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The family of a student who was accused of planning to assassinate senior Australian politicians insist he is innocent.

Mohamed Nizamdeen, 25, who was studying and working at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), allegedly planned to kill former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his deputy Julie Bishop, according to police.

A notebook detailing the alleged plan was found by his university colleague and was reported to police.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Mizamdeen has been working as a Business Systems Analyst at UNSW since 2016.

After the arrest on Thursday, his uncle Faiszer Musthapha, who is Sri Lankan Sports and Local Government Minister, said his nephew was innocent.

He was arrested and charged for the planning of a terrorist offence last Thursday. 

'We love him - when anyone has done something wrong they should deal with them - but as a family we believe he's innocent,' Mr Musthapha told Hack.

'As a family we believe he hasn't done anything wrong, we're very confident of that but until the judicial system makes a finding we'll have to wait and see.

'I don't want to pre-judge things... all that we can say is that we have love, affection, and praise for him.'

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Mizamdeen has been working as a Business Systems Analyst at UNSW since 2016. 

'He's just like any other boy, he plays, he dances, he sings, he parties - he's not different to any other kid in Australia or Sri Lanka,' Mr Musthapha said. 

When he was arrested, NSW Police allegedly found documents 'containing plans to facilitate terrorism attacks' and a notebook that named a number of locations and individuals as 'potential targets'.

His alleged plans involved former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (left) and former deputy leader Julie Bishop (right).

'From the documentation, we believe he would affiliate with ISIS,' Detecting Superintendent Mick Sheehy said last week. 

Mr Nizamdeen has no criminal history in Australia, according to police. 

The Sri Lankan national was on a student visa and in the process of applying for another one when he was arrested.     

Last week, Mr Nizamdeen was refused bail and his case was adjourned. He is due to appear at Central Local Court on October 24.

'Everybody in the family is shattered and broken but the fact that this happened in Australia, we know that you have a good judicial system and justice will prevail,' Mr. Musthapha said.

Faiszer Musthapha: 'Everybody in the family is shattered and broken but the fact that this happened in Australia, we know that you have a good judicial system and justice will prevail.

Source: Daily Mail

Deputy Inspector General of Matara Vijitha Gunaratne has ordered officers of Police Stations in the Matara and Tangalle Divisions to work 12 hours daily. Issuing orders to the relevant HQI’s and OIC’s of Police stations across the two divisions Gunaratne claimed that human resources provided to them are being mismanaged. 

“Therefore Officers in every police station must work at least four extra hours after their first duty shift daily and engage in special operations,” he said in an order letter issued regarding the matter. 

However, the order has come under heavy fire from within the Police itself. Speaking to ISIS news one Policeman who wished to remain anonymous questioned how fair such a decision is. “How do we spend any time with our families,” he asked adding that it is not humane to expect a person to work 12 hours every day of the week. Officers in Police stations are often required to work similar hours twice or thrice a week due to special operations. However, asking them to do so seven days a week is unfair many claimed while questioning the humanity of DIG Gunaratne. 

Below the order letter sent by DIG Gunaratne : 

INSERT : Letter (Attached)

The Agriculture Ministry plans to conduct a survey to identify the extent of land used for paddy cultivation with the assistance of Sri Lanka Air Force, Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said. 

“It is clear that the extent of paddy cultivated lands has reduced due to the filling up of paddy lands or using paddy lands for purposes other than cultivation,” Amaraweera said.

The Minister further noted that the government needs to collect accurate data on the country’s paddy lands to forecast rice production and fertilizer requirement. Minister Amaraweera also said that he had instructed officials to prepare a database on paddy cultivated lands by analyzing data on aerial maps collected with the assistance of Sri Lanka Air Force.

According to the data collected several years ago, the total land allocated for paddy is estimated to be about 800,000 hectares at present.

A large number of urbanised paddy lands were used for other purposes legally or illegally. Most paddy landowners initially sought a license to allow them to use the land for commercial purposes. However, in most cases, they had divided it into small blocks and sold to build houses.

