The Sri Lankan president deployed military officials to examine the welfare of those affected by drought in the country. Mr Sirisena gave the order at a special meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday on the issue, Colombo Page reported. According to the paper, the "progress of identifying and releasing alternative lands to resettle the people who have lost their houses due to recent calamities" was discussed and the president ordered the military officials to "complete the identification of these lands before the 15th of this month and if there are any issues in this regard,...
Sri Lanka’s Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera reiterated that Sri Lanka is not within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court Writing in the Daily Mirror Mr Mangala Samaraweera said, “In simple terms the ICC cannot investigate or prosecute crimes committed on the territory of a state, or by a national of a state, which is not a State Party to the Statute of the ICC. As noted above Sri Lanka is not a Party to the Statute of the ICC and as such the ICC does not have jurisdiction in terms of its own Statute over any crime committed on the territory of Sri Lanka or...
Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday promised to resolve the island's debt crisis by 2025. "Just like good parents don't pass on their debt burden to the children, this government will not hand over the country's debt to the future generations and Sri Lanka will be a country free of debt by 2025," Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by Colombo Page as saying. "The government has to increase the taxes to repay the debt. That situation will harm the income of the general public. Therefore, the government is committed not to pass on this severe problem to the future generations,"...
A Sri Lankan government minister met with a senior Buddhist monk today, to brief the clergy on the process to draft a new constitution for the island.
The newly appointed Defence Attaché at the US embassy in Sri Lanka met with commanders of the Sri Lankan security forces in Kilinochchi and Jaffna this weekend.
A Sinhala-language website has falsely used the photographs of three Tamil journalists in a story about a fraud incident in Dubai. The website alleges that six Tamil youths working at a security firm in Dubai defrauded that firm of over a million Emirati dirhams. In a collage of the supposed suspects, the website used the photographs of three prominent Tamil journalists based in Jaffna. The journalists said they had brought the incident to the attention of the Inspector General of Police during his visit to Jaffna and were assured the IGP would be taking swift action against the website. “...
Britain’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka praised renewed defence links between the two governments and called on the military to release more land, which is currently being occupied by the armed forces in the North-East.
Three Northern Provincial Council members were questioned by the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department in relation to a press conference on Mullivaikkaal remembrance. M. K. Sivajilingam was last week summoned to Colombo by the CID for questioning although the councillor declined to travel, suggesting instead that questioning could take place in the Jaffna district. CID personnel travelled to Jaffna on Monday and questioned the councillor about a press conference at Jaffna Press Club on May 8th. At the press conference Mr Sivajilingam had expressed opposition to a presidential visit to...
The Sri Lankan army donated a batch of computers to a school in Jaffna earlier this month, in a town that has become the site of a controversial Sinhala settlement.
A 38 year old Tamil man identified as father of four, Rasaiya Ravichandran, was found dead in Vaalaichchenai, Batticaloa on Friday. His body was found within bushes on abandoned land, reported Batti News . Mr Ravichandran left home around midday on Thursday before calling home around 5pm, his wife told the police. His body has been taken to Vaalaichchenai hospital by police for a post mortem examination.