Ravi Karunanayake to sue Lanka C News

Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake said that legal action will be taken against Lanka C News for falsely implicating him as a suspect for the recently hauled Cocaine on Tuesday (14).

Addressing the media yesterday (15) he added that the report by Lanka C News suggest that the cocaine belonged to Karunanayake.

Karunanayake who labelled Lanka C news report as a lowly form of mudslinging further asserted that he had no connection to the cocaine haul.

"This news website is run by Rajapaksa loyalists such as Namal Rajapaksa and Wimal Weerawansa. These sources cannot be trusted and I will take action against their false implications levelled at me," he said.

He noted that the country had received Rs 10,000 Mn for the sole purpose of development, and added that Sri Lanka's export has exceeded imports.

"However the debts incurred by the Rajapaksas cannot be paid off by loans and must be done through income generation," he said.

State Minister for Finance also criticized those who accused the government of using the STF for the purpose of conducting the raid on the Cocaine.

"Why can't we use the STF? There is no legal barrier to do so. We did it for the benefit of the people. These government bodies exist to fight corruption of all sorts," he said.

Tear gas, water cannons fired at protesting Kelaniya University students

Police baton charged and used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a protest march organised by undergraduates of the Kelaniya University at the Lotus roundabout in Fort yesterday.

The protest march that started from Technical Junction was scheduled to end at the Presidential Secretariat after handing over a memorandum.

The protest resulted in a massive traffic jam.

"Three of our colleagues including a female undergraduate have been arrested," President of the Students’ Council of the Kelaniya University, Nandana Sudesh told.

Protesters said rubber bullets had also been fired.

He said one student, injured in the police attack, had been admitted to the National Hospital.

Sudesh said they had conducted the protest march demanding immediate release of eight students who were in the remand prison over an alleged ragging incident, withdrawal of suspension of some students, ending sexual harassment within the university premises and solving students’ welfare problems.

Police said they had been compelled to use tear gas and water cannon as the students were violating a court order preventing protest marches and demonstrations.

Sudesh said police had come to them with a court order, but they had refused to accept it.

Three undergraduates had been remanded till today (16) by the Colombo Fort Magistrate, SSP Jayakody said.

Former JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe passed away

Former leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Somawansa Amarasinghe passed away today.

He passed away at his Rajagiriya residence, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.

Somawansa Amarasinghe resigned as JVP leader in 2014 and Anura Kumara Dissanayake replaced him.

Amarasinghe was JVP leader for 20 years and was also the only surviving member of the party’s central committee appointed during the 1971 insurrection.

However last year Amarasinghe resigned from the party following an internal dispute.

biggest cocaine bust in Sri Lanka

On-going battle between Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Customs officers took a new turn yesterday with Special Operations Unit (SOU) under the purview of minister busting a cocaine consignment of 91 kilos and 300 grams with a street value of over Rs. 2 billion.

Sleuths led by Wing Commander Ravi Jayasinghe, officer in charge of the SOU had been monitoring consignments that leave Orugodawatte cargo clearance yard inspected a sugar container brought down from Brazil by an importer by the name of AMRO Sugar and detected the contraband, Finance Ministry Media Secretary, Sisira Wijesinghe told.

President Maithripala Sirisena and Finance Minister Karunanayake visited the Orugodawatte Container Yard of the Customs Department and inspected the contraband smuggled in three black bags weighing 50 kilos each.

It was the biggest ever amount of cocaine detected in Sri Lanka, Wijesinghe said.

Wijesinghe said yesterday’s raid had been conducted on information received from a source and systematic monitoring of custom officials’ conduct and the raid was carried out by STF and narcotics officials attached to the SOU.

President Sirisena at the site instructed his officials to conduct several investigations into the incident and asked for a report, President’s Media Unit said.

The President vowed to continue with anti-narcotic campaign of his government and thanked Minister Karunanayake and his officials for the

STF Commandant DIG Ranjith Perera and Deputy Director of Customs L. Weerasinghe also visited the scene with the President.

Meanwhile, a senior union official said on condition of anonymity that the raid had been carried out without following the normal procedure. It had taken place even before the consignment had been scanned.

Customs officials would have made the detection anyway, he said.

