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Authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with a social media lottery fraud that reportedly swindled Rs. 10 million from the public.

Police confirmed that a 29-year-old man and woman, both residents of Batticaloa, were taken into custody by officers from the Northern Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday .The scam, carried out under the name ‘Dialog Mega Wasana,’ deceived participants through fake lottery claims on social media platforms. The CID is continuing its investigation to uncover the full extent of the operation and identify any additional individuals involved.

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) will hold a special Central Committee meeting tomorrow to determine its next course of action in response to unresolved issues within the health sector.

GMOA Media Spokesperson Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said that commitments previously made by the Minister of Health and the Ministry of Health have yet to be fulfilled, despite repeated assurances that the concerns raised by medical professionals would be addressed.

In light of the continued inaction, the association is considering the possibility of resorting to trade union action. Dr. Wijesinghe noted that a final decision on whether to proceed with such measures will be taken at the conclusion of tomorrow’s meeting.

The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) has issued landslide warnings for several locations across four districts, with the alerts remaining in effect until 8.30 a.m. tomorrow.According to the NBRO, amber-level warnings have been declared for Ududumbara in the Kandy District, Wilgamuwa in the Matale District, and Walapane in the Nuwara Eliya District, indicating a heightened risk of landslides in these areas.

In addition, yellow-level alerts, signaling moderate risk, have been issued for multiple locations. In the Badulla District, the affected areas include Badulla, Hali Ela, Lunugala, and Welimada. Meanwhile, Doluwa in the Kandy District, Ambangaha Korale in the Matale District, and Hanguranketha, Nildandahinna, and Mathurata in the Nuwara Eliya District have also been placed under yellow alerts.

The NBRO has advised residents in these regions to remain vigilant, closely monitor official updates, and follow safety guidelines to minimize potential risks associated with landslides.

The Department of Meteorology has announced that a low-level atmospheric disturbance located to the southeast of Sri Lanka in the Bay of Bengal has strengthened into a low-pressure area, increasing the likelihood of widespread rainfall across the island.

As a result, enhanced showery conditions are expected from January 8, particularly affecting the Northern, North-Central, Eastern, Uva, and Central provinces. These regions are likely to experience frequent showers throughout the day.

According to the Met Department, heavy rainfall of around 100 millimeters may occur in parts of the Uva Province as well as in the districts of Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, and Ampara.In other areas of the country, showers or thundershowers are forecast to develop at several locations after 1.00 p.m.

The advisory also notes that strong winds, reaching speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour, may occur at times, especially along the eastern slopes of the central hills and in the Northern, North-Central, North-Western, and Eastern provinces. Similar wind conditions are expected in the districts of Hambantota, Gampaha, Colombo, and Monaragala.

The general public is advised to remain vigilant and take appropriate measures to reduce potential damage caused by temporary strong winds and lightning associated with thundershowers.

A fatal house fire in Galenbindunuwewa has claimed a third life after the wife of the suspected perpetrator died while receiving treatment for severe burn injuries, police confirmed.

The incident took place around 2.00 a.m. today at a residence in the Padikaramaduwa area of Nuwaragam Colony. According to police reports, a 43-year-old man allegedly set fire to his own house following a domestic dispute. The man and his 13-year-old daughter were found dead at the scene.

Galenbindunuwewa Police stated that the man’s 36-year-old wife, who had been admitted to hospital in critical condition, later passed away, raising the number of fatalities to three.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old daughter, a 20-year-old son, and a 66-year-old mother-in-law sustained burn injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital.

Police investigations revealed that at the time the fire broke out, the wife, her mother, and the two daughters were inside the house. The son, who arrived after learning of the incident, reportedly suffered serious burns while attempting to rescue his mother and sisters.

Preliminary findings indicate that the suspect was a habitual alcohol user and had a history of domestic violence. Police records show that several complaints related to family disputes had previously been filed at the Galenbindunuwewa Police Station, and warnings had been issued to both parties on multiple occasions.

India’s Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, is set to visit Sri Lanka this week as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral defence relations and deepen military cooperation between the two nations.According to reports by The New Indian Express, the Indian Army confirmed that General Dwivedi will travel to Sri Lanka on January 7 and 8, following the completion of an official visit to the United Arab Emirates. Upon arrival, he will be formally welcomed with a Guard of Honour by the Sri Lanka Army.

During his stay, General Dwivedi is expected to meet with senior military and civilian officials, including the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, the Deputy Minister of Defence, and the Defence Secretary. Discussions will focus on areas of shared interest such as training collaboration, capacity enhancement, and regional security cooperation.

