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The complaint has been lodged by the Socialist Youth Union (SYU) and the 'Save the Sport' organisation.

They pointed out that the former minister can be investigated under the new Act passed by the previous government on irregularities in sports including bribery as it applies to persons who level false allegations.

Accordingly, the complainants have requested to investigate the allegations leveled against by Aluthgamage as there was no evidence to corroborate the former minister's claims.

“The four suspects were arrested during an ongoing special operation that was launched in collaboration with the CID and the PNB. The policemen were arrested for aiding a drug operation, and are now being questioned by the CID,” Police Media Spokesman SSP Jaliya Senaratne noted.

The police unit in question is said to have removed heroin weighing about 90 kg from a consignment of 250 kg that was peddled to Sri Lanka by a drug kingpin who is supposedly in hiding in Dubai.

The missing narcotics were allegedly sold to another competitor of the kingpin who is in hiding. The Inspector of Police (IP) heading that Police Narcotics Unit is said to have gone into hiding after the incident was reported.

A special operations unit is on the lookout for him; the unit has conducted search operations at his house and other areas he frequently visits.

A sub-inspector, two sergeants, and a constable are currently in custody, and further investigations are now being carried out by the CID and PNB with the assistance of the Minuwangoda Police Station.

Meanwhile, a total of 122 firearms have been seized by the Sri Lanka Police during crime-prevention raids carried out across the country within a period of three weeks.

Accordingly, 11 T-56 assault rifles, a T-81 rifle, 26 Twelve-bore shotguns, 3 pistols, 26 ‘Galkatas’ handguns, 46 repeaters rifles, and 9 other firearms have been seized in the raids. Also, 89 suspects have been arrested along with the weapons, the Police have said.

Further, 367 grams of explosives, 23 detonators, and 13 hand grenades have been apprehended with 10 suspects.

The bruised young man has later been admitted to hospital.

According to the complaint lodged by relatives at the Thunukkai police station, 20 years old Rasaratnam Dhanushan has been beaten up on 30 June morning by soldiers at Eruvil when he was taking his goats for grazing at a woodland.

The young man had been prevented from calling his family by the soldiers who allegedly seized his mobile phone and handed him over to forest conservation officers around 7pm.

Forest officers in Mankulam have admitted Dhanushan to the Mulankavil rural hospital after alerting his relatives. He had been transferred to the Kilinochchi general hospital the next day for further treatment.

Relatives of the tortured victim have told police that a few of the goats have also gone missing.

The Sri Lanka Army has not made any statement so far.

The former finance and foreign minister, who has stepped down from 'parliamentary politics' and entered into 'cyber politics', made these remarks while speaking to Ada Derana.

When inquired about his decision to withdraw from the election campaign, Samaraweera stated he felt that the duties of the opposition were not being carried out in a proper manner.

He further said that he stepped away from the party, even after handing over nominations, due to certain ideological differences.

The Police said that the officer concerned is currently under suspension. They added that the investigations have revealed how the officer had been depositing large sums of money daily into his bank accounts.

Investigations have also revealed that the money had been deposited by an assistant of the officer concerned.

The CID has obtained statements from around 40 persons including officers from the Department of Prisons.

"Based on the statement given by Aravinda de Silva today, we have decided to summon a player from the 2011 squad, Upul Tharanga, tomorrow to record his statement."

Fonseka said they were obtaining intelligence reports as well as inputs from unspecified international sources to continue their probe into one of cricket's most explosive match-fixing controversies.

De Silva himself declined comment as he walked out of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) where he spent over six hours with at least three detectives investigating allegations that Sri Lanka sold the cup final to India.

Tharanga, who is to be questioned Wednesday, was Sri Lanka's opener at the finals. He scored just two runs during his 30 minute stay at the crease facing 20 balls.

The investigation was prompted by former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage who claimed earlier this month that Sri Lanka sold the match to ensure an Indian victory. "I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved," Aluthgamage said.

Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga has also cast doubt on the result and previously called for an investigation.

After starting strongly, Sri Lanka lost the final at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium by six wickets.

Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 off 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out for 18.

But India turned the game dramatically, thanks in part to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka, who were led by Kumar Sangakkara.

Sangakkara had said Aluthgamage should share his allegations with the global governing body the International Cricket Council.

International cricket in Sri Lanka has previously been linked to corruption allegations, including claims of match-fixing ahead of a 2018 Test against England.

Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the ICC was investigating three unnamed ex-players over corruption claims.

The inmate had been transferred to the Welikada Remand Prison on June 27 from the Rehabilitation Center for drug addicts in Kandakadu.

The Director General of the Government Information Department, Nalaka Kaluwewa, said that PCR tests are being carried out on all contacts of the Covid-19 patient including inmates and prison officials.

LRL was granted an enjoining order against the SLTDA by the District Court on June 16, over the unlawful claim made by the SLTDA on a land handed over to Ascot Leisure Pvt Ltd (now Lanka Realty Leisure Pvt Ltd).

Conflict of interest!

It was reported that SLTDA Chairperson, Kimarli Fernando has tried stalling the development process of the property in question when LRL has a 99 year leasehold right to the 7 acre property in the Palatupana development area in Yala.

