Kelum Bandara Courtesy The Daily Mirror A top US government official said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assisted the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka in the analysis of evidence and phone details in connection with the serial bombings on Easter Sunday. The official told a select group of journalists that the FBI, […]

Courtesy The Straits Times COLOMBO • Five Sri Lankans suspected of having links to the Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 250 people were brought home in police custody yesterday after being deported from Saudi Arabia, police said. Police declined to provide details of the arrests beyond saying the five were picked up in […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka’s security forces have arrested two individuals who believed to be close associates of terrorist leader Zahran Hashim, the ringleader of the Easter Sunday attackers. Police said that the suspects were arrested at Hingula in Mawanella during a secret operation jointly carried out by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) and the Sri […]

Courtesy Adaderana One of the five suspects, who were arrested in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for allegedly having strong links to the terrorist group that carried out the coordinated attacks on Easter Sunday, is also in connection with the murders of two police constables at Vavunativu, the Police Media Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara said. He stated […]

මව්බිම දැන් බොදුබල සේනාවට සම්බන්ධ ලිපි ලේඛන සහ පසුගිය දිනවල ලංකාවේ සිදුවුණු බෝම්බ පිපිරීම් පිළිබඳව ජනතාව දැනුවත් කිරීම සඳහා යොදාගත් බවට විශ්වාස කළ හැකි මුද්‍රණ කඩදාසි ළඟ තබාගෙන සිටියේ යැයි කියන සිද්ධියක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් චෝදනා ලැබ අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන රඳවාගෙන සිටි මවුලවිතුමකු 13 දක්වා රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාරගත කිරීමට මීගමුව ප්‍රධාන මහෙස්ත්‍රාත් රජින්ද්‍රා ජයසූරිය මහත්මිය පෙරේදා (12දා) නියෝග කළාය. […]

by Melani Manel Perera Courtesy The Asianews.it The Sri Lankan Navy repaired the church after a suicide bomber killed 54 people, who are already saints, according to Archbishop Ranjth. The shrine is now open from 6 am to 8 pm. Colombo (AsiaNews) – The St Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade, near Colombo, one of the three churches […]

By Saman Indrajith Courtesy The Island Hisbullah at the PSC (pic by Jude Denzil Pathiraja) Former Governor of the Eastern province, M. L. A. M. Hisbullah, yesterday, told the parliamentary select committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday carnage that National Thowheed Jamaath leader Zahran Hashim, who masterminded the April 21 suicide bombings, had supported common […]

Courtesy Adaderana Former Governor M. L.A.M. Hizbullah stated that he has no connection with Zahran Hashim – the alleged ringleader behind the Easter Sunday attacks – and that Zahran Hashim had only worked to ‘destroy’ him. Testifying before the Special Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to look into the Easter Sunday attacks he stated that he […]

Courtesy Adaderana Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration J.J. Rathnasiri says that he has not received any complaint or report stating that Muslim women were inconvenienced owing to the Circular issued on the dress code of public servants. The Circular in question had instructed the male public servants to wear the National dress or […]

අනුරුද්ධ බණ්ඩාර රණවාරණ සතොස ආයතනයේ කීර්තිනාමයට හානි කළේ තමා ද එසේ නැතහොත් සතොස සිය පාලනය යටතේ තිබියදී එහි ගබඩා තුළින් කුඩු තොග හමුවන තත්වයකට පත් කළ රිෂාඞ් බදියුදීන් හිටපු ඇමතිවරයාදැයි ප්‍රශ්න කරන ජානිපෙ නායක විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා, තමාට පැවරූ නඩුවේදී රිෂාඞ්ගේ සියලු සතොස දූෂණ අක්‍රමිකතා පෙන්වා දෙන තෙක් එහි වාහන වහාබ්වාදී අන්තවාදීන් භාවිත කළ බව […]

Sheain Fernandopulle Courtesy The Daily Mirror The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is protecting former Industry and Commerce Minister, Rishad Bathiudeen by not revealing information with regard to Sathosa vehicles being used for activities of the extremists, National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa alleged today. Addressing a news briefing, he said the CID was deliberately […]

Courtesy Ceylon Today India has provided Sri Lanka phone numbers of five Sri Lankans who were suspected to be linked to Islamic State (IS). The Indian Express reported that India has also shared call logs and details of some phone calls which happened between some Indians and two Sri Lankan families who were linked to […]

Courtesy Adaderana Northwestern Province doctors of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) have decided to launch a protest campaign over several points including protesting Dr. Mohamed Shafi of the Kurunegala Hospital who is currently under arrest. The protest will be held before the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital this afternoon (12), stated GMOA Northwestern Province Coordinator Dr. […]