The Indian Army further noted that the visiting Army Chief will deliver an address to officers at the Defence Services Command and Staff College and engage with officers and trainees at the Army War College in Buttala. These engagements highlight India’s continued support for defence education and professional military exchanges with Sri Lanka.

In addition, General Dwivedi will pay tribute at the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) War Memorial. The visit underscores India’s commitment to building trust, improving interoperability, and reinforcing defence partnerships with friendly nations across the Indian Ocean Region and West Asia.

Sri Lankan MP Dr. Kavinda Jayawardena on Monday handed over a letter to the Indian High Commission expressing Sri Lanka’s gratitude for India’s assistance during the recent disaster caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

The letter, addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, commended India for being the first country to extend support following the cyclone, which triggered widespread flooding and landslides across several parts of Sri Lanka.

Jayawardena highlighted India’s humanitarian assistance delivered under Operation Sagar Bandhu, which included emergency relief supplies, disaster response coordination and logistical support to affected areas. He noted that India’s swift response provided critical relief to displaced communities during the early stages of the crisis.

The MP also recalled India’s broader contribution to Sri Lanka during its 2022 economic crisis, when New Delhi extended approximately USD 4 billion in financial assistance through credit lines, currency swaps and deferment of payments, helping Sri Lanka secure fuel, food, medicines and other essential supplies.

The letter further acknowledged the role played by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and officials at the High Commission in Colombo in coordinating relief operations and ensuring assistance reached those most in need.

Jayawardena said the message was conveyed on behalf of the people of his electorate as well as Sri Lankans who benefited from India’s support, describing India as a close neighbour and long-standing partner whose assistance has strengthened ties between the two countries.

The Attorney General has formally requested the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to provide information on further investigative work carried out by a CID team that visited the United Kingdom as part of a probe into the alleged misuse of public funds involving former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

According to a report by The Sunday Times, the request seeks extracts of additional findings from the UK-based inquiries linked to allegations that Rs. 16.6 million in state funds were misappropriated during an overseas tour undertaken while Wickremesinghe was in office. The request was conveyed through a written directive addressed to the CID Director and signed by Deputy Solicitor General Wasantha Perera.The Attorney General had earlier informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court of his intention to seek Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from UK authorities under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act to support the investigation.

In the correspondence, the Attorney General also noted that the officer leading the investigation had failed to report to the AG’s Department despite being instructed to do so for the purpose of compiling relevant documentation. Additionally, the letter highlighted that the CID team had traveled to London without first securing an MLA request from the UK authorities.

The investigation remains ongoing as authorities review procedural and evidentiary aspects of the case.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 hit the western Chugoku region of Japan on Tuesday, followed by a series of sizeable aftershocks, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The epicentre of the first earthquake was in eastern Shimane prefecture, the agency said, adding that there was no danger of a tsunami.

Chugoku Electric Power, which runs the Shimane Nuclear Power Station about 32 km (20 miles) away, said operations were continuing as usual at its No.2 unit. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said there were no irregularities following the quake.

The plant’s No.2 unit restarted in December 2024 for the first time since all of Japan’s nuclear power plants were shut down in the aftermath of the March 2011 disasters in Fukushima.

The earthquake had a seismic intensity of upper-5 on Japan’s 1-7 scale, strong enough to make movement difficult without support.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about one-fifth of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

West Japan Railway said it had suspended Shinkansen bullet-train operations between Shin-Osaka and Hakata following the quake.

(Source: adaderana.lk)

Interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez invited U.S. President Donald Trump “to collaborate” and said she seeks “respectful relations” in a newly conciliatory message released Sunday night.

After delivering speeches projecting fierce defiance to the Trump administration this weekend, Rodriguez’s statement in English on her Instagram account marked a dramatic shift in tone.

“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she wrote.

Her message comes shortly after Trump threatened that she could “pay a very big price” if she didn’t fall in line with U.S. demands.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Sunday that the United States would not govern Venezuela day-to-day other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on the country, a turnaround after President Donald Trump has insisted that the U.S. would be running Venezuela following its ouster of leader Nicolás Maduro.

Rubio’s statements seemed designed to temper concerns that the assertive action to achieve regime change in Venezuela might lead the U.S. into another prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building.

They stood in contrast to Trump’s broad but vague claims that the U.S. would at least temporarily “run” the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington.

Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the U.S. would continue to enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power early Saturday and use that leverage as a means to press policy changes in Venezuela.

“And so that’s the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that,” Rubio said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking.”

The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers — some of which have been seized by the U.S. — “remains in place, and that’s a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela,” he added.

