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The Inaugural Session was prominently attended by Sri Lankan police officers including Senior DIG Mr Priyantha Weerasooriya and Indian officers from the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), Ministry of External Affairs and High Commission of India, Colombo.

BPR&D is the nodal agency for organising these programs at their various training institutes. Pertinently, the course contents have been tailored to fulfil the requirements of Sri Lankan Police and designed in a way where Sri Lankan police officers can have a formal interaction with the Indian police to share and learn from each other’s experiences.

It will enhance policing capabilities of Sri Lankan Police to face the modern days’ challenges. Importantly, programs would cover topics such as interrogation techniques, human trafficking, investigation of financial frauds, narcotics and psychotropic substances, intelligence and national security workshop, cyber crimes, de-radicalisation and counter terrorism.

For every course, 25 officers, ranging from ranks of  Superintendent of Police, Chief Inspector of Police, Inspector of Police and Sub-inspector of Police are being nominated by Sri Lankan Police.  

The Indian High Commission said that Sri Lankan Police officers had been invited in the past for training in the premier Police training institutions across India based on the training needs of the Sri Lankan police.

"During 2018 and 2019, over 200 police and legal officers were trained in India in diverse topics at various institutes. These courses were fully funded by the Government of India and have been beneficial in capacity building of Sri Lankan police. India also benefits from such interaction and experience sharing with the Sri Lankan police," the High Commission said.

The hike in prices is due to the low supply of vegetable stocks as a result of inclement weather conditions experienced in the country, reported the News 1st correspondent in Dambulla.

Accordingly, 1 kilogram of green chilli was priced at a record Rs. 700, while a kilo of pumpkin was sold at Rs. 240 and a kilo of corn at Rs. 140.

Among vegetables supplied to the Dambulla Economic Centre from Nuwara Eliya, a kilo of beetroot, carrot and leeks were priced at Rs. 240, Rs. 230 and Rs. 130 respectively.

Traders at the Dambulla Economic Centre believe the prices will continue to remain at higher rates until the prices can be revised once an adequate supply of vegetable stocks are delivered by farmers.

The Indian Company has stepped into take over 49% of shares of Colombo East Terminal amidst protests of works and sections of the society with majority of the people.    

Workers at the Port of Colombo began a protest from Jan. 29, over the proposed involvement of Indian and Japanese companies in the operation of the Eastern Container Terminal (ECT).

The organisers, together with other allied organisations such as labor unions across the country and political parties, have also warned of demonstrations and strikes in the coming days.

Following the visit to Sri Lanka by Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on 6 January 2020, it was decided to award the expansion project of the ECT to Adani Group of India.

Adani Group is India's largest integrated ports and logistics company.

A Memorandum of Corporation (MoC) to manage the ECT between Sri Lanka, India and Japan was signed in March, 2019.

However, the new Rajapaksa government appointed a committee to review all the projects that were to be awarded to foreign countries.

Subsequently, the visiting Indian Foreign Minister and his Sri Lankan counterpart held discussions on several issues pertaining to India's interests and decided to offer the ECT to Adani Group.

India had this week said that it remains committed to assisting Sri Lanka with increased foreign investment and cooperation in infrastructure projects like ports, airports, energy including renewable such as solar and wind.

India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay said that he is confident that working together, India and Sri Lanka will be able to successfully overcome the contemporary economic and other challenges.

Serjeant-at-Arms of the Parliament, Narendra Fernando says that random PCR tests are being conducted once a week for the staff at the Parliament complex. He also invited Hon. Members of Parliament to obtain PCR testing if necessary.

The Fisheries Ministry has decided to launch this industry and private companies have expressed willingness to start inland fish canning ventures in the island as it has high local and foreign demand.

The inland fisheries industry has been encouraged to produce more inland fish stocks to cater the requirement of processing canned food for local consumption in the initial stage.

Six companies have agreed to set up inland fish processing factories using infrastructure facilities provided by the government, the Fisheries Ministry announced.  
Accordingly, they will be purchasing inland fish stocks obtained from inland fish breeding tanks countrywide, the ministry said.

The setting up of state of the art fish processing facilities will bring in new technologies to this country.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, canned fish imports from January to November 2019 was LKR 12,940 million. When considering the equivalent in foreign exchange it is an amount easily saved.

