Four Srilankan asylum seekers have been transferred at sea to the Lankan authorities after their vessel was intercepted, foreign media reported. The boat was intercepted earlier this month north west of the Cocos Islands. The Sri Lankan asylum seekers were interviewed at sea by border protection personnel to determine if they were refugees and in need of Australia’s protection. The interviews were then assessed by senior officials at the Department of Immigration. “All four illegal maritime arrivals were found eligible for return, consistent with Australia’s non-refoulement obligations,” a release by immigration minister Peter Dutton’s office said. “All persons aboard the [vessel] were safe and accounted for at all times and at no stage was the vessel in distress.” “By working closely with our regional partners we save lives at sea and prevent vulnerable people being lied to and ripped off by people smugglers,” Dutton said in a statement. “The Coalition government’s policies and resolve are stopping illegal boat arrivals and are restoring integrity to Australia’s borders and immigration programme. Anyone attempting to enter Australia illegally by sea will never be resettled in this country,” Dutton said.
I still remember the day of August 1947 floods, as it was the last school day at Kingswood College Kandy and the height the water soured. Water rose to the height of the Cross of the Chrurch at Getambe and the water was so high that it engulfed the Getambe Rajaponawarma Temple leaving only a few leaves of the Bo-tree visible.
The Colombo Additional Magistrate has ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to investigate and submit a report over a complaint about the alleged illegal assets gained by model Piumi Hansamali.
Heritage properties are major tourist attractions world over. Sri Lanka is no exception in this matter. From Colombo, Galle, most of the mountain cities including Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela, Hatton and Kandy and in the North, hundreds of heritage properties are spread across.
The Colombo High Court today (28) sentenced former parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra to three years of Rigorous Imprisonment over charges of the involvement of an abduction.
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