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Police looking into involvement of third vehicle in accident that killed Sanath Nishantha 

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Police are investigating the presence of a third vehicle, which may be connected to Thursday’s accident that claimed the lives of state minister Sanath Nishantha and his personal security officer.

A senior police officer said that since the drivers of the two vehicles have claimed the presence of a third vehicle, the Highway Police has been told to investigate and report back.

According to police investigations and statements made by the drivers of the state minister’s vehicle and the container involved in the accident, a combination of factors, including high-speed driving, negligence, poor street lighting, and a failure by a third vehicle to give way, contributed to the accident.

The state minister’s busy schedule, where the driver was forced to spend long hours on the road—about six hours driving continuously—could also have contributed to the accident.

The minister had travelled to Kurunegala after attending parliamentary sessions, which ended around 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday, and taking part at the Australia Day reception. From Kurunegala, he had travelled to Arachchikattuwa to attend a wedding reception before heading back to Colombo, where the accident occurred around 2 a.m. on Thursday.

The minister’s driver, Prabath Eranga 29, said in his statement to the police that they were heading to Colombo as the state minister was keen to reach home soon.

The jeep was travelling at a high speed—150 km per hour at the time of the accident—and at times had gone above that speed too.

The driver of the container, who was released on bail, said he had observed that the jeep involved in the accident had been trying to overtake another car by flashing the vehicle lights. Realising that both vehicles were being driven dangerously, he had moved his vehicle to the left of the double-lane expressway.

However, while the other vehicle was passing his container, the jeep crashed into the rear of the container.

According to the police, Mr. Eranga had said that while he tried to overtake the other car from the left-hand side, he had seen the container ahead of him but could not get the vehicle back onto the right-hand side track, fearing it would collide with the other vehicle travelling parallel to him, and thereafter had rammed into the container. The jeep had spun and hit the left-side iron railing.

The minister and his bodyguard, PSO Anuradha Jayakody, were rushed to the Ragama hospital, where they were pronounced dead on admission. The driver was also admitted to the same hospital and has now been placed in remand custody while receiving treatment.

It was a police sergeant who was travelling from the airport along with his wife, a retired Air Force officer, who were the first to stop their vehicle on seeing the accident, while several other vehicles had passed by without stopping. The sergeant, who had dropped off his brother at the airport, was returning to police quarters in Maradana.

They had alerted the nearby police stations and ambulance services.

It had taken about more than an hour to extract Minister Nishantha and his bodyguard out of the wreck.

(sundaytimes.lk)

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Passengers jump from plane’s wing after fire alert on Spain flight, triggers panic

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Wildfires have broken out on an island and in towns near Athens in Greece, with blazes also being sparked in Turkey and Syria.

The Hellenic Fire Service and local authorities said that two villages – Tsakeoi and Limnionas – had been evacuated on the island of Evia after the blaze started late on Friday.

One fire service official said more than 160 firefighters, 46 trucks and five aircraft were deployed in southern Evia to put out the fire.

Southern Evia, to the east of Athens, was one of several regions in Greece placed on high alert for wildfires over gale-force winds forecast for today.

Images from Koropi, a town to the southwest of Athens, also show houses burnt down and helicopters dropping water on burning forests.

It marks the latest wildfires to break out in Greece – where blazes are common during the summer – as it tackles strong winds and dry conditions amid an early summer heatwave in southern Europe.

Officials have linked the conditions to at least nine deaths across the continent.

A wildfire broke out in Achlia on the island of Crete on Wednesday, forcing thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate – with some taken to a nearby basketball arena and hotels in safer parts of the island.

The fire service official told Reuters on Friday that the fire in Crete was largely contained.

Meanwhile, blazes have also broken out on Turkey’s west coast – the latest in a series of blazes which started in late June – as well as its southerly neighbour Syria.

At least five fires have been reported in Izmir after extreme heat, strong winds and low humidity. Two people have been killed by the blazes, while tens of thousands have been evacuated.

Fires also flared on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border on Friday, with a new blaze reported near the town of Dortyol in Turkey’s border province of Hatay.

According to Syria’s Civil Defence, wildfires have spread across large parts of mountainous areas in the Latakia province.

The government department added that conditions have hampered efforts to bring the fire under control, and noted unexploded ordnance could be in some of the areas affected.

Source: SKY NEWS

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CBSL extends Perpetual Treasuries suspension for six months

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The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has decided to extend the suspension of Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) from carrying on the business and activities of a Primary Dealer for a further period of six months.

The extension is with effect from 4.30 p.m. on 05th July 2025, in order to continue the investigations being conducted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

The suspension has been extended by CBSL acting in terms of the Regulations made under the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance and the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance.

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Kataragama Basnayake Nilame pressured over complaint against Kapuwas’ donation misuse

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It has been reported that Dishan Wickramaratne Gunasekara – the Basnayake Nilame of the historic Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya, is facing pressure including from several parties including political circles to withdraw his complaint lodged against the custodians (Kapu Mahattaya) of the devalaya.

The issue had arisen after it was discovered that some custodians were collecting money into their own tills instead of allowing them to be deposited in the official donation box.

Public discussion about the transparency of the temple’s donations intensified after the Basnayake Nilame had begun using a portion of the funds for community projects like hospital construction.

Traditionally, devotees often handed donations directly to the custodians, but the Basnayake Nilame had urged the public via media to place offerings only in the official donation box managed by the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.

He subsequently arranged a proper audit of all such donations for the first time.

In response, some custodians had reportedly begun pressuring devotees near the official box to hand over donations to them instead.

Upon learning of this, the Basnayake Nilame had lodged a complaint with the Kataragama Police, arguing that diverting funds from the official box amounts to fraudulent misappropriation.

Acting on the complaint, police arrested 02 custodians who were collecting offerings near the official box.

However, other custodians then surrounded the police station and pressured the officers to release the arrested individuals, resulting in their release.

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