The president of the Canned Fish Manufacturers Association of Sri Lanka (CFMASL), Shiran Fernando said that the local consumption of canned fish is around 200,000 cans per day.

This amount can be increased if better quality products are available in the market.

With a level playing field, the local entrepreneurs have ample capacity to meet the total demand though they get little or no help at the moment.

At present on average, around 10000 cans are manufactured daily among five canning factories working under capacity.

This was revealed when former Director of the CID Shani Abeysekera testified before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Easter Sunday bombings on 21 April 2019, yesterday (26).

He said that he and then Senior DIG of the CID Ravi Seneviratne had informed Sirisena about this on 2 February, 2019 when they visited the former President's official residence at Paget Road in order to record a statement.  SDIG Seneviratne pointed out to the former President that the matter could not be taken lightly and that it should be discussed at the National Security Council (NSC). Then the former President said that an opportunity would be given to Seneviratne to attend the NSC in order to brief on the matter. However, such an opportunity was not given, he added.

Abeysekera also said that he had been asked by former Western Provincial Governor Azath Salley and President's Counsel Faizer Mustapha to release two suspects arrested in connection with the stock of explosives found in the Wanathawilluwa area and that he had rejected the request.

Testifying further, he said that information had come to light that a group, including National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) Leader Zaharan Hashim was planning a large scale attack in May 2019 and that the discovery of the explosives hidden in Wanathawilluwa had averted such a catastrophe.

Meanwhile, when a copy of a report dated 09 April, 2019, submitted to the then IGP, by the State Intelligence Service (SIS), stating that the NTJ could carry out a suicide attack, the witness said that he received it on 23 April, 2019, two days after the bombings. When asked what the reason for the delay was, the witness said that he had not inquired about it.

The Commission inquired at length about the stock of explosives discovered in Wanathawilluwa and Abeysekera said that he felt that a certain group was preparing to carry out some destructive action after the incident. He said that he had informed the then IGP Pujith Jayasundara in writing on three or four occasions in this connection.

Meanwhile, when the Commission questioned him on whether he was aware of the fact that then Coordinating Secretary to former Minister Kabir Hashim, Mohomed Thasleen, was being used as an informant by the CID, the witness said that he was not aware of it. He also said that no information would be provided to senior officials regarding informants.

The Commission also inquired from Abeysekera about the release of two suspects named Mohamed Nafridi and Mohamed Nafees who were arrested in connection with the explosives discovered in Wanathawilluwa. In response, he said he had made a recommendation to the then President to release the two suspects who were being held on detention orders as there wasn’t sufficient evidence against them.

"Accordingly, the suspects were released on six bail conditions on 10 April, 2019 and they appeared before the CID on the last Saturday of every month even after the Easter Sunday bombings," he said.

When asked if there was any pressure from the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) or from any politician to release the said two suspects, the witness said that there was no such pressure. He said that during a meeting, Salley and Mustapha had asked for their release, but he had refused.

Meanwhile, the Commission inquired about when he came to know about Zaharan, as Former Director of the CID. In reply he said he came to know about Zaharan on 17 January, 2019 following the interrogation of suspects arrested in connection with the Wanathawilluwa incident.

He added that he had learned that Zaharan was planning to commit a serious crime. In response to a question from the Commission as to why a team of officers was not deployed to arrest Zaharan, the witness said that the teams investigating the Wanathawilluwa and Mawanella incidents had been deployed full time to arrest Zaharan and other suspects involved in those incidents.

Meanwhile, the Commission asked the witness why the CID, which was able to arrest many significant suspects, was unable to arrest Zaharan. In response, he noted that criminals are usually arrested on the basis of their telephone data reports. However, he said that specific information was not received about the whereabouts of the Zaharan-led group because they used secret communication applications such as 'Threema'. He added that the CID was aware before 21 April, 2019 that they were using such communication methods. We looked into the applications but could not find enough information, said Abeysekera.

Meanwhile, when asked if he, as then CID Director was informed by the CID officers regarding the use of Bathiudeen Ahmed Mohammed alias Army Mohideen as an informant, the witness said that he came to know about it only after the Easter Sunday bombings.