Leaders in Venezuela have so far pushed back, calling on the Trump administration to release Maduro.

Even before the operation that nabbed Maduro, experts questioned the legality of aspects of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Maduro, including the deadly bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs that some scholars said stretched the boundaries of international law.

Cuba on Sunday night announced that 32 Cuban security officers were killed in the U.S. operation in Venezuela, which Trump acknowledged: “You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday.”

“There was a lot of death on the other side,” Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “No death on our side.”

Trump still says U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela

The president’s vow, repeated more than half a dozen times at a Florida news conference on Saturday, sparked concerns among some Democrats.

It also drew unease from parts of his own Republican coalition, including an “America First” base that is opposed to foreign interventions, and from observers who recalled past nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rubio dismissed such criticism, saying Trump’s intent had been misunderstood.

“The whole foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan,” Rubio said. “This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere.”

He also suggested the U.S. would give Maduro’s subordinates now in charge time to govern, saying, “We’re going to judge everything by what they do.” Though he did not rule out boots on the ground in Venezuela, Rubio said the U.S., which has built up its presence in the region, was already capable of stopping alleged drug boats and sanctioned tankers.

A day earlier, Trump had told reporters, “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”

He later pointed to his national security team with him, including Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and said it would be done for a period of time by “the people that are standing right behind me. We’re gonna be running it, we’re gonna be bringing it back.”

Despite Rubio’s seeking to tamp down that notion, Trump reiterated Sunday that the U.S. would control Venezuela, saying, “We’re going to run everything.”

“We’re going to run it, fix it,” he said Sunday. He added, “We’ll have elections at the right time” but didn’t say when that might be.

Maduro due in court Monday
A middle-of-the-night operation extracted Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital city of Caracas — an act Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic seizure capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.

Rodríguez has called Maduro the country’s rightful leader, even as her nation’s high court named her interim president.

So did Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, who said the country’s armed forces “categorically reject the cowardly kidnapping” and will “maintain internal order and peace.”

Asked about Rodríguez comments in which she stands by Maduro, Trump said, “I don’t think it’s pushback” and suggested her calling what occurred a kidnapping of Maduro wasn’t “a bad term.”

Maduro is due to make his first appearance Monday in Manhattan’s federal court.

He and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

Quiet falls in Venezuela after U.S. operation

Venezuela’s government kept operating as usual over the weekend as ministers remained in their posts.

The capital was unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed.

Maduro’s son, lawmaker Nicolás Ernesto Guerra, has not appeared in public since the attack. On Saturday, he posted on Instagram a government statement repudiating the capture of his father and stepmother.

The country’s incoming National Assembly is set to be sworn in at the legislative palace in Caracas. The unicameral assembly will remain under control of the ruling party.

Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodriguez stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she assume the interim role.

Trump told The Atlantic in an interview Sunday that Rodríguez could “pay a very big price” if she doesn’t do what he thinks is right for Venezuela. Speaking to reporters later, Trump said Rodríguez is “cooperating” but reiterated the threat. He said he wanted her to provide “total access,” from major oil operations to basic infrastructure like roads, so all can be rebuilt.

His warning contrasted with his comments about Rodríguez on Saturday when he said Rubio had spoken with her and she was willing to do what the U.S. thinks is needed to improve the standard of living in Venezuela.

(Source: adaderana.lk)

National People’s Power (NPP) MP Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi has informed Parliament that a new legislative proposal has been submitted to address ongoing problems linked to microfinance lending practices in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at a public event in Colombo, the MP underscored the seriousness of the issue, noting that microfinance-related debt has had devastating consequences for many families. He said reports indicate that around 200 women have lost their lives after being driven to extreme distress due to overwhelming loan burdens.

 

Meanwhile, a separate financial controversy has emerged involving a large-scale scam that falsely used the name and logo of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Senior Vice President of the CSE, Niroshan Wijesundere, confirmed that the fraud was carried out through a fake mobile application that misleadingly claimed to be connected to the exchange.

Officials revealed that the fraudulent scheme has been operating since November last year and has caused significant financial losses to unsuspecting members of the public. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has initiated a full-scale investigation into the matter.

Wijesundere has urged investors to remain vigilant and to verify the legitimacy of any trading platform through official CSE communication channels before making financial commitments, in order to avoid falling prey to such deceptive schemes.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States might launch a second military strike on Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro if remaining members of the administration do not cooperate with his efforts to get the country “fixed.”

Trump’s comments to reporters aboard Air Force One raised the possibility of further U.S. military interventions in Latin America, and suggested Colombia and Mexico could also face military action if they do not reduce the flow of illicit drugs to the United States.

