Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake commenced giving evidence before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to look into the Easter Sunday bomb attacks a short while ago for the second time. Earlier, he gave evidence before the PSC on June 26.

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said the Easter Sunday bomb attacks could have been prevented had the officers attached to defence establishments informed him about the prior warnings they have received in early April. President Sirisena said this during the National Conference on Peace and Harmony and Coexistence organized by Governor Western Province A.J. M. Muzammil last evening.

Wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday told The Island that he had relinquished his US citizenship in April this year. Rajapaksa said that the process had been completed without any issue. Responding to another query, Rajapaksa said that there had never been an issue with regard to renunciation of his US citizenship. Asked whether he had obtained a new passport, Rajapaksa said that after the US revoked his passport, he has had a Sri Lankan passport.

The United States today insisted it will not control any land in Sri Lanka under the proposed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) deal with Sri Lanka. The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina B. Teplitz said that strong and inclusive economic growth promotes Sri Lankan sovereignty. She said that the US wants to contribute to Sri Lanka’s growth by helping create economic opportunities for all. “That’s what the MCC development assistance agreement is all about,” she said.

Colombo-based think tank Verité Research reports that 79 of Sri Lanka’s 225 parliamentarians are over the age of 60. Verité’s Mantrhi.lk, which profiles MPs and keeps track of their activities, found that 21.9% of MPs are between the ages of 61 and 70. Four MPs are between 81 and 90 years of age. A majority of lawmakers, according to Manthri.lk’s findings, are in the age group of 51 to 60, with 74 MPs, while only 15 MPs are between the ages of 30 and 40. According to CIA World Factbook data, the median age of the Sri Lankan population is 33.1 years.

A mother and her son were found to have been killed at their residence in Kilinochchi this morning. The victims have been identified as 65-year old V. Valliammai and 32-year old V. Vigneshwaran. Kilinochchi police are conducting further investigations into the incident.

A certificate distributed yesterday purporting to show that former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has renounced his US citizenship has been debunked as a forgery, the Daily Mirror learns. The purported Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States was distributed widely on social media groups yesterday morning by parties close to the former Defence Secretary’s emerging presidential election campaign.

Talks are underway with top finance officials to set-up a co-operative development bank in the North, the Northern Governor’s office said in a statement today (Jul 30). Central bank governor Dr Indrajith Coomaraswamy too has engaged in discussions to establish the Northern Co-operative Development Bank (NCDB), the statement read.

A protest was held outside the Kurunegala hospital today (Jul 30) claiming that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) inquiry into doctor Mohamed Shafi had been biased. Dr. Shafi who was released on bail last week was accused of multiple charges including the sterilization of women. During the hearing, the CID informed the court that no evidence had been found so far to prove the charges against Dr. Shafi.

The brother-in-law of National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim was arrested by the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) from Katupotha last night, police said The 28-year-old suspect- Abdul Kader Asim- who had undergone weapon training in Nuwara Eliya alone with Zaharan, is the elder brother of Zaharan’s wife.

At least five treasure hunters were taken into custody during a patrol conducted in Mandekal Aru area, Kilinochchi on Sunday, the Navy said. A group of naval personnel attached to the Northern Naval Command, while patrolling in the Mandekal Aru area, have spotted a group of people behaving in a suspicious manner.

Three persons have been killed while five were left injured in a collision involving a lorry and a luxury bus along the Medawachchiya - Anuradhapura road last night. According to the police, the accident had occured at around 11:50 pm when the bus which had been travelling towards Jaffna had collided with the lorry which had been heading towards Dambulla.

Former Northern Provincial Council Member M.K. Sivajilingam said that Tamils would not support any Sinhalese or Southern-based candidate at the forthcoming presidential election. When asked about the stand taken by the main Tamil coalition, the Tamil National Alliance, he said that Tamil people were disgusted by the actions taken by the TNA so far. He said that the government that came to power in 2015 had already hoodwinked the Tamil people and the TNA had also done the same to the Tamil people.

Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekera has lodged a police complaint against lawyer Manoj Gamage, Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said. Abeysekara, a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), said that Mr Gamage, had levelled threats against him during a press conference held recently.

The petitions filed against two top state officials over the failure to prevent the terrorist attacks on April 21 will be taken up for further hearing on September 3, the Supreme Court announced today (Jul 29). A total of 12 petitions have been filed against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara over the failure to prevent the attacks despite having beforehand intelligence warnings in this regard.

President Maithripala Sirisena today (Jul 29) claimed he was not alone in his efforts to re-introduce judicial hangings as around 90 percent of the public have supported the move. Addressing an event in Ratnapura, President Sirisena reiterated his call for the death penalty, which he said would be re-introduced for the betterment of the future generations of the country.

Bodies of twin female infants had been found murdered at a house in Ninthavur, Sammanthurai this morning, the Police said. They said that the infants were 10 months old. They said they suspected the mother as she was believed to be mentally in an unstable condition.

With the future of the proposed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact agreement between Sri Lanka and the US on the fence, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz has sent an urgent letter to President Maithripala Sirisena seeking his intervention to ensure Cabinet approves the deal.

President Maithripala Sirisena was expected to meet Opposition Leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, for a crucial discussion to work out the modalities on forming a new alliance between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna (SLPP), General Secretary of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Mahinda Amaraweera said.

The Foreign Ministry said they were closely following the case in a German court against an LTTE suspect accused of having involvement in the assassination of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in 2005. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “We have provided evidence and other material to support the case through diplomatic channels.” The suspect, identified as Navaneethan G (40), was arrested in South Western Germany in January this year.

A man had been shot dead and another injured when two unidentified gunmen open fired at them while travelling in a Land Cruiser early this morning at Jambugasmulla in Kohuwela. Police said the injured were admitted to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital and the driver of the Land Cruiser succumbed to his wounds after admission to the hospital.

Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake was summoned again by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the Easter Sunday attacks. Senanayake already appeared before the PSC and has been asked to appear again on Wednesday (31), PSC sources said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and several other ministers will be summoned before the PSC on 6 August, The Sunday Morning learnt.

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and wife Maitree Wickremesinghe reached Kasaragod on a private visit and offered prayers at the Kumaramangalam temple at Bela, near Kumbla, here on Saturday. Reports quoting temple priest Ramachandra Adiga said Mr. Wickremesinghe and wife prayed for the prosperity of their nation and welfare of their family.

Discussions are currently underway to nominate JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the Presidential candidate from the JVP and coalition formed with the National Intellectuals Organisation. Many of the members of the intellectuals organisation at decision making capacity have said that if their agenda is to be successfully taken to the people, a JVP politburo member should be nominated for presidential candidacy and the election campaign should be handled by the JVP politburo.

The Sri Vairavar Hindu temple located at Chundikuli in Jaffna and its statues were vandalized with some statues being taken away last nights by mobs. The residents in the vicinity said the incident might have been the result of a dispute between the Kovil's Chief Priest and a group of people.

Sri Lanka and Japan Friday inked an agreement to expand defense cooperation and exchange between the two countries in many areas, especially in maritime security.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife Maithree offered prayers at the Kollur Sri Mookambika temple in India on Friday, Deccan Chronicle reported. The Prime Minister, his wife and others, who arrived at the Mangaluru airport were scheduled to take a chopper from the airport to the Areshiroor helipad near Kollur but due to bad weather the entourage had to reach the temple by road.

In the event Mahinda Rajapaksa accepts leadership of the SLPP at the party’s convention on August 11th, he could lose his SLFP membership and his UPFA parliamentary membership, it is reported. In the event Mahinda accepts te leadership of the SLPP, since the SLFP could get weakened, its leader President Maithripala Sirisena is preparing to take this decision, it is reported.