Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was in Kandy today, responded to questions posed by journalists.

The conviction of a Buddhist monk who had threatened the well-known campaigner against enforced disappearances, Sandhya Eknaligoda, is a victory for human rights defenders in Sri Lanka, Amnesty International said today.

The most important thing in our life should be the purification of mind for the betterment as well as the protection of human beings. Any act, which is harmful to the society first germinates in a human mind. Consequently, the salvation and betterment of the human beings could only be attained in an environment of good thoughts where moral values are strengthened.

A Sri Lankan travel agent was arrested in Mumbai on Wednesday for allegedly trying to fly to Sri Lanka with three Bhutanese women. The women told cops that the accused had promised them high paying jobs in a men’s spa in Iraq. Cops suspect he may have intended to force the women into the sex trade.

Trade union action by dairy farmers and union leaders were temporarily suspended when Minister of Rural Economic Development Vijith Wijayamuni Zoysa pledged to provide speedy solutions to several of their demands including putting a stop to importing cows.

A Sri Lankan court on Thursday jailed for six months a Buddhist monk accused of inciting violence against Muslims after finding him guilty of intimidating the wife of a missing journalist, in a case seen as a test of the independence of the judiciary.

The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organisation, Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, has been sentenced to 1 year rigorous imprisonment to be ended in 6 months, for threatening Sandya Ekneligoda.

Co-cabinet Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the previous regime’s tactics in dealing with the underworld had not worked and that all governments face a challenge when dealing with the underworld.

The import of chicken, eggs, canned fish and dry-fish will soon be stopped, Fisheries Minister Wijith Vijayamuni Soysa said.

Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranawaka yesterday urged President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint a Presidential Commission with extraordinary powers to investigate the alleged coal scams that took place from 2009 to 2016.

Former Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickramaratne will be arrested over the alleged involvement in the murder of senior journalist Lasantha Wickramatunge, if sufficient evidence is collected, Senior State Counsel (SSC)Janaka Bandara revealed to the Mount Lavinia Magistrate yesterday (12).

The vehicle used by the gunmen, who shot the chief incumbent of the Kataragama Kiriwehera Rajamaha Viharaya Venerable Kobawaka Damminda Thera and another monk, has been discovered by the Police.

Outgoing US Ambassador Atul Keshap has told former President Mahinda Rajapaksa that his brother, Gotabhaya was very unpopular.

The chief incumbent of the Kataragama Kiriwehera Rajamaha Viharaya Ven. Kobawaka Damminda Thera and another monk have been hospitalised after being shot at by an unidentified gunman, Police said.

Former Minister Mervin Silva said yesterday he would leave the country if former defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa becomes the President in 2020.