Yohan Perera  Courtesy The Daily Mirror Politics may jeopardise investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks, Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said last Saturday at a function held in Akmeemana. We see difference of opinion with regard to investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks. Politicians sabotaging important investigations seems to be part of the Sri […]

Courtesy The Sunday Times A former Sri Lanka diplomat and Foreign Secretary who allegedly pressurised the Defence Ministry to rush through the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) between Sri Lanka and the United States is now a US federal government employee. Prasad Kariyawasam is employed by the US federal government backed Agency for International […]

Courtesy Ceylon Today Leader of the Muslim Congress MP Rauff Hakeem, said that he believes that MP Wimal Weerawansa is the only person who spoke about the people related to extremism knowing the truth, and he has done the correct thing, at the correct time. He said so while participating in the ‘Hard Talk’ programme […]

By Ranmini Gunasekara and Thameenah Razeek Courtesy Ceylon Today The tussle between the Executive and the Parliament should come to a stop, as this can lead to another incident such as that of 21/4, said Chairman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Professor G.L Peiris yesterday (10). He said this at a Media conference held […]

Courtesy Adaderana There are doubts concerning the investigations into the terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday, says His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Addressing an event held at Thalgasyaya in Akmeemana, the Cardinal stated that these attacks were not a sudden series of events but the result of long-term planning. Murders happen but no actions are taken […]

Courtesy Adaderana The Special Investigative Board appointed to look into the terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday has submitted its final report to President Maithripala Sirisena this morning (10). The final report was handed over to the President at the Presidential Secretariat, the President’s Media Division (PMD) stated. A day following the attacks on April 21st, […]

Courtesy The Indian Express A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team was in Sri Lanka last week in connection with the agency’s probe into two IS modules in India that are suspected to have had connections in Sri Lanka. In the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings which killed more than 250 people, India has shared […]

Courtesy The Island The Sri Lankan security forces had turned from being hunters to fishermen during the last few years and the spirit of the security forces had been crushed since 2015, expert on terrorism Rohan Gunaratna told a meeting organised by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Centre yesterday in Colombo. Gunaratna said that the Easter Sunday […]

Courtesy Adaderana The Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis has resigned from his post with immediate effect. Mendis, Director of Sri Lanka’s Centre for National Intelligence under the Ministry of Defense, had served as DIG of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and was also head of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) from 2008 to 2009. […]

by Whitney Webb  Courtesy  mintpressnews.com New evidence suggests that the government of Saudi Arabia not only had foreknowledge of the brutal bombings (and did nothing to stop them) but may have played a more active and direct role in the bloodshed COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — A leaked Saudi diplomatic memo obtained by Lebanese outlet Alahed News claims that […]

Courtesy Adaderana Parliamentarian Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has sent a letter to the Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya to gain his attention towards acts of jeopardizing national security. The letter containing 12 pointers has been copied to 11 persons including the President, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, and all media institutions. Referring to the Official Secrets Act No […]

Courtesy Adaderana IGP Pujith Jayasundara, testifying before the Special Parliament Select Committee, stated that, on 20th of April, he had received a telephone call that ‘something’ could happen on the 21st. Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando had given the said telephone call between 6.30 p.m. to 8.00 p.m., the IGP said. According to the IGP, […]

Courtesy Adaderana Mohamed Razik Mohamed Taslim, who was shot in the head by Zahran Hashim’s group, spoke to Ada Derana via a video call. Taslim was the first person to reveal information on the suspects, who vandalized Buddhist statues in Mawanella area on 26th December 2018, is speaking to the media for the first time […]

Courtesy Adaderana Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara testifying before the Special Parliamentary Select Committee that the president had asked him to take the responsibility of the Easter Attacks and resign from his post. IGP Pujith Jayasundara, who is currently sent on compulsory leave, testified before the Special Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to look […]

Faiz Sobhan Courtesy Nikkei Asian Review States must counter youth radicalization with educational, social and economic plans The world appears to be witnessing a new phase in Islamic State’s global war which began in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. Shortly after the deadly coordinated terrorist attacks by an IS-claimed cell, an IS media outlet released […]

SHAMILA CHAUDHARY Courtesy The American Prospect After the Easter attacks in Colombo, the U.S. must address the growing terrorism threat in South Asia. Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo Sri Lankan army soldiers patrol a muslim neighborhood during a cordon and search operation in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Security measures have been increased in the country after more than […]

By Lynn Ockersz Courtesy The Island The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan sails in waters off Okinawa, alongside a refueling ship. There is considerable heated discussion and debate currently in Sri Lanka over two military cooperation agreements that are featuring in this country’s ties with the US and the time could not be more appropriate […]