Buddha aprons seized by Sri Lankan customs

Aprons and oven gloves with a depiction of Buddha were seized by Sri Lankan customs officials on Thursday who said the items were "offensive". The goods were a consignment on a shipment from India heading towards Slovenia. Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, customs spokesperson, Dharmasena Kahandawa said the items were "offensive to religious sentiments" of Buddhists. “Selling such products with the picture of Lord Buddha, or of any other god for that matter, would hurt sentiments of people practising that religion,” he added.

Sri Lankan soldiers hand out glasses to Tamils

Sri Lankan troops stationed in Poonakari distributed spectacles to Tamils living in the area last week.

Government to develop Trinco with India's assistance

The Sri Lankan government is to introduce a development programme in Trincomalee with Indian assistance, to mirror that of Hambantota port, the minister of development policies and international trade Malik Samarawickrama said on Wednesday. “We are currently talking with India to get into a similar arrangement to run the Trincomalee Port and to develop an industrial zone. However, this government will actually work with all the countries including India, Singapore and Japan,” Mr Samarawickrama was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. See more here .

JHU calls for govt to reveal MoU on Hambantota port deal

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) on Thursday called on the Sri Lankan government to reveal its deal with a Chinese company which was due to be responsible for Hambantota port, the Daily Mirror reported. “The government should be transparent when entering any trade or other agreements. But we do not see such move taken by the government. This will arouse suspicions among the people that mega deals were happening under these agreements,” JHU national organizer Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe was quoted as saying. see more here .

Sri Lankan PM Wickremesinghe visits Tamil Nadu

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will offer worship at the Lord Venkateswara temple near Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, after landing in Tamil Nadu on Thursday. The Prime Minister, along with his wife and officials will arrive in India on December 21st. His last visit to the temple was in his capacity as Prime Minister in 2002. Security has reportedly been tightened around the area, with the prime minister set to visit the temple. Mr Wickremesinghe is scheduled to fly back to Chennai later on Thursday, before travelling back to Colombo. Edit: This story has been updated to clarify the...

Sri Lanka's justice minister meets BBS

Photograph: BBC Sinhala Sri Lanka’s justice minister met with Buddhist monks from the extremist Bodu Bala Sena organisations in Batticaloa on Wednesday.

Thousands of deserting Sri Lankan soldiers return to discharge after amnesty declared

A renewed amnesty by the Sri Lankan army has led to more than 3,000 deserting soldiers returning and obtaining legal discharge, reports the Ministry of Defence . The amnesty, which was declared on the 1st of December, has seen the reporting of 3 officers and 2983 soldiers of the army, 1 officer and 256 sailors of the navy and 7 officers and 113 airmen, in less than three weeks. The amnesty period will last until the end of this month. This is the second such time this year the Sri Lankan government has declared a general amnesty for military deserters. Previous amnesties have seen tens of...

Sirisena tells monks he will not remove military camps from North-East

Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena reiterated that his government would not be removing any military camps from the North-East, as he lashed out at the media during a speech in Malaysia. Mr Sirisena told a group of Buddhist monks in Kuala Lumpur that “government is not trying to divide the country or remove army camps from the North,” according to The Island . "Websites and social media propagate baseless stories about our country, which mislead Sri Lankans living overseas who read them to keep themselves updated on developments in their motherland", he added. The Sri Lankan president...

Sri Lankan Cabinet declares a National Integration and Reconciliation Week

Starting in 2017, January 8th to 14th will be recognized as National Integration and Reconciliation Week. The week will be implemented with “the view of improving peace, harmony and fraternity among people and to implement various programmes in all schools, media, public and private institutions demonstrating the importance of national integration, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers,” states the government website . The proposal was made by President Sirisena in his position as the Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation.

Japan provides Sri Lanka a naval craft

The Japanese government is to provide a naval craft and training to Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror reported. The announcement came as the Japanese vice minister of defence, Hiroyuki Miyazawa visited the island, attending the 'Japan-Sri Lanka Defence Cooperation Dialogue 2016' in Colombo. "Japan would extend its fullest support to boost defence cooperation between both countries and to strengthen maritime security of Sri Lanka," Mr Miyazawa reportedly added. Sri Lanka's state minister, Mr Wijewardene said the visit by the Japanese official would "further strengthen bilateral defence ties between...

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