“Operation Colombia sounds good to me,” Trump said. He also said that Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, “looks like it’s ready to fall” on its own without U.S. military action.

Maduro is in a New York detention center awaiting a Monday court appearance on drug charges. His capture by the United States has sparked deep uncertainty about what is next for the oil-rich South American nation.

Trump said his administration will work with remaining members of the Maduro regime to clamp down on drug trafficking and overhaul its oil industry, rather than push for immediate elections to install a new government.

Top officials in Maduro’s government are still in charge and have called the detentions of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores a kidnapping.

“Here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemy’s provocations,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in an audio recording released by the ruling PSUV socialist party.

Images of the 63-year-old Maduro, blindfolded and handcuffed stunned Venezuelans. The operation was Washington’s most controversial intervention in Latin America, since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago.

Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on state television the U.S. attack killed soldiers, civilians and a “large part” of Maduro’s security detail “in cold blood.” Venezuela’s armed forces have been activated to guarantee sovereignty, he said.

The Cuban government said 32 of its citizens were killed during the raid.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez — who also serves as oil minister — has taken over as interim leader with the blessing of Venezuela’s top court and has said Maduro remains president.

Rodriguez has long been considered the most pragmatic member of Maduro’s inner circle. But she has publicly contradicted Trump’s claim she is willing to work with the United States.

Trump said Rodriguez may pay a bigger price than Maduro “if she doesn’t do what’s right,” according to an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday.
The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that remark.

‘A QUARANTINE ON THEIR OIL’

Trump’s administration has described Maduro’s capture as a law-enforcement mission to force him to face U.S. criminal charges filed in 2020, including narco-terrorism conspiracy. Maduro has denied criminal involvement.

But Trump also said U.S. oil companies need “total access” to the country’s vast reserves and suggested that an influx of Venezuelan emigrating to the United States also factored into the decision to capture Maduro.

“What really played (into the decision to capture Maduro) is the fact that he sent millions of people into our country from prisons and from mental institutions, drug dealers, every drug addict in his country was sent into our country,” Trump said.

The Venezuelan government has said for months Trump was seeking to take the country’s natural resources, especially its oil, and officials made much of a previous Trump comment that major U.S. oil companies would move in.

“We are outraged because in the end everything was revealed — it was revealed that they only want our oil,” Cabello said.

Once one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America, Venezuela’s economy tanked in the 2000s under President Hugo Chavez and nosedived further under Maduro, sending about one in five Venezuelans abroad in one of the world’s biggest exoduses.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela’s next leader should keep Venezuela’s oil industry out of the hands of U.S. adversaries and stop drug trafficking and cited an ongoing U.S. blockade on tankers.

“That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

MUTED STREETS

Some Maduro supporters gathered at a government-sponsored protest march on Sunday afternoon in Caracas.

Once ruled by Spain, Venezuela’s “people must not surrender, nor should we ever become a colony of anyone again,” said demonstrator Reinaldo Mijares. “This country is not a country of the defeated.”

Maduro opponents in Venezuela have been wary of celebrating his seizure, and the presence of security forces seemed, if anything, lighter than usual on Sunday.

Despite a nervous mood, some bakeries and coffee shops were open and joggers and cyclists were out as usual. Some citizens were stocking up on essentials.

“Yesterday I was very afraid to go out, but today I had to. This situation caught me without food and I need to figure things out. After all, Venezuelans are used to enduring fear,” said a single mother in oil city Maracaibo who bought rice, vegetables and tuna.

To the disappointment of Venezuela’s opposition, Trump has given short shrift to the idea of 58-year-old opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado taking over, saying she lacked support.

Machado was banned from standing in the 2024 election but has said her ally Edmundo Gonzalez, 76, who the opposition and some international observers say overwhelmingly won that vote, has a democratic mandate to take the presidency.

LOOMING QUESTIONS

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the White House has failed to say how long the U.S. intends to be in Venezuela and how many American troops might be required.

“The American people are worried that this is creating an endless war — the very thing that Donald Trump campaigned against,” Schumer said on ABC’s “This Week.” He said lawmakers would weigh a measure to constrain further Trump administration action in Venezuela, though its prospects could be uncertain given that Congress is controlled by Trump’s Republicans.

While many Western nations oppose Maduro, there were many calls for the U.S. to respect international law and questions arose over the legality of seizing a foreign head of state.

The U.N. Security Council planned to meet on Monday to discuss the attack. Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, have criticized the U.S.

(Source:adaderana.lk)