The state witness for the prosecution in the trial in connection with the murder of former TNA Jaffna district MP Nadaraja Raviraj yesterday affirmed Court that the officers attached to the Naval intelligence camp in Laundry Watta in Gangaramaya conspired to commit the murder of Raviraj. Witness Wijeya Wickrema Manamperige Sanjaya Preethi Viraj who was made a state witness for the Raviraj murder trial made this revelation before Colombo Additional Magistrate Thilina Gamage.

Three statements he had earlier given to police were yesterday read out before Court and he confirmed the truthfulness of his earlier statements. He admitted that he saw the former MP being shot by the remanded suspect Gamini Seneviratne at Manning Town in Narahenpita. The state witness stated that he received instructions to be accompanied with the gunman on a motorcycle and to kill an LTTE member.

He said he rode the motorcycle alone with the gunman. The state witness admitted that until the shooting that took place in Narahenpita, he was not aware about the person who was going to be killed. The state witness said he had served as a police constable in the Batticaloa district and engaged in military operations against LTTE. He said he got to know several persons including Lieutenant Prasath, Gamini Seneviratne and Navy Sampath who were involved in this incident, while he was in Batticaloa.

He further affirmed that he met several other suspects including Charan, Palana Sami Suresh and Fabian Royston Tusen when he was at the Naval intelligence camp in Laundry Watta. Further magisterial inquiry fixed for January 13. The CID filed charge sheets in Court against seven accused including four Navy personnel, two ex-LTTE cadres affiliated to the Karuna faction for allegedly conspiring to commit the murder of the former TNA MP.

The Attorney General had given instructions to conduct a non-summary inquiry in respect of the seven accused namely Palana Sami Suresh, Hettiarachchilage Prasath Chandana Kumara, Gamini Seneviratne, Pradeep Chaminda, Sivakanthan Vivekanandan alias Charan, Fabian Royston Tusen and Sampath Munasinghe. Parliamentarian Raviraj was shot dead near his residence at Manning Town in Narahenpita in 2006 when his vehicle was being driven by Raviraj along Martha Road. The CID had recovered the trishaw and the weapon allegedly used in the killing of the former parliamentarian.

The National Security Council, chaired by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, held a meeting today (19) at the Presidential Secretariat to discuss preparations for the 2024 Presidential election.

Canada announced Wednesday it was slashing international student permits next year, and tightening foreign worker rules to further bring down the number of temporary residents in the country.

Three persons, including the invigilator, who were on duty at the examination centre of the Rathmale Thissa Maha Vidyalaya in Anuradhapura were to be suspended over the leakage of a Grade 5 Scholarship Examination question paper, North Central Provincial Education Director S.M.W. Samarakoon said.

The Examinations Department and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have launched an investigation into concerns raised over the first paper of the recently held Grade 5 Scholarship examination.

Sri Lanka has reached agreements with external commercial creditors to restructure approximately USD 17.5 bn of external debt, achieving a 40.3% Net Present Value (NPV) concession, the President’s Media Division said.

The Education Ministry today announced the closure of all schools tomorrow (20) as requested by the Election Commission. The schools will reopen on Monday (23).

The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) has announced a trade union action tomorrow (18), targeting hospitals across the country, GMOA spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said.

Six teachers, including a school principal in an examination centre in Anuradhapura, who had allegedly shared the first question paper of the Grade Five scholarship examination using a mobile phone, were taken into custody by the officials of the Examinations Department.

Over the past 76 years, politics in the country has turned into a massive business, causing widespread hardships, Presidential candidate Janaka Rathnayaka said.

SJB presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa, addressing a rally, pledged to provide targeted fuel subsidies to essential workers, including farmers, fishermen, three-wheeler drivers and school van/bus operators.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the presidential candidate of the National People’s Power (NPP), has pledged to completely remove VAT on essential sectors such as food, education, and healthcare.

PAFFREL has received reports from the Nuwara Eliya area over a group distributing boxes of matches featuring a Presidential candidate's picture and election symbol on either side. Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi, said he has informed the Assistant Commissioner of Elections for the Nuwara Eliya district about this issue.

The Public Security Ministry said that there are currently no plans to impose a curfew on election day and that all security measures are in place, with the armed forces on standby if necessary.

NPP MP Vijitha Herath hinted that the Prime Minister could be a female in a National People's Power (NPP) government. Speaking at a meeting in Minuwangoda, he said after the victory on September 21, a new Cabinet will be appointed with the powers vested with the President under Article 47.3 of the Constitution and parliament will be dissolved.

MP Patali Champika Ranawaka, leader of the United Republic Front, urged voters planning to support Ranil Wickremesinghe or the SLPP not to waste their votes.

Claiming that Sri Lanka has not established any new consulates nor made additional honorary consul appointments in Israel, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry said Sri Lanka continues to maintain its official embassy in Tel Aviv, which has been the sole diplomatic mission in Israel since 2000.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has pledged to bring in a legislation to ban corporal punishment soon.

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) has officially reached a final decision to endorse Sajith Premadasa, the presidential candidate of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), at the upcoming presidential election. The announcement came after a party meeting held this morning (Sep. 16) in Vavuniya, where the party’s central committee made the final decision.

An investigation has been launched after a back-up helicopter escorting President Ranil Wickremesinghe made an emergency landing on Saturday. The Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 412 (SUH 522) made an unplanned landing in a paddy field in Eppawala yesterday due to a technical issue.

National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that his government would cancel Indian conglomerate Adani’s 450 MW wind power project in Sri Lanka if elected. He claimed the agreement was corrupt and skewed against Sri Lanka’s interests.