News
Kerala ganja smuggling attempt thwarted near maritime boundary

Pandemic has not dampened cannabis smuggling across Palk Strait
…over 100 kg of contraband found in separate operations
Kerala cannabis continued to be smuggled into Sri Lanka despite naval operations in the country’s territorial waters to prevent illegal operations, authoritative sources told The Island yesterday (2).
Mid-sea transfers were taking place on both sides of the Indo-Lanka maritime boundary, a senior defence official said.
The latest narcotics detection was made by the SLN close to the maritime boundary on 01 June. The SLN intercepted a dinghy carrying 29 kilos and 800 g of Kerala cannabis. “We took the dinghy along with stock of contraband and two suspects into custody,” an SLN spokesperson said. The offer estimated the street value of the recovered stock at Rs 8 mn.
Responding to another query, the official said that such operations were conducted in terms of Covid-19 protocols in place to prevent the transmission of the raging pandemic.
The suspects have been identified as residents of Irukkalampiddi, Mannar. They along with Kerala cannabis and the dinghy were handed over to the Talaimannar Police for legal action.
Meanwhile, a joint SLA-SLN foot patrol on the night of May 30 recovered 48 kilos and 900 g of Kerala cannabis hidden in a dinghy in the Kottadi beach area, in the Muniya fishing village, Point Pedro.
The consignment of cannabis had been concealed in polythene sacks, sources said, adding that the Navy had also seized two motorcycles believed to have been used by those who brought the contraband to the location.
The SLN estimated the street value of the Kottadi recovery at Rs 14 mn.
The SLN said that the contraband and the motorcycles had been handed over to the Point Pedro police for further investigations.
The SLN said that a subsequent search operation carried out in the same area on the following day had yielded a stock of Kerala cannabis weighing around 31kg and 835g .
The Navy recovered the contraband packed in two polythene sacks left behind a closed building.
The SLN believes that due to the detection made the previous day, the smugglers may have left behind this stock of Kerala cannabis on this location to fetch it later.
The street value of this stock of Kerala cannabis is believed to be over Rs. 9 million (SF)
Breaking News
Strong earthquake hits south-eastern Turkey near Syria border

BBC reported that a powerful earthquake has hit Gaziantep in south-eastern Turkey, near the border with Syria.
The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
The quake was felt in the capital Ankara and other Turkish cities, and also across the region.
Reports are coming in that several buildings have collapsed, and a number of people may be trapped.
A BBC Turkish correspondent in Diyarbakir reports that a shopping mall in the city collapsed.
Rushdi Abualouf, a BBC producer in the Gaza Strip, said there was about 45 seconds of shaking in the house he was staying in.
Turkish seismologists estimated the strength of the quake to be 7.4 magnitude.
They said that a second tremor hit the region just minutes later.
News
13 A: Political parties miss Ranil’s Feb. 04 deadline for submitting their proposals

Udaya compares constitutional threat with Indonesian crisis in late ’90s
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The government hasn’t received proposals from political parties regarding President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s decision to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution fully.
President Wickremesinghe, on January 26, requested party leaders to furnish their suggestions, if any, by Feb. 04 as he intended to brief Parliament on Feb. 08 as regards the implementation of land and police powers.
Political parties, represented in Parliament, had not responded to President Wickremesinghe’s request so far, authoritative sources told The Island. Responding to another query, sources said that the President’s Office hadn’t received proposals in support of President Wickremesinghe’s declaration or against it.
Several political parties, including the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) spurned the President’s invitation.
Having declared his intention to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted in Nov. 1987, during Thai Pongal celebrations, in Jaffna, on January 15th, 2023, President Wickremesinghe warned party leaders on January 26 he would go ahead with plans unless the parliament repealed it. Both declarations were made in the presence of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
Sources noted that though several political parties declared opposition and some issued statements supportive of the President’s move, they haven’t submitted proposals in writing.
President Wickremesinghe prorogued Parliament, on January 27, the day after setting Feb. 04 as the deadline for political parties to submit proposals. The new session of Parliament begins on Feb. 08.Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary, Sagara Kariyawasam, MP, told The Island that the decision to fully implement the controversial amendment shouldn’t be taken hastily.
“We are certainly not opposed to the devolution of power. However, we cannot under any circumstances support an agenda that may cause chaos,” National List MP said.
The Attorney-at-Law said so when The Island asked him whether the ruling party submitted its proposals to President Wickremesinghe.The lawmaker said that there was no requirement to do so as he on behalf of the SLPP explained to the January 26 meeting chaired by President Wickremesinghe why 13th Amendment shouldn’t be fully implemented without examining the ground situation.
“Seven past Presidents didn’t do that. Why didn’t they do so? We’ll have to study why they refrained from granting police and land powers in spite of them being part of that Amendment. If the reasons that compelled them not to do so no longer exist, we can consider the proposals,” lawmaker Kariyawasam said.
Declaring SLPP’s commitment to maximum possible devolution, MP Kariyawasam warned of dire consequences if decisions were made on the basis of language and religion.The SLPP that secured 145 seats at the last general election remains the largest party in parliament though over two dozen MPs quit the government group.
MP Kariyawasam emphasized that they couldn’t act recklessly on the issue at hand.Those who quit the SLPP parliamentary group, too, have strongly opposed the full implementation of the 13th Amendment. Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila, MP, compared the developing crisis here with Western project that divided Indonesia in the late 90s.Attorney-at-Law Gammanpila explained how Western countries exploited the economic crisis in Indonesia to compel Jakarta to grant independence to East Timor.
Addressing a public rally at Dehiwela on Feb. 02 in support of Nidahas Janatha Sandhanaya contesting March 09 Local Government polls, former Power and Energy Minister said that the challenge faced by Sri Lanka owing to the continuing balance of payments and debt crises was very much similar to the circumstances leading to East Timor independence.
The 13th Amendment would split Sri Lanka on ethnic lines, the Colombo District MP warned.The MP recalled how external powers created an environment that compelled Indonesian President Suharto to resign in May 1998 to pave the way for Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri to win the next presidential election. The MP said that Sukarnoputri granted independence to East Timor.
News
Gas prices up

State-owned Litro has increased the price of domestic gas with effect from midnight yesterday.
Chairman of Litro Company Muditha Peiris said the price of a 12.5 kg domestic gas cylinder would be increased by Rs 334, the price of a 5 kg gas cylinder by Rs 135 and the price of a 2.3 kg gas cylinder by Rs 61 .The 12.5 kg cylinder is Rs 4,743.
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