Huge explosion rocks Paris apartment building

An explosion has destroyed part of an apartment building in central Paris, after an apparent gas leak. Five people were reportedly left injured.

An explosion destroyed several floors of an apartment building on Rue Berite in the sixth arrondissement of Paris early on Friday afternoon.

Five people were reportedly left injured, reported Le Parisien newspaper.

Pictures showed great plumes of smoke rising from the building and several floors appeared to have been entirely blown away.
 

The blast has been blamed on a "domestic accident", understood to have been brought on by a gas leak, reported French media.

"I felt my floor shake and heard a loud noise, then it smelled like smoke outside," Jenna Binion, who lives nearby, told The Local.

"There are a lot of people in the streets and I can hear a lot of sirens."

Several witnesses reported smelling gas. Dozens of emergency workers rushed to the scene and have cordoned off nearby roads. (Thelocal.fr) (Pic : Twitter)

House with Underground chamber belonging to Yoshitha Rajapaksa found

It has been revealed that assets worth billions belonging to Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who has been charged of money laundering, have been found.

A four storied house and a two storied house at 173/2 on Mihindu Mawatha at Dehiwela belonging to him have been found. These assets have been found on investigations carried out on a search-warrant no. 828/16 issued by Mt. Lavinia Magistrates Court. It has been revealed that Rs. 49020000 was spent to buy the land to construct the buildings. When buying the land a 5 perch land belonging to Mt. Lavinia Multi Purpose Cooperative Society too had been bought spending Rs.4.5 million.

The two houses have been constructed with all super  luxury items. It is said that an underground chamber had been built at the four storied house. Despite a final valuation of the assets has not been made, it is assumed that the value of the assets could be over Rs.1000 million.

The whole area of the land is 65 perches and 37 perches of the land is in Yoshitha Rajapaksa's name. 28 perches is said to be owned by an old lady residing at 260/12, Torrington Avenue, Colombo 5 but there is no such woman living at the address. However, it has been revealed that this land had been bought by an unmarried aunt of Shiranthi Rajapaksa in 2013 and later handed over to Yoshitha Rajapaksa.

New Hope For Cable car project in Nuwara Eliya

The much awaited and long overdue cable car project in Nuwara Eliya is once again on the move.

Two new investors have come forward to build and operate this project which will be Sri Lanka’s first ever cable car venture fulfilling a much needed void for the travel industry.

The new project would be a joint venture between Aitken Spence and Shandon International of China which has built over 200 such cable car projects in the world. The total investment is expected to be in the excess of US$ 60 million.

Nuwara Eliya Mayor Mahinda Dodampegamage said that according to the plans, the project will be built in two stages and most of the approvals are now provided. Stage one one will be from the Nuwara Eliya right mountain to the Lake Gregory. “This would be a two kilometer stretch and there will be many recreation facilities including a mini hotel and host of restaurants at the top of the mountain where the cable car starts.

The second stage will be from the Nanu Oya town to the Nuwara Eliya city which will be a four kilometer stretch. “This is something I have been waiting for since it will allow us to fold up the plan to build a rail link from Nanu Oya to the Nuwara Eliya town.”

The construction is expected to commence late this year and is to be completed in less than two years.

He said the recently hosted Nuwara Eliya horse races by the Royal Turf Club has helped to increase both local and foreign tourists to the city. “I am happy that these races were conducted in a very high standard. We must also thank Royal Turf Club for investing over Rs.100 million to refurbish the race course which was in a very dilapidated state.”

He said tha the previous government spent nearly Rs. 100 million to build an altitude training center for Nuwara Eliya to attract world sports teams to train in Nuwara Eliya during the off season (April to August) “However nothing has been done and I want to launch an inquiry as to what happened to this money. I also want to reactivate this project by building a sports hostel and an international athletic track which will bring exchange to the country.”

England enter World T-20 final

New Zealand’s dream run in the World T-20 came to an end last night as the Kiwis crashed out of the competition losing a one-sided semi-final to England here in Delhi.

Former great Kumar Sangakkara had spoken highly of his Surrey team-mate Jason Roy and the 25-year-old showed why he is so highly rated with anunblemished knock of 78 off 44 deliveries with 11 fours and two sixes. It was his first half-century in T-20s and England chased down the target of 154 with almost three overs to spare. Roy was named Man of the Match.

During the World Cup last year, English cricket looked in total shambles as they failed to reach the quarter-finals. But under Trevor Bayliss, the Englishmen have raised their standards and came up with an outstanding performance last night.

New Zealand got off to a flying start reaching 90 runs half way through their innings and at that stage a total close to 200 looked to be on the cards. Kane Williamson and Colin Munro added 74 runs for the second wicket and a good finish would have put New Zealand over the line. But England’s seamers pulled things back and they were backed up by some outstanding fielding.

Ben Stokes was called up to bowl in the death overs and his last spell produced three wickets for just eight runs and England were right back in the hunt.

England’s openers Roy and Alex Hales added 82 runs for the first wicket off just 50 deliveries and the introduction of spin appeared to have evened things out as Sodhi picked up Roy and captain Eoin Morgan off successive deliveries.

The game was still in the balance with 23 needed off last four overs. But England knocked off 22 runs off 17th over bowled by Sodhi and Buttler slammed the first ball of the next over for six to help them win with 17 deliveries to spare.

Buttler and Joe Root were involved in an unfinished 49 run stand off 29 deliveries for the fourth took.

This is England’s second final in World T-20. They won the event when they reached the final in 2010 in the Caribbean.

