Assault on Dharmaraja College student : Four arrested

Four persons have been arrested by police over the assault on a student opposite a popular boys’ school in Kandy, an incident which went viral on social media recently after being captured on a CCTV camera.

All four arrested suspects are former pupils of the same school.

According to reports, the assault victim had previously been warned by a school Prefect, a Grade 13 student, to cut his hair as it had grown too long. However, the student had reacted angrily to this warning and had proceeded to attack the Prefect.

The Prefect had related this incident to several of his friends, who had recently left school after completing studies. These past pupils of the school had waited till school was over and assaulted the student in question as he was heading home.

This incident was recorded on a nearby CCTV camera and the video had been uploaded on the internet. It immediately went viral on social media websites such as Facebook.

The arrested individuals are to be produced before a court.

Shane Warne FB video earns cricketers seatbelt fines

Former Test cricketers Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Slater have been fined $300 (£177) for not wearing seatbelts after Warne posted a video of them in a moving car.

The four-minute Facebook video was filmed after day three of Australia's Test match against South Africa, where the men had been working as TV pundits.

Towards the end of the footage, the trio all put their belts on.

But Tasmania police were alerted to the infringement and reviewed the video.

In a statement, the authorities said: "Tasmania police remind motorists that seatbelts save lives and urge drivers to insist their passengers buckle up too."

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor was driving the van and former wicketkeeper Ian Healy was a passenger in the front seat, but both were wearing seatbelts.(BBC)

Residents Files case against Dhammaloka Thera

A personal lawsuit has been filed against Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera in Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court today by four complainants on the allegation of high noise levels sustained by the residents living around the Alan Mathiniyaramaya Temple in Polhengoda where Dhammaloka is the Chief Incumbent.

Residents alleged that the exposure to such high level of noise constituted a health risk and there were sufficient scientific evidence to prove that danger due to the loudspeakers operated by the temple.

The complaints requested the Court to impose an appropriate order to prevent the temple being continuously amplifying such high levels of noise.

In the complaint, the residents said that they had on several times informed certain authorities and the Dhammaloka Thera too about the difficulty that they had to undergo. Yet, no actions were taken.

Complainants, Gavinda Jayasinghe, Dr. Kalinga Kaluperuma, Diren R. Halok, Milinda Moragoda and Kamalesh Johnpillei had filed the personal case citing Ven. Dhammaloka Thera as the defendant, in line with the Section 98(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, where people are permittd to file personal complaints in a Magistrate's Court without Police. (Shehan Chamika Silva)

Govt. to start dialogue among religious and ethnic groups

The government is to initiate a dialogue among various ethnic and religious groups in the country to ease the tension between such groups.

Minister of Justice and Buddhasasana, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told journalists that all ethnic and religious groups were welcome to participate in the dialogue.

He said various groups, including the Bodu Bala Sena and Ravana Balaya, had agreed to participate in the effort to resolve issues through dialogue. “The agreement was reached at a meeting I had with members of the Bodu Bala Sena and other groups in the Parliamentary Complex," he said.

However, he said, specific issues were not discussed, as the focus was on the creation of a platform to resolve the issues.

Referring to the statement he made in Parliament recently, that some Sri Lankan Muslims had joined ISIS, he said he was referring to Sri Lankans who had joined the group in the past and not to recent events.

He said the government wanted legislation against hate speech, which was already an offence under the penal code, upgraded to international standards. However, he said, it had to be stopped -- as those who wanted hate speech laws said upgrading the law was not necessary.

Bodu Bala Sena general secretary, the Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera, said his organisation and the Sasanarakshaka Mandalaya as a whole would be engaged in a dialogue to try and resolve all issues in the future. "We trust the suggestion made by the minister," he said.

“Resolving issues through dialogue is the path shown by Buddha and we will take it," he said. (Yohan Perera)

Ban on separate sale of cigarettes soon

The government will soon ban the selling of cigarettes separately, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday during a meeting held with Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA).

He has made this assurance after ten proposals prepared by the GMOA according to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) to eradicate the cigarette menace was handed over to the minister during the meeting.

Crocodile enters ATM Enclosure

A crocodile had entered the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) enclosure of the Eastern University on Monday night (21).

The students, who had gone to withdraw money from the ATM, located in the University premises, had found the crocodile inside the ATM enclosure and alerted the Security men on duty at that time.

Later, the Police arrived at the scene and caught the crocodile with the help of the students and released it into the nearby lagoon, sources said. Informed sources said since the Batticaloa is the region surrounded by lagoons, the crocodiles are coming out of the lagoon waters due to the heavy monsoon in the Eastern Province.

The Batticaloa lagoon fishermen had also earlier pointed out that their livelihood has been affected due to the movements of crocodiles as a result of lagoons in the area flooding. (PA)

SLFP Probe on CB Bonds scam Clears PM

The SLFP committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to probe the Central Bank Bonds scam will handover its report, which includes six recommendations to the President today, State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday.

He told reporters that the Committee had not in its probe discovered any indication of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe being in anyway involved in the scam.


The State Minister of Finance told a media briefing yesterday that the nine-man Committee had come across instances of financial mismanagement, leaking of insider information, miscalculations and conflict of interests.

He said Committee had recommended recouping the financial losses sustained by the State through the scam as well as punishments to be meted out to those who have been found guilty of the offences.

The Minister stated that it was now up to the President whether or not to act on the six recommendations made in the report compiled by the Committee.

The Committee comprises Nimal Siripala de Silva, as its Chair, and includes John Seneviratne, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Faifzer Musthapha, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene, Dilan Perera, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Kesara Lal Gunasekera.

Land, police powers to be devolved

The government said yesterday that the Parliamentary Sub Committee on Devolution had proposed that land and police powers be devolved to the provinces in keeping with the provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Senior Constitutional lawyer Jayampathi Wickremeratne MP, told a news conference in Colombo, that proposals made by the six parliamentary sub committees appointed to submit proposals on various subjects including the national question, human rights and public administration to be included in the proposed new Constitution had been submitted to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had in turn presented it to Parliament.

The national legislature would in due course be converted into a Constituent Assembly to draft the new Constitution, which would require both a two-thirds majority in Parliament and approval of the people at a referendum, he said.

Describing the proposals as positive and forward looking, Wickremeratne noted that it had called for full implementation of the 13th Amendment, which would include devolution of police and land powers to the provinces within a unitary State.

He said that another feature of the proposals was the Bill of Rights similar to the one found in South Africa, aimed at strengthening human rights, right to life, education, health, formation of trade unions, etc. "A new provision guaranteeing equal opportunities for women has also been proposed."

Explaining the right to life provision, Wickremeratne pointed out that it would inter alia for example give a person who did not have a place to live , the right to demand one from the State.

He observed that bankrupt politicians rejected by the masses were trying to sabotage the reconciliation process by spreading false rumours against the government, accusing it of trying to divide the country.

Those elements were also trying to whip up emotions in the military, hoping that its members would rise against the elected government, Wickremeratne said, adding that such fantasies would not materialise since members of the security forces knew that there was no need to resort to undemocratic actions as the law of the land prevailed unlike under the previous regime.

A grassroots level campaign had been launched to educate the public on how the proposed new Constitution would benefit them and the country, he said.