Uncategorized

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president shook up the country’s top security establishment after officials failed to act on intelligence reports warning of possible attacks before the Easter bombings that killed over 350 people, his office said Wednesday. The capital of Colombo, meanwhile, remained rattled by reports that police were continuing to conduct controlled detonations of suspicious items three days after the attacks on churches and luxury hotels, and the U.S. ambassador said that Washington believes “the terrorist plotting is ongoing.” During a televised speech to the nation Tuesday night, President Maithripala Sirisena said he would change the head of the defense forces within 24 hours, and on Wednesday he asked for the resignations of the defense secretary and national police chief in […]

Police are today appealing for people who have returned to the UK from Sri Lanka to share with them any footage or images they have captured of the terrorist attacks on 21 April in Sri Lanka. Footage and pictures can be uploaded at the secure website http://www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk. Acting Commander Alexis Boon, of the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command, said: “We are specifically looking for images and footage taken at the scenes of the incidents in Sri Lanka, immediately prior to, during, or after the attacks on 21 April. “The material will be looked at by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, to assess it for use in any subsequent coronial process. I would urge anyone with material that could help us, to upload it via the website […]

Sri Lanka Easter Day bombers were educated, well-off ECONOMYNEXT – Islamist suicide bombers who killed more than 300 people in co-ordinated attacks on churches and hotels were well-educated and well-off, State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene said. Authorities said there were nine bombers and eight of them had been identified. All were Sri Lankan. “These people were financially well-off, well-educated people,” Minister Wijewardene said. “They have LLM etc.” Two of the suicide bombers were sons of a well-known businessman who had political connections. One of the bombers had a degree from the United Kingdom and post-graduate qualifications from Australia, Wijewardene said. It was not clear whether they were radicalized here or abroad. Political analysts have pointed out that nationalism is usually an ‘urban intellectual’ phenomenon in […]

Foreign Intelligence Service Informed Colombo that National Thawheed Jamath (NTJ) Leader Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran alias Zahran and his Followers Were Planning Suicide Attacks in Sri Lanka By Ranga Jayasuriya On December 26 last year, scores of Buddhist statues in Mawanella were vandalized. A Criminal Investigation Department (CID)investigation led to the arrest of seven suspects, including one who was caught by the locals, allegedly while undertaking the act of vandalism. Suspects were accused of being members of a radical Islamic group. They were charged under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, produced before the Mawanella Magistrate and were remanded. Interrogation of suspects led to an 80 acre-coconut cultivation in Wanathawillu in Puttalam, where CID sleuths uncovered a large cache of explosives buried in the […]

By Unlawfully Holding on to the Law and Order Portfolio the President has now Become the First Person who Should take Responsibility for these Attacks that Could have been Prevented – MA Sumanthiran MP in Parliament (Text of Speech Made in Parliament by Jaffna District Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran MP on April 24th 2019) Hon Presiding Member, I rise with a heavy heart to say a few words at this time. Firstly, I wish to convey our deepest condolences to all the relatives and friends of those who were killed on Easter Sunday and we also pray for speedy recovery of those who were injured. I am a Christian and I share in the sorrow of the Christian church in Sri Lanka at […]

Shri Kanaga Thurkkai Amman Temple                                                                    5 Chapel Road, Ealing, London W13 9AE.                                                                                                                  A Special Poojah will be held on Tuesday (today) at 12 noon at the Ealing Thurkkai Amman Temple in memory of all those who […]

Prior Information on Possible Attacks Was Available With Authorities But “Neither I nor Ministers Were Kept Informed” Says Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Statement Deflecting Blame Deftly on President Sirisena. By Meera Srinivasan The government ordered an immediate nationwide curfew “until further notice”, and a “temporary” social media ban. Prior information on possible attacks was available with Sri Lankan authorities ahead of blasts, but “neither I nor the Ministers were kept informed,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday. While it was important to probe why adequate precaution had not been taken, the urgent task ahead was to stabilise the situation in the country, he told media persons at a late evening press conference at Temple Trees, the PM’s official residence located a couple of blocks […]

Recently, a confession has been made by former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa that a bribe was obtained, in an interview with ‘Ravaya’ newspaper. According to his view, receiving a fish tank as a gift spending hundred thousands of rupees by a businessman named Pathirana is not a wrongdoing.  “The most famous person to have pet fish business is Mr. Pathirana. Not only for me, he delivered these beautiful fish tanks to the Temple Trees, other secretaries, and many other places. He delivered one to my ministry and said that he will build a tank for me too.” Pathirana, who built a fish tank for hundred thousands of rupees and had it filled with sharks, continued its maintenance for free of charge. “Covered by the heat […]

