News
Aragalaya violence: Minister alleges section of clergy protecting those who destroyed private properties
Chief Government Whip and Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has accused a section of the clergy of protecting those responsible for the premeditated destruction of property belonging to SLPP politicians and supporters during the May 09/10, 2022, violence across the country.
The Minister alleged that police investigations into the incidents were slow. Claiming that JVP activists had been involved in the violence, Minister Ranatunga said that he requested IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon to bring the investigations to a successful conclusion, regardless of interventions made by the clergy.
The Gampaha District SLPP leader said so at a meeting held at the Gampaha Divisional Secretariat yesterday (27) to expedite the process meant to pay compensation.
A press statement issued by the Ministry quoted lawmaker Ranatunga as having urged the people to seek the intervention of the Human Rights Commission if they believed the police and the military failed to protect their properties.
Minister Ranatunga has requested the Office of Reparations and the Government Valuation Department to expedite the process.
Declaring that the Gampaha administrative district was the worst affected due to systematic attacks carried out by organised mobs, Minister Ranatunga said that of the 42 houses destroyed and partially damaged in the district during this period, owners of 33 houses had been fully compensated.
According to the Minister, altogether 162 properties, including vehicles, had been destroyed/damaged in the Gampaha district. Of them, 138 were vehicles, three wheelers and motorcycles and the rest were houses.
Lawmaker Ranatunga said that their ancestral home, though destroyed in the wake of 1977 general election, full compensation couldn’t be obtained till 2004. The Minister assured that he would try to finish the compensation payment as soon as possible (SF)
Three Sri Lankan leopard cubs that were born at the Singapore Zoo on Jan 1 have now made their public debut at the facility.
The two males and one female, born to mother Yala and father Asanka, are the first of their species yo be born at the Singapore Zoo. The last successful birth in Singapore was recorded at the Night Safari three decades ago.
The triplets, which are the pair’s first litter, are among around 80 Sri Lankan leopards in zoos worldwide.
The species is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with fewer than 800 individuals estimated to remain in the wild.
Visitors can now see the triplets at the Wild Africa exhibit, said the Mandai Wildlife Group in a statement on April 16.
The cubs can be found in the exhibit with their mother daily until mid-May and, subsequently, every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Yala with her cubs in their nest box, a month after their birth on Jan 1. (Straits Times)
A leopard cub investigating a piece of meat suspended from a tree – one of the several enrichment items in the Wild Africa exhibit designed to keep the cats mentally and physically stimulated. (Straits Times)
Mandai Wildlife Group curator Anand Kumar said it took nearly three years and close collaboration across continents to bring together a compatible pair of Sri Lankan leopards.
(Straits Times)
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-zoos-first-sri-lankan-leopard-cubs-make-their-public-debut?ref=top-stories
The Sri Lanka Navy has seized a local multi- day fishing trawler, it’s four man crew together with a consignment suspected to be narcotics off the Southern Coast of the island.
The vessel is presently being escorted to the Dikowita fisheries harbour for further investigations and legal proceedings.
Latest News
Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 15 April 2026, valid for 16 April 2026.
The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern
and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district.
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.
Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491
Singapore Zoo’s first Sri Lankan leopard cubs make their public debut
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