It is a well known fact that another property, Wild Coast Tented Lodge, that was developed by Kimarli Fernando's husband Malik Fernando and his family (Dilmah Tea), sits on the immediate neighbouring site to the LRL's proposed development site. Therefore, allegations have been leveled against the SLTDA chairperson Kimarli Fernando for protecting her husband’s family owned business operation, Wild Coast Tented Lodge where Kimali's husband Malik is a director and a major shareholder, by stalling the development process of LRL's property.

State coffers to hire private attorneys!

It is usual practice for the Attorney General to represent a state institution when a case has been filed against a state body. However, when the case in relation to Lanka Realty Leisure (Pvt) Ltd and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority was called on June 30, President's Counsel Romesh De Silva appeared for the SLTDA. It appears that Kimarli Fernando has deviated from standard practice and retained a senior President's Counsel from the private bar, arguably the highest paid attorney in the island, to represent the SLTDA.

The move comes under the World Bank’s 2020-2021 country classification by income level, exactly a year after Sri Lanka was classified as an upper-middle income category.

The world’s economies are assigned into four income groups—low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries by the World Bank.

The classifications are updated each year on 1 July and are based on GNI per capita in current US Dollar (using the Atlas method exchange rates) of the previous year.

The World Bank said Sri Lanka was downgraded as a lower-middle income country after it recorded $ 4,020 per capita income for 2020, in comparison to the $4,060 last year, which resulted in the country being classified in the upper-middle income category in 2019.

For the current 2021 fiscal year, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method, of $ 1,035 or less in 2019; lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $ 1,036 and $ 4,045; upper middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $ 4,046 and $ 12,535; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $ 12,536 or more.

The World Bank also noted that the GNI numbers that were used for this year’s classification did not yet reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Daily FT)

Presidential committee appointed to look into the proposed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement with the US government has expressed reservations over it saying some clauses cannot be legally implemented.

The President’s Office quoted the Chairman of the expert committee, Prof. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, as telling President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, that USD 7.4 million and 2.6 million had been granted to the then Government under two stages as part of the proposed deal, but the money had not been accounted for.

US Embassy Public Affairs Officer David McGuire said that no MCC grant monies were ever transferred to or spent by the Government of Sri Lanka under the proposed $480 million grant.

Asked if the expert committee had meetings with the Embassy to clarify its findings, McGuire said the review committee had a single meeting with the MCC country director when first appointed and did not request a meeting with Embassy officials.

He also noted that the Government of Sri Lanka first requested an MCC grant in 2005, under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“It is disappointing to see the continued politicization and spread of disinformation related to the proposed $480 million grant Sri Lanka requested from the US Government,” he said.

Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) 44th Session, the UK's International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, delivering a statement on behalf of the core group reiterated their "profound disappointment' over Sri Lanka's withdrawal of co-sponsorship from United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolutions promoting accountability, reconciliation and human rights.

In February, the Sri Lankan government indicated that it no longer supported resolution 30/1, which Sri Lanka had co-sponsored in a landmark partnership with the international community to address the harmful legacies of war and build a sustainable peace in the country.

"We reiterate our profound disappointment at this development. We remain firmly committed to advancing the resolution’s goals of accountability, reconciliation, and inclusive peace in Sri Lanka," Ambassador French said.

The UNHRC observed that the Sri Lankan government has stated its own commitment to advancing these principles through domestic processes but stressed that any accountability mechanism must have the confidence of those affected.

"Since March, Sri Lanka has been battling COVID-19, and has kept case numbers significantly lower than the regional average. However, as stated by the High Commissioner, extraordinary measures to tackle the pandemic should not be used to roll back human rights. We share the concerns of Sri Lankan human rights organisations over the targeting and marginalisation of minority groups, the pardoning of Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and promotion of others accused of serious violations during the conflict, and the militarisation of a wide range of civilian functions and public initiatives", the Core Group on Sri Lanka noted.

The UNHRC called on Sri Lanka to ensure that the country’s democratic space remains open and accountable and raised the detention of attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hisbullah who has been held without charges for nearly three months.

"We call for detentions and arrests to follow due process and be compliant with international norms and universal rights, for example in the case of lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah, who has now been detained for almost three months without charge or presentation before the court. We call for an end to impunity for the violations and abuses of the past," Ambassador Rita French said.

The island closed its international airports in mid March following the outbreak of COVID-19.

The government was aiming to open its international airports by August 1 as no community transmission of the COVID-19 had been reported since late April.

However, Airports Authority Chairman Retired Major General GA Chandrasiri said the Bandaranaike International Airport will not be re-opened on August 1 and it will be further delayed.

"The delay is due to the need to make arrangements to bring back home Sri Lankan expatriate workers," he said.

"We have already got down about 12,000 of them - another 40,000 remain to be brought back," Mr Chandrasiri said.

"The priority right now is to cater to them enabling their return," Mr Chandrasiri added.

The decision will deal a blow to the island's tourism authorities as they were gearing up to welcome back tourists to the country from August under strict measures to boost the tourism sector that has been crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.

The health authorities have put in place a PCR test mechanism at the Colombo airport for all returnees. They are required to undergo quarantine upon return.