A British mother and son were killed while eating breakfast at a five-star Sri Lankan hotel as a string of suicide bombs ripped through the country on Easter Sunday, killing more than 200 people. Alex Nicholson, 11, his mother, Anita, 42, were killed while dining at the second-floor restaurant in the Shangri La hotel in the country’s capital, Colombo, on Sunday as it was gutted in one of several explosions which hit the country. The schoolboy’s father, Ben, survived, while The Telegraph was unable to account for the whereabouts of the couple’s youngest daughter. Mr Nicholson is not believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries and was seen at the capital’s Judicial Medical Office with his ear plastered. He was said to be left “completely in shock”. […]

A series of coordinated explosions has rocked churches and hotels in Sri Lanka killing more than 200 people on Easter Sunday in the South Asian island nation. More than 400 people have been injured in the worst attack since the end of civil war 10 years ago. The blasts targeted four hotels, including the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo. Nearly all victims were Sri Lankan. Dozens of foreigners were also killed. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks. CLICK for The latest updates:  British Prime Minister Theresa May, condemning what she called the “truly appalling” attacks, said: “The acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling, and my deepest sympathies go out to all of those affected at this […]

Court filings obtained by Sunday Observer from the United States District Court for the Central District of California paint a striking picture of how former Defence Secretary was set upon by a legal ambush in the empty car park of a Los Angeles supermarket two weeks ago today (7). Ahimsa Wickrematunge has emerged in recent years as a fierce champion of justice for her father, renowned journalist and founding editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was ambushed and killed a stone’s throw from the Ratmalana High Security Zone on the morning of January 8, 2009. With local CID investigations into her father mired in political interference from all corners of a reluctant Government, and with Rajapaksa seemingly untouchable in domestic courts, the younger […]

(CNN)More than 138 people have been killed and more than 400 injured after coordinated bomb blasts hit a number of high-end hotels and churches across Sri Lanka on Sunday morning. The blasts, reported to have occurred at churches in Kochchikade, Negombo and Batticaloa, targeted worshippers as they attended Easter services. Additional blasts ripped through three hotels, The Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury Hotel, all in the capital, Colombo, according to state broadcaster SLRC. Bodies of the dead have been received at Colombo National Hospital, according to hospital sources. Most of those injured were also taken there, hospital officials said. There have been “many casualties including foreigners,” tweeted Sri Lankan MP Harsha de Silva. De Silva said two locations of the explosions were Kochchikade church […]

The UNP rejected a claim by Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa that a planned coup in the UNP had been scuttled due to it being revealed too soon. Rajapaksa made the claim after visiting the Sri Muththu Mariamman Kovil at Hawaeliya in Nuwara Eliya yesterday. A senior UNP Minister said that coup theories would be heard more often in the coming months as the Presidential Election was due by December this year. “We have been hearing of coups and a change in the leadership for a long time, but nothing of the sort happened. This theory is being revived because Mahinda Rajapaksa knows that whichever Podujana Peramuna candidate he backs at the next Presidential Election would not be able to secure 51 percent of the total […]

The candidate nominated by the United National Party (UNP) will win the next presidential election with an overwhelming majority, Finance Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, predicted. “It is the die-hard UNP membership that will name the next presidential candidate later this year, and no one can prevent the our party from securing the largest landslide victory”, the Minister said, after viewing a photographic exhibition titled ‘Matara’s past three decades’ held at the Cultural Center in Nupe to celebrate his 30 years in politics. “It was in February 1989 that H. G. Sirisena and I were first elected to parliament”, he recalled, and added “I am grateful to the organizers and the people of Matara for giving me the opportunity to rekindle memories”. “Seeing the photographs taken 30 […]

Awaits Certificate of Loss of Nationality Will civil suits against him delay its release? Major political parties prepare for May Day Retired Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Defence Secretary, handed in documents to the United States Embassy in Colombo on Wednesday to relinquish his United States citizenship. That included the surrender of his US passport and signing an oath of renunciation. Unlike other aspects of the relinquishment, it is accepted by the US government that the loss of citizenship occurs when the US citizen meets the Consular Officer at the Embassy by prior appointment. This is only for “immigration purposes” or is travel related. However, The Certificate of Loss of Nationality, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has sought will take time. Hereafter, he would have to utilise […]

https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrGHTZuFrxcsZMA6E92BQx.?fr=mcafee&fr2=piv-web&p=EXPLOSION+IN+COLOMBO&vage=day#id=10&vid=9803d650bd5d2701edefbf41ed0ffc3d&action=view Multiple explosions in Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka, reports Sri Lankan media. Sri Lanka was rocked by multiple explosions, including THREE churches on Easter Sunday, a police spokesman said. One of the explosions was a St Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade of the capital, Colombo. Another church in Katuwapitiya, katana was also hit. Police also reported explosions at the Shangri-la hotel and Kingsbury hotel in the capital. At least six explosions were reported this morning at three churches in Kochchikade, Katana, and Batticaloa and three five-star hotels in Colombo, police said. Explosions were reported at St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, Kotahena and St.Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, Katana. Explosions were also reported at three five-star hotels, the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury in Colombo. […]