News
SJB urges Cardinal to take up Easter Sunday issue in Geneva

By Saman Indrajith
Chief Opposition Whip and SJB Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella yesterday said that no one was happy with the way the government was investigating the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s office in Colombo, Kiriella said that there was nothing wrong with Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith contemplating going before the international community against the way the government was carrying out investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage.
“The Cardinal, the victims and we, in the Opposition, are calling for only one thing – that is the government should implement the recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday carnage. The government should implement the recommendations of the final report of the presidential commission on the Easter Sunday attacks. Several international conferences are due to discuss resolutions against Sri Lanka. The current session of the UN Human Rights Council Geneva got underway yesterday (12) and the UN General Assembly sessions will be held in New York on Sept. 21. The results of these forums would be detrimental to our national interests if the government keeps bungling in this manner.
“It is incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa the one who internationalised Sri Lanka’s domestic issues in 1989. He went before the Geneva Human Rights Council with a list of names of disappeared persons. Since then this has become the norm for anyone who is not happy with the actions of any government to prevent human rights violations to go there. The UN Human Rights Council is at the disposal of any person or organisation that has exhausted all means in this country to get justice done. Even other countries could complain to that Council if they think Sri Lanka does not comply with human rights conventions that it has become a party to. So, there is nothing wrong with the Cardinal taking the issue of the Easter Sunday carnage to Geneva because the government is not dispensing justice.”
The Chief Opposition Whip said that people had been waiting for two and half years to see the government taking action against those who are responsible for the Easter Sunday terror attacks. “The Cardinal’s complaint is that justice has not been served. There is a serious allegation that justice is served selectively. It prosecutes only those who are opposed to the government. When legal action is taken against anyone in the government’s good books, the prosecution fails or makes errors in the judicial process so that the judges have no option but to give their rulings in favour of the culprits. A judge has to make his or her decision on the basis of evidence placed before him or her. When the prosecution fails deliberately to provide evidence, then justice is not done. So, the government could act against those who are opposed to them while safeguarding their friends.”
SJB MP Eran Wickremaratne also addressed the press.
Latest News
South Korean airline bans emergency seats after plane door opens

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has stopped selling some emergency exit row seats following an accident in which a passenger opened an emergency exit door midair causing panic on board.
The incident took place on an A321-200 plane, which was carrying nearly 200 passengers, as it approached the runway at Daegu International Airport, about 240km (150 miles) southeast of Seoul. The plane landed safely but several passengers were hospitalised. There were no serious injuries or damage.
The airline told the AFP news agency on Sunday the emergency exit seats – 31A and 26A – on its 14 A321-200 jets would no longer be offered for sale. “As a safety precaution, this measure will apply even if the flights are full,” it added. It is however unclear how the move might stop passengers seated elsewhere on the plane from attempting to open the emergency door.
The man, in his 30s, was arrested by authorities in Daegu for allegedly breaking aviation security laws. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. He told Daegu police that he had been under a lot of stress after losing his job recently and that he opened the door because he wanted to get off quickly after feeling suffocated, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday.
Video footage apparently taken by a person on board and posted on social media showed passengers’ hair being whipped about by air rushing into the cabin when the emergency door opened.
It is still unclear how Lee was able to open the emergency exit door mid-flight.
Jin Seong-hyun, a former Korean Air cabin safety official, said as far as he knew, this case was unprecedented, although passengers have opened emergency exits without authorisation while planes were on the ground.
A South Korean transport ministry official said it was possible to open emergency exits at or near ground level because the pressures inside and outside the cabin were similar.
(Aljazeera)
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Heat Index at Caution level in Northern, North-Central, North-western and Eastern provinces and Monaragala and Hambanthota districts

Heat index Advisory Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre At 07.30 a.m. 28 May 2023, valid for 28 May 2023
Heat index, the temperature felt on the human body is expected to increase up to ‘Caution’ level at some places in Northern, North-Central, North-western and Eastern provinces and Monaragala and Hambanthota districts.
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472,553 candidates have applied to to sit this years examination which will be held at 3568 examination centers
The examination will conclude on 8th June 2023
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