News
Buddhika’s question on assassin of SWRD to be taken up again today
By Saman Indrajith
A question Matara District SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana posed to the Justice Minister about Talduwe Somarama Thera, who was judicially executed for assassinating former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike is listed to be taken up in Parliament, again, today.
MP Pathirana has asked the Justice Minister why the death certificate of Somarama has not been released yet, according to today’s Order Paper of Parliament.
The MP has asked whether the Minister is aware that the death of Somarama, on 06.07.1962, was not registered although it is mentioned that he was hanged to death on that day.
The MP has called on the Minister to inform the House whether an inquiry was conducted in relation to the non-issuance of the Certificate of Death of Ven Somarama; if so, its conclusion; if not, whether an inquiry would be conducted; whether there are any other persons in relation to whom Certificates of Death have not been issued following enforcement of the capital punishment and if not, why.
MP Pathirana also calls on the Minister to inform the House of the number of persons who were hanged to death following the imposition of the capital punishment after 04.02.1948 in Sri Lanka; whether arrangements will be made to make the Certificates of Death of the persons who were hanged to death, available to their relatives; and if so, how long it will take.
Today’s instance is the third time the question is listed in the Order Paper. The question had been raised twice in earlier sittings but the government, on both occasions, asked for time.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation to determine the price of the maize by a committee appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation in the future and to import only the quantity of maize that could not be supplied locally for the production of animal feed, under the supervision of the Department of Animal Production and Health.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the joint resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development and the Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development to phase the removal of Cess tax imposed on imported goods under 2,634 combined classification codes identified over 4 years [from 2026 to 2029\.
Around 140 people are missing after an Iranian navy ship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan navy says around 180 people were on board, with 32 rescued. A spokesman tells the BBC the cause of the sinking is not known
Sri Lanka’s navy has confirmed that it’s rescued 32 people after it received a distress call from Iranian navy ship ‘IRIS Dena’ early this morning.
Budhika Sampath, the spokesman of Sri Lanka’s navy says: “Though it was beyond our waters, it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations.”
He adds: “We found people floating on the water, rescued them, and later when we inquired we found that those people are from an Iranian ship.”
He also says that according to the documentation of the ship 180 people are believed to have been on board, although the exact number of missing is unknown.
The spokesman says at the time of launching the rescue operations they did not see the vessel but saw oil patches on the water and floating life rafts.
He also tells the BBC that he rejects the reports of a submarine attack causing the sinking, and that the cause is unknown.
Earlier the secretary of the country’s defence ministry Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuiyakontha told BBC Sinhala that around 140 people are thought to be missing.
So far, Sri Lanka’s military has not been able to confirm what might have caused the ship to sink.
[BBC]
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