It is reported that former Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has decided not to attend the National Independence Day celebrations to be held at the Galle Face on February 4. When our paper inquired from the Field Marshal about why he was not attending this important event, he said an invitation had not been received by him up until yesterday. He was of the view that if he does not receive due respect for the position he holds, he will not participate at such an event. It is the practice the world over to give due respect to a person who holds the position of a Field Marshal, Fonseka added.

Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya said yesterday he had requested the President to dissolve the Western, Southern and Uva Provincial Councils in order to hold elections for all nine provinces on the same day. He said the terms of the Western, Southern and Uva PCs would be expired in a few months, whereas the terms of other Provincial Councils had expired already.

With the policy decision taken by the Education Ministry to reduce the congestion in classes, the maximum number of students in a Grade One class in this year should be 37, Education Minister Akila Wiraj Kariyawasam said. The Ministry has taken a policy decision to reduce the number of student in a Grade One class to 35 by 2021.

In a letter to UN High-Commissioner for Human Rights Honorable Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam's Prime Minister Mr. Visuvathan Rudrakumaran, urged the High-Commissioner to send observers to the recent mass gave found in the Northern town of Mannar in Sri Lanka, to closely monitor the current process of unearthing and analyzing the skeletons, as well as all other connected activities, including the judicial process.

Several civil society groups, mainly from the North and East and members of war victims

Government ally, the Tamil Progressive Front (TPF) yesterday threatened to quit the government if the salaries of estate workers are not increased at least by Rs. 150, Estate Infrastructure Development Minister P. Digambaram said yesterday. Minister Digambaram said they will make the final decision after meeting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on March 1, 2019.

President Maithripala Sirisena has said he instructed the Navy Commander to arrest sand racketeers. He said this while addressing the Environmental Pioneer Presidential Medal Awards Ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on Wednesday.Referring to the recent incident in Trincomalee where there was a commotion when the Navy was attempting to arrest illegal sand miners, the President said the Navy should act without fear or favour.

Deputy Minister Ajith Mannapperuma was sworn in as the State Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment before President Maithripala Sirisena this morning. He earlier functioned as the deputy minister of Environment.

The Special Court will decide on February 11 if it has the jurisdiction to hear the case against former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and six others accusing them of misusing state funds to construct the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum. Rajapaksa

The Kokkadichcholai Police Officer in Charge (OIC) has been arrested for accepting a bribe. The arrest was made by officers of the Bribery Commission yesterday (30) after the OIC had accepted a bribe of Rs 25,000 at the police station on the same day, reports say.

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) observed the process of handing over six bone samples obtained from the Mannar mass grave, located at the Sathosa Building in the Mannar town (Case No B/232/2018), for radio carbon dating, to Beta Analytics in Miami, Florida, USA.

Sri Lanka Navy has launched a special investigation into the tense situation arose yesterday between the naval personnel and the villagers of Kandalkadu in Kinniya, Trincomalee. Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Isuru Suriyabandara said that the police are also conducting further investigations into the incident. The tense situation occurred between Navy personnel and the villagers when the naval officers attempted to raid an illegal sand mining operation in the Kandakadu area in Kinniya yesterday morning.

SriLankan Airlines incurred a loss of USD 10.1 million by operating regular flights at Mattala International Airport during the 2013-2015 period. This was revealed when the Head of Revenue Management, Planning and Commercial of SriLankan Airlines, Sumudu Upatissa testified before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to Investigate and Inquire into Alleged Irregularities in connection with the SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka Catering and Mihin Lanka, yesterday (29).

The remains of the two Sri Lankan United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers who were killed in an attack on their convoy in Mali on January 25 will be returned to the country on Saturday, February 2, the Sri Lanka Army says. An aircraft carrying the remains of the two peacekeepers will land at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Saturday afternoon.

President Maithripala Sirisena has presented a proposal to hold elections for all provincial councils on the same day before 31st of May to the Cabinet meeting held Tuesday (29). The President has presented the proposal as a special cabinet memorandum to the Cabinet of Ministers.

A petition filed by the Attorney General (AG) seeking a retrial into the the murder of former Jaffna district MP Nadaraja Raviraj and his driver at Narahenpita in 2006 is to be heard on April 04 by the Appeal Court. The appeal for another hearing on the murder was taken up before Appeal Court judges Deepali Wijesundara and Achala Vengappuli today (Jan 30). However, the hearing was adjourned since Lieutenant Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi alias 'Navy Sampath' - the suspect in the case had requested time to obtain legal assistance in order to present his arguments.

Twelve Navy officers were injured, four critically, during a clash that took place when naval officers confronted illegal sand miners at Kandakadu in Kinniya this morning, the Navy said. Navy Spokesman Isuru Suriyabandara said shots were fired persons who were mining sand illegally attempted to resist the navy personnel who raided the site.He said the illegal sand miners were thought to have attacked the STF and Navy officers as a pre-planned move.

A Sri Lankan who worked in Queensland, Australia as a postman has been forced to tearfully sign an agreement he will leave the country after stealing thousands of dollars' worth of mail. Pradeepan Logandan, who came to Australia from Sri Lanka via boat in 2012, had worked at a post-sorting facility in Toowoomba as an employee of Australia Post for four years, police prosecutor Rowan Brewster-Webb told the court on Tuesday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has said that the Provincial Council polls would be held before May 31. It is reported that the President made this remark during today's cabinet meeting at the Presidential Secretariat.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has not yet accepted the concept of a unitary state, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila said today.

Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne today announced the appointment of next High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. David Holly, a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been appointed as Australia's next High Commissioner to Sri Lanka with non-resident accreditation to the Maldives, the Minister said in a statement on the ministry's website.

Based on information provided by the Navy, Point Pedro Police officers have arrested a suspect with 86.4 kilograms of Kerala cannabis in the general area of Imbasiddi, Point Pedro Monday (28). The stock of cannabis has been concealed in the roof of a house in Viyaparamullai, Point Pedro, when it was recovered. The suspect is 50 years of age. Point Pedro Police are conducting further investigations on the suspect and the cannabis haul. During last three weeks, 509 kilograms of Kerala Cannabis have been seized during the raids conducted by Sri Lanka Navy. The Navy is carrying out further operations island wide to seize illegal drugs.

The UK is providing documentation to assist the Westminster Magistrate

Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said today that he would resign from his post if the elections for the Provincial Councils were not held before November 10. He told a news conference that he would take this decision in protest of the delaying of PC polls for two years.

A new Constitution can be worked out later if it is impossible now due to uncertainty in getting it approved by a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday. Mr. Wickremesinghe was attending a

Security forces had arrested six youths who had taken photographs wearing LTTE uniforms. The security forces had received a tip-off regarding a suspect who had been engaged in LTTE activities, but when they had raided his home, the suspect had fled. However they had searched his house and found the laptop that was left at the house. Upon examining the contents of the laptop, photos of 21 youths had been found.

Joint opposition Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa appeared before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today to make a statement over the alleged plot to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and other VIPs. Weerawansa was issued notice to appear before the CID today. Activist Namal Kumara had revealed last year that there was a plot to assassinate the President and other VIPs including former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Former Police DIG Nalaka De Silva was later arrested and questioned over the alleged plot.

The Jaffna-Ilavalai Police had arrested three men and a woman over an incident where they had burgled a house and gang raped a 17-year-old girl who was in the house. The police said that a 28-year-old youth from Thellipalai-Jaffna and a 30-year-old from Elalai-Jaffna had been arrested of having raped the girl. Another suspect who had aided in burgling the house had also been arrested and a woman who had been directly involved in a racket with the gold jewellery burgled from the house, was also arrested.