The investigation into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of 278 people and left more than 500 others injured, took a dramatic new turn before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today, as prosecutors presented what they described as two significant new pieces of evidence relating to alleged links between former State Intelligence Service Director Suresh Salley and others connected to the attacks.

Making extensive submissions before court, Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris outlined what investigators believe to be a series of intelligence failures, suppressed warnings and suspicious actions by multiple individuals prior to the devastating attacks of April 2019.

One of the key pieces of evidence presented to court stemmed from information allegedly provided by a former military intelligence informant known as “Thambiyan,” a former LTTE Sea Tiger operative who had subsequently worked with Indian intelligence before returning to Sri Lanka.

According to the prosecution, the informant had been supplying intelligence regarding Zahran Hashim and his activities as early as 2018. Court was told that the intelligence had been passed through established military intelligence channels, first to an officer named Suranga, then to Colonel Ranawera, who was expected to relay the information to then Director of Military Intelligence Chula Kodituwakku.

However, prosecutors alleged that despite possessing detailed intelligence relating to Zahran and his network, the information was not shared with investigators in a timely manner.

The Additional Solicitor General told court that the same informant had identified Zahran and his associates as being responsible for the murder of two police officers in Vavunathivu, yet efforts had allegedly been made to portray the killings as an LTTE-linked operation and to implicate former LTTE member Ajanthan instead.

The court heard that while an officer in charge of the Third Military Intelligence Corps had informed the Criminal Investigation Department only nine days before the Easter attacks that Zahran’s group was responsible for the Vavunathivu murders, the informant had provided that same information almost immediately after the killings took place.

Prosecutors argued that the failure to share such intelligence with investigators raised serious concerns and had given rise to suspicions that certain intelligence officers may have participated in a broader conspiracy connected to the attacks.

The prosecution also unveiled further details regarding the movements of Zahran Hashim prior to the attacks. Court was told that intelligence agencies had gathered information indicating that Zahran had travelled to India on several occasions using sea routes from Mannar.

According to the submissions, investigators believe that upon returning to Sri Lanka, Zahran received political protection allegedly linked to former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. The Additional Solicitor General further alleged that financial assistance for these overseas trips had been provided by businessman Alavudeen, identified in court as the father-in-law of Inshaf, one of the suicide bombers who detonated explosives at the Shangri-La Hotel during the Easter attacks.

The prosecution further told court that following the attacks, Inshaf’s wife had been detained and questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department under detention orders. However, she had allegedly been released before the expiry of those orders following the change of government and the election of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Court was also informed that Alavudeen had played a leading role in managing Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election campaign activities in the Mannar area.

In another development, Additional Solicitor General Peiris sought a travel ban against former Police Inspector Konara Bandara, who had previously served in the police unit responsible for investigating extremist activities within the public sector. The court approved the request.

Explaining the basis for the application, the Additional Solicitor General told court that during his tenure in the State Intelligence Service, Konara Bandara had prepared two separate intelligence lists containing the names of individuals linked to extremist activities. One list reportedly contained 94 names, while the second included 126 names.

Significantly, prosecutors stated that both lists contained the names of Zahran Hashim, several of the suicide bombers involved in the Easter attacks and other individuals currently facing trial before the Colombo High Court.

Court was also informed that on April 3, 2019, intelligence received from foreign sources regarding Zahran had been transmitted by then SIS Director Nilantha Jayawardena through official channels to Konara Bandara for follow-up action.

According to the prosecution, Konara Bandara subsequently travelled to Kattankudy and met Shayni Moulavi, the younger brother of both Zahran Hashim and Rilwan. Despite Shayni Moulavi’s name reportedly appearing on one of the extremist watch lists, he was not arrested. Instead, prosecutors alleged that a meeting took place and no enforcement action followed.

The Additional Solicitor General argued that had Shayni Moulavi been arrested at that stage, investigators may have had an opportunity to apprehend Zahran and potentially disrupt events leading to the Easter attacks. Investigators are now examining whether those circumstances themselves form part of a wider conspiracy.

The court was further informed that investigators intend to obtain statements from several Members of Parliament, including the Leader of the Opposition, regarding public remarks made over the years concerning Suresh Salley and matters connected to the Easter attacks investigations.

