take pictures of the Château Frontenac. The U.S. consulate is on the left.

Quebec City police spokesperson Sandra Dion confirmed that police received a 911 call shortly after noon on Tuesday about "a suspicious man that was near the American consulate."

She said when the police officers arrived, they determined that the individual was breaking a municipal bylaw and asked him to provide his identity, but he refused, so they arrested him.

Dion confirmed the person was fined but declined to confirm his name or what bylaw he broke.

Dion also declined to say under what circumstances police will arrest someone who is taking pictures near the consulate.

"What I can tell you is that it's not every day that we get 911 calls about a suspicious person [near the consulate]," she said.

Not every day, but it's not unheard of. In fact, it has already happened five times this year.

Dion also would not say whether the consulate controls the sidewalks or the park near its building.

The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa declined the CBC's request for an interview. It also would not say if its personnel made the 911 call.

"We take seriously the safety and security of our personnel and visitors to our facilities. We do not comment on U.S. Consulate General security protocols," it said in an email.

What is considered loitering?

John Morris said he plans to contest the $230 fine if the matter goes to court. 

Quebec City's municipal bylaw says that is "prohibited for a person, without a reasonable motive … to loiter, wander or sleep in a street or a public space."

When asked under what circumstances Quebec City police will arrest or fine someone for loitering, Dion said "it's on a case-by-case basis," and "it's up to police officers' discretion."

Florence Boucher Cossette, a criminal defence lawyer who has worked on loitering cases before, says the legal definition of the offence is unclear and is used arbitrarily by law enforcement.

"Every day, every single second in this city, people are loitering. So why aren't you arresting them?" she pointed out.

She said Morris likely has a good shot at winning his case, as people accused of loitering when they were sunbathing or drinking coffee on a bench were acquitted in previous cases.

"In terms of defence, he was doing something, he was not loitering and there without apparent reason," said Boucher Cossette. "He was taking photographs."

In the end, Morris never succeeded in getting his perfect shot.

"Lo and behold, when the clouds came, I was in the cruiser," he said.

First Nations leaders are calling on the RCMP, media and the public to do more to help find two people who have gone missing from the Saik'uz First Nation over the past year.

Jay Preston Raphael, 28, and Chelsey Amanda Quaw (Heron), 29, were last seen at residences on the nation's land, located about 85 kilometres west of Prince George, B.C., in February and October respectively. 

In both cases, family and friends say their disappearance from the community, with an on-reserve population of about 400, is out of character and cause for concern.

"We are calling for more volunteers and resources to help increase search efforts," Saik'uz First Nation Chief Priscilla Mueller and the advocacy group Highway of Tears Governing Body said in a joint statement Friday.

The organization was formed in 2006 in response to a series of cases of women and girls, many Indigenous, who had either gone missing or been killed along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert. In total, more than 40 women and girls are associated with disappearances along the 700-kilometre stretch of highway.

The formation of the governing body was one of the 33 recommendations that came from the 2006 Highway of Tears Symposium Recommendations Report, which called for various measures to improve safety in the area.

But Mary Teegee, one of the governing body's leaders, said the number of missing people shows that more still needs to be done.

"There seems to be little change in responsiveness," she said. "We need to do better as a community to come together and find our missing loved ones.

"Support your community, support the families, and please help bring Jay and Chelsey home."

Unusual not to be in touch

Police have put out missing person alerts for both Raphael and Quaw and is appealing to the public for information.

According to RCMP in Vanderhoof, about 15 kilometres northeast of Saik'uz, Raphael was last seen on Feb. 26 walking away from a residence in Saik'uz and has not been heard from since. He is described as being five feet nine inches and 143 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Friends and family said it is unusual for him to not be in contact.

The RCMP put out missing person alerts for both Jay Preston Raphael and Chelsey Amanda Quaw and is appealing to the public for information. (Submitted by Saik'uz First Nation)

Similarly, Quaw is believed to have walked away from her father's home in the early morning hours of Oct. 11 and never returned.

According to her aunt, Tamara DeLong, her dad "thought she was going out to have a cigarette and that she would come right back."

Quaw is roughly five feet 10 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Both cases are still considered missing persons, said B.C. RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark — who is based in Surrey and speaks on behalf of the provincial force — in a written statement to CBC News. If any evidence were to come forward indicating the need for a criminal investigation, attention would shift to "finding those responsible without delay."

"At this time, the investigations for both Chelsey and Jay continue to be for missing persons, with the ultimate goal of finding them safely," he said.

Clark also said "while Indigenous people have historically been over-represented amongst missing persons," RCMP are dedicated to finding people who disappear "regardless of their race or gender" and the Vanderhoof detachment has been "continuously engaging external partners and following up on all investigative leads, while also keeping the family updated with regards to the search."

Anyone with information in either case is asked to contact Vanderhoof RCMP at 250-567-2222 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477(TIPS).

'Chelsea is very loved'

In an interview with CBC News, Quaw's mother described her daughter as an "independent, educated and hard-working woman. She's loving and caring."

"Chelsea is very loved," said Pam Heron.

She said her daughter would usually respond within hours of getting a phone call or text message, so not hearing from her for weeks is really concerning.

Chelsey Amanda Quaw is believed to have walked away from her father's home on Saik'uz First Nation in the early morning hours of Oct. 11 and never returned. (Submitted by Saik'uz First Nation).

Heron is worried her daughter has been stereotyped as a troubled Indigenous girl and said she doesn't think the RCMP treated her disappearance with enough urgency when she was first reported missing.

"She worked hard. She worked at a mill. She was very educated," Heron said.

Community gathering held

Speaking at a community gathering held Friday afternoon, Mueller said she feels the local RCMP detachment has done all it can. However, the chief and council are asking for more resources from other regions, as well as the province.

Kayla Mitchell, deputy chief of the neighbouring Witset First Nation, also said more needs to be done.

"Our lost loved ones do not get the media coverage or justice support they deserve," Mitchell said in a statement of support released Friday.

Charity West, a member of the Kwadacha Nation who recently walked across Canada to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and men, said she often heard the same sentiment from Indigenous people across the country.

"Policing agencies are failing us," West said. "They are failing us. The media's failing us too. They do not give us the coverage we need."