Asked to comment on whether the SOU of the finance ministry had pre-empted their own action owing to a conflict between the minister and customs officials, he said that he did not have full details pertaining to the raid but his union would make a statement later.

He said the union would ask for a special investigation from the CID into the incident.

No issues with regard to extension of CB Governor’s term - Kiriella

Higher Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella yesterday said that there will be no issues with regard to the extension of Arjun Mahendra’s term as Central Bank Governor.

Addressing the media yesterday at the “Maga Neguma Medura”, Battaramulla, Minister Kiriella said that though there are certain elements in our society, attempting to level various allegations against him,none of them have been proved as yet. He also added that even the Supreme Court had dismissed the Fundamental Rights application filed by good governance activists Dr. G. Usvattearachchi, Dr. A.C. Visvalingam and Chandra Jayaratne against the Treasury Bond issue seeking an independent inquiry into the Central Bank Treasury Bond issue and the Bank’s Governor Arjuna Mahendran.

The Supreme Court, by dismissing the FR application, said there was no legal basis to issue notice. This move has cleared both Governor Arjuna Mahendran and primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries and others sighted as respondents.

Kiriella further added that a parliamentary investigation into the allegations against Arjun Mahendran is proceeding.

Nurse ‘breaks’ arm of mother of three

A mother of three from Anuradhapura has ended up with a broken arm after a nurse at a hospital allegedly tried to straighten her arthritic deformed hand, despite pleas not to do so.

The woman who was suffering from fever is said to have come to Nelubewa Hospital seeking treatment. A nurse who was entrusted with obtaining a blood sample for testing is said to have tried to straighten the woman’s arthritis afflicted bent arm.

Following the incident, the woman was admitted to Anuradhapura hospital.

The woman complained that the nurse had tried to straighten the arm in a forceful manner disregarding her complaints that it was deformed due to arthritis.

The woman said she was suffering from a severe arthritic condition for nearly 15 years.

The relatives of the injured woman are planning to lodge a complaint with the district health authorities.

Incorrect No-Ball Decision in Lord's Test

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford called for all no-ball decisions to be taken by the third umpire as his side reacted to an incorrect call in the third Test against England with an extraordinary flag protest at Lord´s on Sunday.

At stumps, Sri Lanka were 32 without loss in their second innings, needing a further 330 runs on Monday´s fifth and final day to reach an imposing victory target of 362.

More realistically, their goal was to prevent England, already 2-0 up in the three-match series, taking the 10 wickets they needed to complete a whitewash.

But England captain Alastair Cook, 49 not out batting down the order after a knee injury suffered while fielding, may not have been able to declare his side´s second innings on 233 for seven had a few close calls Sunday gone Sri Lanka´s way instead.

Significantly, Sri Lanka thought they had Alex Hales -- who went on to make 94 -- out for 58 when he was bowled by Nuwan Pradeep. But Australian umpire Rod Tucker had already called a no-ball. Replays suggested Pradeep´s front foot may have been behind the crease but fielding teams are unable to challenge a no-ball call by an umpire and Hales survived.

In February, a similar incident saw Australia´s Adam Voges make 239 in a Test against New Zealand in Wellington after being reprieved on seven following an incorrectly called no-ball by English umpire Richard Illingworth.

Under International Cricket Council regulations, the third umpire is powerless to intervene in such situations.

There are proposals on the table to prevent a repeat of these types of incidents and Ford said: "The ICC have to look at it.

"It seems strange with the technology available that you can still get a line call wrong," the South African added.

"The best solution is for the umpires to worry about what´s happening down the other end and let technology look after the line call. "The game has a funny way of kicking you when you are down. That was a kick we didn´t need."

The Sri Lanka management reacted to Hales´s reprieve by draping the national over the tourists´ dressing-room balcony for some 45 minutes.

Ford said this wasn´t so much a protest as a gesture of solidarity with the players out on the middle.

"At that stage we felt the boys were fighting hard and we wanted to show our support from the dressing room to boost their morale --only for us to find out that´s not the done thing and we had to take it down," said Ford.

He added that Tucker had apologised to Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews for his mistake.

"He got the news from the third umpire and he apologised to Angelo. It was very good of him to have done that and we move on."

Hales, for all his good fortune Sunday, was still left waiting for a maiden Test hundred.