Peiris emphasized that Salley had not been arrested because of any personal decision by prosecutors or the Criminal Investigation Department, stating that concerns regarding Salley’s alleged role had first been raised publicly by opposition political figures within Parliament. Investigators now intend to formally record statements from those individuals regarding the allegations they previously made.

Appearing for Suresh Salley, President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando strongly challenged the prosecution’s submissions. He argued that the extensive claims placed before court constituted allegations rather than evidence and maintained that information contained in B Reports should not be treated as established facts.

Fernando told court that while he would not respond to each accusation individually, none of the matters raised by the prosecution amounted to evidence before court.

After hearing submissions from both sides, the court postponed further proceedings until September 22.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has been named as a suspect in the money laundering case linked to the alleged financial irregularities surrounding the procurement of aircraft for SriLankan Airlines.

The development follows a motion filed in court by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the instructions of the Attorney General.

Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, informed the Fort Magistrate’s Court that Namal Rajapaksa had been named a suspect in the ongoing case.

Rajapaksa is currently being held in remand custody until 18 September after being arrested recently by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over allegations of accepting a bribe in connection with the Airbus aircraft procurement deal.

The court was informed that the latest development comes from the Attorney General’s instructions and a joint investigation conducted into the transaction.

Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena today ordered that Namal Rajapaksa be produced before court on 16 September in connection with the case.

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has presented the Russian President Vladimir Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, during bilateral talks in New Delhi on Friday.

“Presented President Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, which carries the eternal wisdom of the great Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders,” Modi said in a post on X, accompanied by footage of the two leaders shaking hands as the book changed hands at Bharat Mandapam.

The edition, published by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai as part of its Ancient Tamil Classics in Translation series, carries the original Tamil couplets alongside transliteration and a Russian rendering by the translator Naira Mkrtchyan, with an image of Thiruvalluvar on the cover.

Composed of 1,330 couplets arranged across 133 chapters and divided into sections on virtue, wealth and love, the Thirukkural is among the most celebrated works of classical Tamil literature. Dated by scholars to between roughly 300 BCE and 500 CE, it offers guidance on ethical conduct, governance, family life and human values.

Modi said the text would inspire readers in Russia and help strengthen people-to-people ties between the two countries.

Talks ahead of the summit

The meeting came on the eve of the 18th BRICS summit, which India is hosting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September. India assumed the bloc’s chairship on 1 January, its fourth, under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, and has held more than 350 related meetings across over 25 cities during the year. The summit marks two decades since the grouping was established.

Founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China, and joined by South Africa in 2011, BRICS expanded in 2024 to admit Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025, bringing the membership to eleven. The bloc positions itself as a counterweight to Western-dominated institutions and has pursued reforms to global governance and alternatives to the dollar-based financial system. The Chinese President Xi Jinping, the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto are among those attending.

Modi and Putin were expected to discuss defence, energy, critical minerals and trade, with the two sides working towards a target of 100 billion US dollars in annual bilateral trade by 2030. India’s continued purchases of discounted Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine have drawn criticism from Western governments, and New Delhi has declined to condemn the invasion outright.

Modi presented Putin with a Russian-language copy of the Bhagavad Gita during the Russian president’s previous visit to Delhi in December.

Tamil heritage as diplomacy

The gift continues a practice the Indian prime minister has made a feature of his public life. He quoted the Sangam-era poet Kaniyan Poongundranar in his address to the UN General Assembly in 2019, invoked Tamil culture during a state visit to Malaysia in February, and has promoted the Kashi Tamil Sangamam as a cultural bridge between Tamil Nadu and his Varanasi constituency, launching multilingual and braille translations of the Thirukkural and the Manimekalai at the 2023 edition.

In 2020 he praised the Thirukkural as “extremely inspiring”. As the Tamil Guardian noted at the time, that praise came as chapters on Periyar, the Chola king Rajaraja Cholan and the Sangam epic Silappathikaram were removed from Central Board of Secondary Education textbooks, and as Eelam Tamil refugees who had lived in India for decades were excluded from the offer of citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019.

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka must establish an independent maritime regulatory body to safeguard fair competition and draw foreign investment before its current growth window closes, United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Laura DiBella said.

