Nearly 8,000 foreigners are overstaying their visas, and the Home Affairs Ministry will seek Cabinet approval shortly to obtain funds and make logistical arrangements to deport them, a senior official said. The Immigration and Emigration Department’s Controller General, Pasan Ratnayaka, told the Sunday Times that after the April 21 attacks the Department’s Intelligence unit had tracked down 7,900 foreigners who had been overstaying their visas.

A five-day sit-in Satyagraha protest led by a Buddhist monk, demanding the authorities to upgrade the Kalmunai North sub Divisional Secretariat (DS) was called off yesterday after assurances that the matter would be resolved shortly.

The deputy mayor and a councillor of the Kalmunai Municipal Council had been expelled from their party membership of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), over allegations of corruption. TULF leader V. Ananda Sangaree said Deputy Mayor Kaththamuthu Ganeshan and Councillor Sumithra Jegadeeshwaran were expelled from the party because they have been acting contrary to the policies of the party.

President Maithripala Sirisena, in a new turn of events, may decide not to contest this year’s presidential election and, instead, support the opposition candidate. This is said to be the rationale behind his remarks to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s Women’s Front on Wednesday that there would be an “honourable decision which will not cause injustice or embarrassment to the party or its supporters” over the presidential poll. He ruled out the likelihood of a “three-cornered” fight by key contenders.

China’s Export-Import Bank has extended a loan of nearly one billion dollars for the Kadawatha-Mirigama part of the Central Expressway, but the Government has to raise the money to pay the contractor’s advance. The loan is 85 percent of the total contract of US$ 1.1 billion and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera wants to raise Rs 30 billion from two state banks on a Treasury guarantee. His proposal has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

President Maithripala Sirisena said both the 18th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution should be abolished to build a better country. Addressing an event at the BMICH, Colombo, President Sirisena said the 19th Amendment — which he strongly advocated in the mid-2015 — has created political instability. He also added that the 18th Amendment to the Constitution,a brainchild of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, created in a monarch in the country. "If not for the 19th Amendment," Sirisena said, "the past four and a half years would have been victorious for the country."

The Islamic State (IS) may have claimed responsibility for the Easter terror attacks in Sri Lanka, but its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was initially not aware of the horrific serial bombings, according to a top official familiar with the probe, the Hindu reported today.

An extraordinary gazette notification was issued extending the emergency regulations by another month. This was the second occasion where the emergency regulations were extended after the Easter Sunday attacks. Emergency regulations provides provisions to the armed forces to take measures to ensure peace in the country

Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gananasara Thera today visited a group of clergy and others protesting in Kalmunai and assured them he will ensure their demands are met. Gananasara Thera and other members of the BBS met the monks and Hindu priest who have been on a death fast demanding a separate Divisional Secretariat for Kalmunai North.

The Parliament Select Committee on the Easter Sunday attacks is to summon Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena and two former Law & Order Ministers to testify. The decision had been taken by the PSC members when they met this week. However a date has not been fixed to summon them. It was earlier reported that the PSC may also consider summoning the President.

US House Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) have sent a letter urging the US State Department to assert the need for the respect for religious minorities, respect for due process and the rule of law in Sri Lanka following the horrific attacks on Easter Sunday.

Colombo Dockyard, the largest and oldest ship building company in Sri Lanka has delivered the largest ship built in Sri Lanka's history of shipbuilding to Japan. Colombo Dockyard delivered its biggest and most sophisticated vessel, the submarine cable-laying ship "KDDI Cable Infinity" built for Japan's Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd yesterday.

The issues faced in upgrading the Kalmunai North Divisional Secretariat as an independent body would be resolved within three months, Minister Vajira Abeywardena said yesterday (Jun 20). The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has continuously insisted that this Divisional Secretariat must be established as a fully-fledged independent division. However, objections have been raised by certain fractions in this regard.

Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorala said yesterday that Minister Sajith Premadasa will definitely be the next president of the country and that he would get the blessings of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in this regard.

Though not officially announced, President Maithripala Sirisena would be the absolute choice of the SLFP as its presidential candidate at the forthcoming polls, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera said yesterday.

The Japanese Prime Minister’s Special Advisor, Dr Hiroto Izumi, had talks with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today. The Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akira Sugiyama and other Japanese officials also attended the meeting. The Prime Minister’s office said that both sides discussed development cooperation between the two countries. Minister’s Mangala Samarweera, Ravi Karunanayake, Malik Samarawickrema, Kabir Hashim and Sagala Ratnayake were among those who attended the talks.

Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), filed papers challenging the Presidential Pardon of Gnanasara Thera who was convicted for contempt of court by the Court of Appeal on August 8, last year, the Colombo based civil society organization said. The Thera was sentenced to 19 years of rigorous imprisonment to be completed within 6 years.

The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education has recommended the government to takeover the controversial Batticaloa Campus under provisions of emergency regulations.

Tamil Canadians whole heartedly thank Canadian Government and members of parliament of all parties and independents for unanimously passing a historical motion in the House of Commons calling upon the United Nations to investigate Tamil genocide

Toronto: Tamil Canadians thank Canadian government and members of parliament of all parties and independents for unanimously passing the following motion in the House of Commons on June 19th, 2019:

The Sri Lanka terrorist attacks were organized by the militants of the Islamic State (IS, terrorist organization outlawed in Russia - TASS) formerly active in Syria and Iraq, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Yuri Kokov said at the Tenth International Meeting of High-Level Representatives on Security Issues in the Russian city of Ufa.

President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed security forces to release those who have been arrested over minor offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Speaking at a National Security Committee meeting yesterday (Jun 20), the President had also issued instructions to expedite investigations which are being carried out on the suspects.

India and Sri Lanka are likely to be under threat with terror group ISIS turning its attention to the Indian Ocean Region in the wake of losses across Syria and Iraq, intelligence reports have warned, NDTV reported.

Parliamentarian Dinesh Gunawardena urged the government to remove the Emergency Law as it prohibits the democratic rights of the public. Speaking at a media briefing held in Colombo, he said that if the government assures national security, there was no need of extending the Emergency Law.

MP Mahinda Amaraweera said that emergency situation imposed after the Easter Sunday terror attack will be lifted soon. He was addressing media representing the United People’s Freedom Alliance at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party headquarters in Colombo together with parliamentarians Duminda Dissnayke and Weerakumara Dissanayake.

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday carnage, yesterday, decided not to permit the media to cover its sessions when serving military officers testified on sensitive issues concerning national security, Chairman of the Parliamentary select committee probing the Easter Sunday carnage and Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarsiri said yesterday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is unable to visit Sri Lanka as previously announced due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts, the US Embassy said today. In a statement, the Embassy said Pompeo is scheduled to accompany President Donald Trump to the G20 Summit in Japan. The Embassy said Secretary Pompeo regretted that he was no longer able to visit Colombo at this time.

The Police arrested 12 suspects belonging to the Jaffna-based Ava and Dhanurock gangs over the attack on the Kokuvil Stationmaster and a house in the area, during an operation on Monday. The Kokuvil Stationmaster was attacked by a gang of six who came on motorcycles and assaulted him with sharp objects on June 12. Danurock members were quoted as saying that the Stationmaster had close connections with the Ava group.

Former Ministers Kabir Hashim and M.H.A. Haleem, who resigned recently, were sworn in again in their previous portfolios before President Maithripala Sirisena a short while ago. Accordingly, Hashim was sworn in as the Minister of Highways, Road Development & Petroleum Resources Development, while Haleem was sworn in as the Posts, Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs Minister.