The Nottinghamshire opener, out for 86 and 83 in the first two Tests, got closer still on Sunday before he was lbw to medium-pacer Mathews.

Somewhat ironically, in view of Sri Lanka´s earlier protest, Hales sought a review of the decision only for DRS to find in the tourists´ favour on this occasion.

"It´s disappointing again to come so close," said Hales, whose 126-ball innings included 10 fours and a six.

"But it was pretty decent delivery and I had my fair share of luck -- bowled off a no-ball, umpires calls and edges -- I guess the luck ran out."

The International News

Child assaulted with broomstick dies

A two-year-old boy was assaulted with a broom stick and killed. Mahiyangana police have arrested a 29-year-old man in connection to the incident.

The arrest comes following the initial arrest of the child’s mother.

The 26-year-old woman was having an extramarital affair with the arrested man, after she fled from her house with her son following a brawl with her husband.

The suspect has thus assaulted the deceased boy after he was unintentionally scratched by him.

The mother giving a statement to the police has said..

“I worked at a garment shop in Nawagamuwa. I worked there from 2015 December to 2016 March 16th. Since I was not paid well I left it. I did not work afterwards. I lived in a rented room near Godagama junction with my two-year-old son.

“The boarding house has two stories and I lived in the top floor. I spent on my son and me using the money I was able to save when I was working. During this time I started a love affair with a man in Meegoda area.

“One day (05.07.2016) at around 11.00pm he came to my boarding room. At around 7.00am, the next morning, he said that the collar of his T-shirt was torn and to mend it. I left him and my son in the room and went to Godagama Junction. All the tailor shops were closed at that time. So I came back to the boarding house.

“He and my son were sleeping on the floor at this time. I made tea and called them. It was around 8.00am. After drinking tea my son played in the room. He wound his toy plane and sent it forward. He (the man) took the plane and handed it to my son. Then his hand was scratched by a nail from my son’s hand.

“Then he hit my son with his hand five-six times. I went to my son and asked him (the man) to stop hitting. He pushed me aside and hit my son with a broom stick he took from under the bed. He hit him on the stomach and back. My son fell onto the floor. I took my son, kept him on the bed and tried to help him breathe by giving mouth to mouth resuscitation.

“It was no use. He had swelling marks on his stomach and face area. Then I saw blood oozing out of his mouth. I screamed loudly. When I was screaming he (the man) threatened to kill me. Then I said that I’m going to leave and got ready. It was around 9.30 – 10.00 am. At that time he left the house.

“I did not take my son to the hospital fearing that he would hit and kill me. When I was staying in the boarding room with my son, he returned at around 11.30-12.30pm. He threatened me saying, ‘do not tell this to anyone. If you do I will go to the jail with everyone in the family. If I do go I will come back in five years and kill you all’.

“We stayed in the boarding room with my son till night. Then we wrapped my son in a cloth and got into a three-wheeler from Godagama junction. We went near Vimukthi’s house and sent the three-wheeler back.

“We went near an abandoned house there. There were two coconut trees near the parapet wall of that house. He brought a hoe and dug a hole between the trees. He took my son from my hand and buried him there. I brought the cloth we wrapped the son in back home. It is in the Kottawa boarding house now. We came back to the boarding at around 8.00- 9.00pm.

“We stayed in the boarding that night. With my clothes I left the next morning. He went to his house. He asked me not to go home and found me a boarding room in Kottawa area. I stayed in this house and went to work at a tailor shop. He came once in every two-three days to see if I was home. We did not stay together in that boarding house. I did not tell that my son was murdered to my husband, family or relatives.

“My husband called me on the phone and started to ask about our son. I lied saying that he was asleep. Then on 08.06.2016 I sent a missed call to my husband. He called me back. I told him that our son has died. I told him that he fell off the staircase and died. I lied saying that I threw the body into the Kelani River because I was scared. Then my husband came to Colombo in search of me.

“I told him about what happened to the son. He said that we should go to the Mirihana Police. He lodged a complaint there. Then I said we should go to Mahiyangana. We got into a Colombo- Bibile bus and came home. When I was home Mahiyangana police came and took me. They questioned me. Then I told the real story to the police officials.”

The 29-year-old suspect was arrested in connection to the death.