A former Sri Lankan diplomat who is wanted for questioning over financial irregularities in relation to a military aircraft deal has had an appeal rejected by a court in Colombo this week.  

Lawyers for Udayanga Weeratunga, a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, called for a recall of his arrest warrant and a restoration of his diplomatic passport.

Mr Weeratunga, a relative of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, is alleged to have personally acquired almost US$ 14 million, as part of a Sri Lankan military deal for four Ukraine-built MIG-27 aircraft in 2005.

Amnesty International urged the UN Human Rights Council to ensure Sri Lanka implements a resolution calling for an accountability mechanism with international judges, in a submission to the council this week.

The human rights organisation said it recognised Sri Lanka “has taken some important steps,” however added that it was “disappointed by the lack of progress, and in some cases backsliding” by the current government.

Areas that were highlighted include Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s pledge to release a list of all those who have been detained by the armed forces in June. “That list has yet to be made public,” said Amnesty.

Money allocated for resettlement is being funnelled to the Sri Lankan army, a Northern Provincial Council minister said on Wednesday. 

Women’s affairs minister Ananthy Sasitharan accused the Sri Lankan government of diverting funds, including international aid money, meant for resettling Tamil war victims to the military, under the guise of relocating camps.

Citing the recent announcement that the Sri Lankan army would receive around 178 million rupees compensation for releasing civilian-owned land in Keppapulavu, Ms Sasitharan said disproportionate amounts of money were still being spent on the army while the Tamil people’s pressing concerns remained unaddressed.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Secretary Kapila Waidayaratne said Sri Lanka is interested in Russian arms and ships during a visit to a military exhibition in Russia reports Colombo Gazette.

Speaking to Russian News outlet Sputnik, Mr Waidayaratne said the Sri Lanka’s delegation had arrived at Russia’s military forum to see the expertise and technology available.

Heading the Sri Lankan delegation to Russia, Mr Waidayaratne, said,

Two new appointments were made to the Northern Province on Wednesday in health and agriculture. 

Dr G Gunaseelan appointed as the province's new Minister of Health, Indigenous Medicine, Probation and Childcare Services. Mr K Sivanesan was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture, Agrarian Services, Animal Husbandry, Irrigation, Fisheries, Water Supply and Environment.

Both men were sworn in before the Northern Province's governor, Reginald Cooray in Jaffna. 

The draft 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka's constitution was today tabled in parliament, the Daily Mirror reported. 

Seeking to hold all the Provincial Council elections on the same day, the draft Amendment removes the power of Provincial Councils to call for early elections and grants parliament the power to determine the date on which all the Provincial Councils will be dissolved. 

The Amendment also makes clear that "in the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail."

Dozens of Sri Lankan troops took part in a military exercise in Trincomalee this month, in the run up to a major joint field training exercise to be held later this year.

The war game was held at the 4 Special Forces Battalion Headquarters in Monkey Bridge in Trincomalee with “around 60 officers, including seven Navy and five Air Force officers” participating according to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence.

The war game was held to ensure officers are ready to “encounter any given situation,” it added.

A delegation from the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka met with the head of Sri Lankan army on Monday, to discuss the role of the military in the North-East.

Sri Lanka’s minister of justice has been sacked this morning, following criticism of the current government over a financial deal with China and after he allegedly delayed investigating cases of bribery and corruption.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who also heads the ministry for the Buddha Sasana, was accused by the prime minister of deliberately preventing the investigation of corruption and fraud committed by the previous government. Mr Rajapakshe was known to be close to the previous regime.

He also criticised the Sri Lankan government’s decision to sell a 70 percent stake in Hambantota port to China for $1.1 billion last month.

The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command of the Indian Army visited Jaffna and Trincomalee this week, meeting with Sri Lankan military commanders.