The grand final will take place in Calcutta on Sunday. Either India or West Indies will play the final with England at Eden Gardens. The second semi-final takes place today in Bombay.

US dollar tops Sri Lankan Rs. 150 mark

The value of the rupee continues to depreciate against the dollar.According to the exchange rate issued by the Central Bank on Wednesday, the selling price of a dollar was recorded at Rs.150 and 54 cents. Last year the value of the rupee dropped by around 9 percent.

The main reason for this downfall was that the central bank who intervened to determine the value of the exchange rate, removed itself since September 4.

Economists point out that as exports in the past several years continued to increase and the import costs increasing is the main reason for this situation to arise

Foreign exchangers noted that the bank rated the selling price of the dollar between Rs.145-146 during the last week, however at present the bank rates it at 149 ruppees. Thereby, the rate has gone up by around Rs.3-4  in the last week

However, the depreciation of the rupee has created an advantageous position on foreign currency earners as imported goods prices has increased creating an adverse effect on prices of goods.

Importers noted that at the rate the dollar is increases they too will have to soon exit. They also noted that all goods that they got will have to be sold at a high price, including green peas, dhal , chickpeas , potatoes, and canned fish will increase.

Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, Faiszer Musthapha stated that the situation of the rising dollar has affected all across the globe and not only Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, he noted that a special mechanism has been put forward by the cabinet in order to face this challenge as the first step is to curtail expenses and increase exports.

LTTE Suicide jacket recovered from Chavakachcheri

The police yesterday afternoon arrested an LTTE cadre following the recovery of a suicide jacket, four claymore mines, three parcels containing about 12 kilos of TNT explosives, two battery packs as well as some 9mm ammunition from the suspect’s house in the Chavakachcheri police area.

 The recovery had been made on information provided by the second wife of the Tiger identified as Edward Julian alias Ramesh, security sources told The Island, adding that the house was situated at Vallakulam Pillaiyar Kovil Street in the Maravanpulo area. Ramesh was taken into custody at Wannerikulam, in the Kilinochchi District.

 Immediately after the recovery, the police and troops put up a road block at Wannerikulam, where the suspect was taken into custody.

 Asked whether Ramesh had undergone rehabilitation after the conclusion of the war in May 2009, sources said that he wasn’t among the rehabilitated and, therefore, the Chavakachcheri recovery should be thoroughly investigated.

 The claymores had been wrapped in old newspapers sources said, adding that the suicide jacket looked new. Sources said that the informant had claimed that Ramesh had brought home the lethal material a few days back from Mannar. His wife had rushed to the police following a dispute with him. He was first married to a woman in Mannar.

 Sources said that Ramesh had been with the LTTE since the age of 13 and was widely believed to be hard-core terrorist.

It would be of critical importance to establish why the explosives had been moved from Mannar to Chavakachcheri, sources said, noting that the possibility of some LTTE elements planning attacks could not be ruled out.

 Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa called for a comprehensive investigation into the detection. He said those who hadn’t surrendered to the military at the conclusion of the conflict over six years back hadn’t undergone rehabilitation. They could pose a serious threat, the former Defence Secretary told The Island.

 Defence Secretary Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi yesterday said that the government would take appropriate action after having examined the Chavakachcheri detection. Hettiarachchi was responding to a query at a media briefing at the Information Department.

 Defence Secretary Hettiarachchi said on the basis of an isolated detection the government couldn’t conclude whether there was a threat to national security. According to him, even six years after the eradication of the LTTE, the police and security forces continued to recover arms, ammunition and equipment. The police would inquire into the latest recovery, he said, adding that the military wouldn’t be engaged in the Chavakachcheri matter. The police would handle investigations.

 The Defence Secretary said that those having unauthorised weapons could receive cash rewards by handing them over to the government. The official said that the government offer applied to all parts of the country.

 Jaffna Security Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake told The Island that a thorough inquiry was required to ascertain the arrested LTTE cadre’s intentions and the security remained tight with troops strategically positioned to deal with any eventuality.

 Defence Secretary Hettiarachchi said that in spite of the eradication of the LTTE, some Diaspora groups were hell-bent on causing trouble. The official pointed out that Sri Lanka had been able to defeat all challenges during 1971, 1987-1990 and 1983-2009 and, therefore, there was no likelihood of a fresh military threat emerging. Defence Secretary Hettiarachchi asserted that the government had the strength to meet any fresh challenge.

 Asked whether the government had sought Indian and US support to enhance security in the wake of global threat posed by the IS, Defence Secretary Hettiarachchi said that there was no basis for such an assertion. Sri Lanka shouldn’t be unduly worried about the IS issue, he said.

 The previous government in early April, 2014 claimed that it had thwarted an attempt to revive the LTTE. The declaration was made in the wake of troops killing three LTTE operatives, including Kajeepan Ponniah Selvanayagam alias Gopi and Sundaralingam Kajeepan alias Thevian during a skirmish in a jungle area at Nedunkerny in the Vanni.

Carpenter shot dead in Akuressa

A carpenter in Iluppella, Akuressa, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman while he was engaged in peeling cinnamon. He was identified as Hiyare Hewage Ajith Prasanna, 39, a father of one. 

The gunman had committed the murder after calling Prasanna out. The body was removed to the Akuressa hospital for a post mortem. Akuressa Police are investigating.

Suicide vest Found from Chavakachcheri

A suicide vest, ammunition and over 10 kilograms of TNT was recovered during a police raid of a house in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna District, police sources revealed.

The police raided the house after they received a tip regarding a drug haul at the location. The owner of the house has fled the area, while the police are conducting further investigations.