Former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, and two military intelligence informants, were further remanded until September 15 over their alleged involvement in the killings of five people, in Batticaloa, in 2008.

The order was issued yesterday by the Acting Magistrate of the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court after the three suspects were produced before court, via Zoom, from prison.

The case relates to several incidents reported in 2008, including the shooting deaths of two people, one of them a police officer, in Kallady; the killing of two people, including a member of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), in Kattankudy; and the abduction and murder of a businessman in Vavunathivu.

Pillayan and the two military intelligence informants were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in November 2025, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The CID later filed charges against four suspects, including a person reportedly residing in London, before the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court, on June 17, 2026.

An open warrant was reissued for the London-based suspect, who is reportedly absconding, while the case was postponed until September 15.

There are 17 nursing schools under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media including the postgraduate primary nursing school.

There are 142 vacancies in the posts of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education) as on 31.03.2026 in those schools while 24 officers are to be promoted to the special grade on 31.12.2025 owing to the vacancies existing in the post of Special
Grade Nursing Officer (Education). Therefore, the number of vacancies is to be 166.

In addition, there are 24 vacancies in the post of Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education).

Although at present action has  been taken to upgrade the nursing schools to nursing colleges and upgrade the nursing diploma course to nursing degree course, no action has  been taken so far to carry out recruitment for the training relevant to the appointment for the post of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education).

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to recruit  retired nursing instructors and nursing instructors who served in the nursing schools belonging to the three armed forces and are retired or have resigned legitimately from service to the post of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education) on contract basis.

It has been decided to establish a BIMSTEC technology transfer facility in Sri Lanka by entering into a Host Country Agreement at the second leaders’ summit of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) held in New Delhi, India, in 2008, with the objective of enhancing regional cooperation.

The relevant cooperation agreement was signed by the member countries at the 5th BIMSTEC summit on 30-03-2022 in Colombo.
The prime objective of this technology transfer facility is to provide technology, capacity building, and management of intellectual property for the micro, small, and medium-scale
enterprises of the BIMSTEC member countries.

According to the cooperation agreement, an agreement should be entered into between Sri Lanka, as the host country, and  BIMSTEC  Secretariat for formalizing the legal status, privileges, and immunities of the technology transfer facility.

The drafted agreement has received the relevant institutional approval and legal clearance.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Science and Technology to sign the proposed agreement.