Setting up a dedicated regulatory body — similar to the FMC — would monitor ocean carrier alliances, prevent cartel behavior, deter rate exploitation, and provide clear rules that give global investors confidence, she said.

“A clear regulatory framework de-risks the market for foreign direct investment. Capital avoids environments with arbitrary constraints or excessive risk,” DiBella told the Colombo International Maritime and Logistics Conference.

Colombo has become a critical link for American supply chains, handling approximately 500,000 containers representing 30 billion US dollars in cargo value, DiBella said.

Seaports are the foundation of economic growth, DiBella said, but warned that governments must stick to a supporting role and allow private enterprise to drive commercial expansion.

She said the FMC is ready to help Sri Lanka structure a fluid, competitive framework to keep trade lanes moving.

During an ensuing panel discussion, business leaders and regional experts warned that Sri Lanka must move beyond basic transshipment and eliminate local bottlenecks to maintain its commercial edge.

Ashraf Omar, Chief Executive Officer of Brandix Sri Lanka, pointed out that export manufacturing is rapidly shifting from forecast-driven orders to fast, demand-driven deliveries where fashion products lose value if they do not reach retail shelves on time.

“We might shave five days off factory production, only for the finished goods to sit at a port or with a freight forwarder for ten days. That waiting time wipes out every efficiency gained on the factory floor,” Omar said.

Omar urged officials to avoid distant 25-year plans and focus immediately on digital solutions that cut cargo transfer times to minutes, enabling finished goods to move directly from factory floors onto ships.

René Piil Pedersen, Managing Director of A P Moller – Maersk Singapore, said emerging hubs unlock real transformation when port terminals are combined with landside warehousing and free-trade logistics.

Citing Singapore as an example, Pedersen pointed out that Scottish distillers ship Scotch whisky into Singapore’s free trade zone, where bottles receive market-specific labels inside warehouses before being distributed to destinations like Manila or Jakarta. Singapore captures this high-margin value addition despite producing no whisky of its own, an opportunity Sri Lanka can easily replicate along its busy sea lanes, he said.

Pedersen also urged Colombo to prepare facilities to supply clean alternative marine fuels like green methanol to passing fleets.

Closing the panel, FMC Commissioner Robert Harvey called on authorities to treat the national logistics sector like a competitive commercial enterprise, stressing that transparent regulations are critical to attract private capital and advanced technology.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has questioned the practice of political power being passed from father to son, calling for a major transformation of Sri Lanka’s political culture.

“Some thought that when the father becomes President, the son should also become President. We need to change that,” the President said while addressing a public rally in Kahatagasdigiliya today (13).

He said the government was not facing any threat and had no reason to fear, rejecting suggestions that rallies were being organised because of concerns over the government’s stability.

“Do we have threats? Is that why we are holding rallies? No. This government has no threats. We are not scared,” the President stated.

President Dissanayake said a strong public movement was necessary to rebuild the country and called for fundamental changes to the country’s political, social and economic systems.

“We need to rebuild the country and change the political culture. We need a political transformation. We need major changes in society, the economy and politics,” he said.

Criticising the political practices of the past, he said politicians had previously been treated as being above the general public.

President Dissanayake also highlighted changes made by the NPP government since September 2024, saying it had begun dismantling what he described as outdated political practices and privileges.

He cited changes to the security arrangements surrounding politicians, saying large convoys that once accompanied politicians on visits to villages were no longer the norm.

“Now the police are there only for the protection of the public,” he said.

The President said the government had taken steps to move the country in a new direction and change what he described as the old political culture.

Sri Lanka and India exchanged three key Memorandums of Understanding this morning, aimed at further strengthening defence and security cooperation between the two countries.

The agreements were exchanged during Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The first MoU was signed between the National Defence College of Sri Lanka and the National Defence College of India to enhance cooperation in national security, development and strategic studies.

The second MoU establishes cooperation between the National Cadet Corps of Sri Lanka and its Indian counterpart.

The third MoU has been signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of India concerning the acquisition of six L-70 guns of Sri Lanka Air Force.

Under the agreement, India will also provide free maintenance support for the six existing L-70 air defence weapons currently in Sri Lanka.

The three agreements are expected to further strengthen defence ties and military cooperation between Sri Lanka and India.