The Agrarian Services Department had received about 3,000 applications from the Western Province seeking permission to fill paddy lands during the past few months.

Releasing a statement on social media, brother of Sydney terror suspect Sri Lankan Kamer Nizamdeen claimed his brother has been framed. Nizamdeen, was arrested by the New South Wales Police on Thursday for alleged ‘terrorism’ charges after a notebook mentioning several targets intended for terror attacks was found. 

"He was an open minded Muslim who has been framed by someone with immense jealousy in heart. Jealousy on his accolades, his position and the type of character he has developed,” his 19-year-old brother said in a social media post which has since gone viral. 

Nizamdeen, a Phd student at the University of New South Wales and an alumnus of the St.Thomas College, Preparatory School, Kollupitiya and Asian International School (AIS), was arrested by the New South Wales Police after it had received a tip-off from a colleague regarding a notebook containing ‘symbolic places’ on Thursday

The brother of Nizamdeen, explaining the statements of the Police reported in the media, said that there was an attempt to mystify the public with vague statements.

"When the media tells you that he travelled to Sri Lanka and ‘other areas’ please understand that ‘other areas’ are not Syria or any war torn region in the Middle East. It is simply the United States of America where he travelled to visit family. When they tell you that they raided his apartment and found ‘Electronic Gadgets’ please note that they are referring to a Phone, Laptop and an Xbox,” he said.

In a final plea to the suspected ‘framer’, Junior Nizamdeen urged that they come forward and ‘tell the truth’.

"To he who has done this and framed my brother I sincerely cannot speak for my parents but I can forgive you. I hope you look deeply into your heart and feel guilt in your horrendous crime. I hope you can find God and that you can have sincere repentance and come out and tell the truth," he said.

The NSW Police earlier allegedly found documents 'containing plans to facilitate terrorist attacks' and a notebook that named a number of locations and individuals as 'potential targets'.

'From the documentation, we believe he would affiliate with ISIS,' Detective Superintendent Mick Sheehy told the media hours after the arrest.

Australian Federal Police detective superintendent Michael McTiernan said the charges laid against Nizamdeen were 'serious and significant'.
“At this stage there is a number of locations and individuals named in that document who are potential targets,” he told reporters on Friday.

"He has been falsely accused and as justification of having no conclusive evidence, their motive is to prolong his stay under custody to simply save themselves," the post being circulated on social media, his brother social media post further added. 

Nizamdeen is also said to be a close relative of a Government Minister in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan farmers should look into shifting to higher value agriculture in order to improve output per farmer thereby increasing the income per farmer, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said on Sunday speaking at the CEOs Forum 2018.

"By 'protecting' uncompetitive agriculture, we are in effect trapping farmers in low wage economic activity. It is clear that we need to gradually shift into higher value agriculture in order to improve output per farmer, and thus income per farmer", Samaraweera said.

The Minister added that to get there the government needs investment and technology – both FDI and domestic private investment. This same principle applies to all economic sectors; many of which are uncompetitive but have been protected, stifling competition, innovation, and real wage growth, whilst imposing high costs of protection on consumers.

"It is in this context that the government has embarked on a shift in the economic trajectory of Sri Lanka from a protected domestic market driven economy, to a more outward oriented economy", he said.

Samaraweera also said that the government needs to undertake more difficult and challenging reforms in order to drive future economic growth and development.

The Finance Minister pointed out that this entails improving the competitiveness of the economy, so that output per employee is higher, and this would be reflected in higher real wages. 

"In order to drive competitiveness, it is necessary for economic resources to be diverted into activities that optimise output per worker. This requires a shift of economic activity into sectors where Sri Lanka is globally competitive and move out of sectors where we cannot compete", he added.

The Sri Lankan government has decided to provide relief assistance once again to people who are continuously affected by the ongoing drought.

