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Johnston and Admiral Sarath raps CID

Published

4 years ago

2021/10/3

Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said last week that the CID has opted to harass and hound the media that exposed the alleged garlic scam instead of probing it and taking legal action against the perpetrators.

“This is a classic example of shooting the messenger. The CID should have gone after the officials involved in alleged scam at Lak Sathosa. Instead they have gone after the media personnel who reported it. By doing so they also brought disrepute to the government. Government cannot condone such acts. It is committed to ensure media freedom,” he said. “We regret the incident. It should not have happened.”

“This is a serious incident because CID officers have gone to newspaper offices after Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera had instructed them not to do so. We should investigate this to find whether anyone in the CID has an interest to put the government in difficulty,” the Minister said speaking to journalists during a ceremony held at his ministry’s auditorium on Thursday.

The ceremony was held to hand over keys of 22 houses built at a cost of Rs 340 million for policemen who lost their homes owing to the construction of a flyover above the Slave Island Railway Station and the Beira Lake connecting Baladaksha Mawatha and Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha.

Project requirements resulted in the removal of 42 housing units of the Slave Island police quarters. The Road Development Authority and the Urban Development Authority will provide new housing to those who lost their quarters, Fernando said.

Twenty two housing units in the first phase were provided under the Metro Housing Complex while the remaining 20 would be provided in the future. The keys of 22 houses were handed over to Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera who is in charge of the police by Minister Fernando on Thursday.

Weerasekera said Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena had lodged a complaint with the CID pertaining to the alleged garlic scam. He had however not named any media institution or journalist in his complaint.

Some journalists, including the editors of several newspapers, had been summoned by the CID. “As soon as I heard of the summoning I spoke to the IGP and instructed him not to do that. Even Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa issued similar instructions.

Thereafter, contrary to the instructions given, some CID officers had visited newspaper officers. We apologize to the journalists who were subject to questioning. We have called for a report from the IGP in this regard,” the minister said.

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CEYPETCO Fuel prices increased from midnight today (21)

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).

Accordingly,

Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)

Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)

Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)

Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)

Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts

Published

9 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 12.30 p.m. 21 March 2026, valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 21 March 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:

 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.

 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

Published

14 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8.

The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran.

“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring and fuelled fears of a widening conflict.

US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington’s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries as “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.

Amid the turmoil, many countries have refused to get directly involved in the war while calling for urgent de-escalation.

On Friday, Switzerland announced that it would halt any weapons exports to the US that could be used in military operations against Iran, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality.

“The export of war materiel to countries involved ⁠in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict”, the Swiss government said.

Sri Lanka’s president also cited his country’s neutrality in the decision to deny the US request to land the two aircraft at Matalla airport earlier this month.

Dissanayake said he had received another request that same day, on February 26, from Iran to seek permission for three naval vessels to make a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka.

“With two requests before us, the decision was clear,” he said, noting that the government denied both to avoid taking sides as signs of escalating conflict emerged.

“Had we said ‘yes’ to Iran, we would have had to say ‘yes’ to the US, as well”, Dissanayake added.

In early March, Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian crew off IRIS Dena after it was torpedoed by a US submarine off the country’s coast, killing at least 84 people.

Days later, Sri Lanka evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, after the ship requested assistance from Colombo.

[Aljazeera]