India, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Afghanistan are among the countries where the Islamic State (IS) terror group has found a footing, as its influence has diminished drastically across its territory of origin in Iraq and Syria, the Hindustan Times reported on Friday quoting a leading conflict monitor.

Thirteen Sri Lankan illegal immigrants, who were deported from Australia, returned to the country from the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake this morning. The BIA officials said all the Sri Lankans had travelled to Australia by multi-day fishing boats from Chilaw.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said today it was essential to defeat the presidential candidate of the Rajapaksa faction to ensure democracy and rule of law in the country. JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva told a news conference that it was not because they were scared of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa but because of the bad political culture of the Rajapaksa faction and corrupt and fraudulent personnel in the Rajapaksa camp.

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says the government's objective is to rebuild and develop the war-torn North and elevate Jaffna to a major city of Sri Lanka as in the past. He stressed that to achieve this objective a major economic boom will be launched with Jaffna at the center in the next five years.

Leader of the JVP Anura Kumara Dissanayake would be appointed as the party’s presidential candidate, JVP sources said. It is further revealed that a majority of proposals received by the party favours the appointment of the party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the most suitable to be nominated as the presidential candidate. Sources also revealed that at the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna national convention to be held on the 18th at Colombo Galle Face grounds his name would be proposed and approved.

Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya has appointed a five-member panel of judges to hear the President's request to the Supreme Court to inquire whether there is a possibility of holding a Provincial Council elections according to the preferential voting system. President Maithripala Sirisena has made a request to the apex court seeking its interpretation of the conduct of the Provincial Council Election under the old electoral system, due to the delay in the delimitation report on Provincial Councils.

Chairman of the United National Party (UNP), Minister Kabir Hashim says the date to sign the agreement for the proposed new alliance led by the UNP will be decided at a meeting between the leaders and representatives of the UNP to be held on Saturday (Aug 17). He made this statement while participating in the signing of agreement on the Magnetic and Gravitational Data Collection Project for oil exploration in Mannar and Cavalry Basin.

Former Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council C.V. Wigneswaran who now spearheads the party called 'Tamil Makkal Koottani' (TMK) said today his support to any main presidential candidate would be conditional to written consent by either of them to address demands put forward by him on behalf of Tamil people. Mr. Wigneswaran told the Daily Mirror that his party would participate in the elections, but not field any candidate.

The name of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa is not in the list of those renounced US citizenship as at June 30 this year, a document issued by the US Internal Revenue Service showed.

Replying to reports of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s name not appearing in the list of those renounced US citizenship as at June 30, MP Namal Rajapaksa said they will present documents if needed. “Don’t worry about SLPP candidate. If his documentation is the issue, will present if needed,” the MP tweeted in reply to Non Cabinet Minister Dr. Harsha De Silva.

President Maithripala Sirisena will announce the official stand of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) on the presidential election at the 68th SLFP annual convention to be held on September 3 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, Colombo, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera said today. Addressing a news briefing at the SLFP headquarters, he said they did not want to tarnish the identity and trust of the SLFP by holding talks with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

A 26-year-old Sri Lankan national who had arrived at the Chennai city last month has been reported missing, the Deccan Chronicle reported. Based on a complaint by his mother, the Airport police have launched a search for the man. Police said K.Dhana Sharath( 26) , son of Kirubha Raja and Kirubha Rani in Sri Lanka, arrived at the Bengaluru international airport from Sri Lanka in July.

Three more activists of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) Organisation were arrested today in Ampara on a tip-off received by the State Intelligence Services (SIS), police said. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunsekara said they had undergone weapon training with Zahran in Nuwara Eliya and Hambantota.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says the Tamils in Sri Lanka are more united now than they were during the war. TNA Parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran says the Tamils feel the international community had deceived them. Sumanthiran noted the TNA played a crucial role to ensure the Maginda Rajapaksa Government was defeated.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will take action against members who participated at the recently held Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna rally at the Sugathadasa Stadium, General Secretary, Dayasiri Jayasekara said yesterday (Aug 12). Mr Jayasekera who was speaking at a media briefing said the SLFP Central Committee would convene in the coming days and the committee would decide on the necessary action that should be taken.

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said Gotabaya Rajapaksa was selected as the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate as its leaders clearly understood the current security situation in the country.

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) General Secretary Udaya Gammanpila said no one could stop Gotabaya Rajapaksa becoming the next president. Addressing a news briefing, he said both the UNP and the JVP had tried their level best to prove that Gotabaya was neither fit nor eligible to contest at the presidential poll.

Four persons were nabbed with more than 100 kilograms of kerala cannabis during separate raids carried out by security personnel in Jaffna yesterday (Aug 12). Navy officers had apprehended three individuals with some 84 kilos of kerala cannabis at the Keerimalai beach upon discovering some suspicious parcels in the area.

An individual has died after being attacked by a sharp weapon during a brawl in Kuchchaveli last night. Police said a personal dispute had escalated into a fight between the victim and a group of persons at around 8:15 pm. The victim has been identified as a 40-year old resident of Madurankuliya. He had died after being admitted to the Kuchchaveli hospital.

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge said that it is a dangerous situation that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has been named the Presidential candidate from the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna. She said that she has no confidence that the country would be developed in the event Gotabhaya is elected.

Sri Lanka’s Provincial Council elections are expected to precede the Presidential poll to test the pulse of the people, according to a directive issued by President Maithripala Sirisena to the Election Commission., Presidential Secretariat sources said on Monday.

President Maithripala Sirisena is said to be preparing to take measures to cancel the parliament membership of Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, his son Namal Rajapaksa and 60 other MPs who had taken up membership of the SLPP, according to a reliable source at the Presidential Secretariat.

Minister Sajith Premadasa said today in Thirappane, Anuradhapura that he would contest the forthcoming presidential election without fail and that he expects the support of people in the country. After opening the ‘Se-Dasungama’ - 246th model village in Demategama in Thirappane in Anuradhapura District under the Gam Udawa programme, the Minister was responding to a query directed at him by someone in the audience.

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) Investigating the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks plans to ask for a month’s extension to wind up the inquiry and finalize its report.

Kerala ganja worth close to Rs 25 million was recovered during a search operation carried out in Kankasanthurai today (Aug 12), Police said. The eighty kilograms of Kerala ganja worth Rs 25 million was recovered during a search operation conducted by the Navy, Police and Police Narcotic's Bureau. At present three suspects have been arrested in connection to the operation.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa today declared former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Rajapaksa made the announcement at the SLPP convention in Colombo today. He said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the choice of the people.

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has been appointed as the leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at its national convention at the Sugathadasa Stadium, today. Chairman of SLPP Prof. G. L. Peiris handed over a token of leadership to the former president.

A UN Special Rapporteur is to submit a report critical of Sri Lanka at the September session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), The Sunday Morning learnt. The Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Guarantees of Non-recurrence will submit a report based on a visit to Sri Lanka in 2017.