Director General of the National Disaster Relief Services Center, Chaminda Pathiraja said that the required information has been forwarded to the Ministry of Disaster Management. Accordingly, a drought relief monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 will be granted to those affected.

Deputy Director of the Disaster Management Centre, Pradeep Kodippili claims over 400,000 people in several districts are currently affected by the drought.

Saudi Arabia on Monday pledged USD 300 million worth of assistance to Sri Lanka, which will be disbursed to various areas in the country for various development programmes.

The Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Sri Lanka Abdul Nazar Al Hardi said during the inauguration of the Badulla-Chenkalldai Road Development project in Padiyatalawa yesterday morning that his government would provide assistance to the tune of USD 300 million.

He said the fund would be spent on water supply projects, agriculture sector, education and health facility development.

“We are happy to assist Sri Lanka and look forward to strengthen bilateral ties with Sri Lanka,” he said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe announced that internal flights within Sri Lanka will commence soon as the government is set to grant permission to two local private operators shortly. Wickramasinghe made this statement at the opening of the MJF Centre for Dignified Empowerment and Sustainable Development for East in Kalkudah.
 
“This will allow tourists to travel to Colombo, Batticaloa, Sigiriya, Palali, and Trincomalee areas in shorter periods of time,” the Prime Minister said. 
 
Currently, only Helitours run by the Sri Lanka Air Force operates passenger flights in Sri Lanka while there are also several air taxi companies that operates charter flight services to tourist destinations within the country.

Joint Opposition MP, Former Minister Johnston Fernando was remanded today till September 11 along with two others over the misuse of public funds relating to Sathosa. 

The order was issued by Judge Menaka Wijesundara today who said the suspects should be remanded till the conclusion of the case.

Remanded along with him was his private secretary Mohammed Shakeer and former Sathosa Chairman Nalin Fernando. The case will be heard daily till its conclusion the court ordered as well.

Law College Principal PC Indira Samarasinghe was forcefully confined to her office by unruly law college students for over 22 hours yesterday.

According to sources, the issue arose regarding several student union elections held at the College on Friday. One group of students had claimed irregularities had occurred during the elections and called for the election to be held again. The group had said the Principal will only be allowed to leave her office if she provides a solution to the issue. They had even gone on to block in the Principal’s vehicle by parking several other vehicles around it. 

Finally Bar Association President, Counsel U.R De Silva had to visit the College and discuss with the students to secure the release of Samarasinghe. De Silva had promised to conduct an investigation and provide a solution for the issues today. The students thereafter allowed Samarasinghe to leave the premises around 3.30pm in the evening. When questioned by the media the Principal said further action will be taken according to the advice of the Chief Justice. 

Many have criticized the actions of students who upon passing out would the lawyers. "Shameful Behaviour," one lawyer said when asked claiming that hoodlum behaviour of local universities has now found its way to the once Prestigious Law College as well.

Hemasiri Fernando has been appointed as the President’s Chief of Staff, the President’s Media Division confirmed. 

Hemasiri Fernando is the current Chairman of People’s Bank and has been the former Secretary to the Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, former Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd, former Chairman Airport and Aviation Authority.

Minister Mangala Samaraweera claims the government is taking steps to remove 3000 taxes by year 2020. According to the Minister as part of this initiative they are hoping to remove a total of 2000 taxes within the year.

Samaraweera made these comments at the CEO’s Forum 2018 organized by the  Postgraduate Institute of Management of the Sri Jayawardenapura University held in Colombo under the theme “The Development Landscape of Sri Lanka in 2025” on Friday. 

The forum saw the participation of the Minister of Finance and Mass Media, Mangala Samaraweera and the Governor of CBSL Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.

Samaraweera also noted that the Government has already passed anti-dumping and safeguard legislation to protect the industry against unfair trade practices.

Samaraweera added that the Government has also designed a trade adjustment program that will assist skilled workers and provide concessionary finance to firms affected by competition to enhance their competitiveness.