Thousands of Sri Lankan soldiers organised a “special Buddhist sermon” at the Security Forces Headquarters in Jaffna last month, according to an official military website.

The Tamil National Alliance is to meet with Sri Lank's senior Buddhist clergy, the Maha Sangha in order to talk about the need to change the country's constitution, Adaderana and the Sunday Times reported. 

After a meeting between three Buddhist divisions on Tuesday in Kandy, the senior leaders unanimously rejected the need for any constitutional change and expressed concern over the 'threats' faced by Buddhism in the country. 

The Bank of china is to open a branch in Sri Lanka's capital later this year, the Daily Mirror reported. 

China's spokesperson at the embassy reportedly told the paper that it would be opened with an initial capital of US$ 90 million with the aim of facilitating financial transactions between the two states. 

If opened this would be the first branch of China's state bank in South Asia. Overseas branches are currently located in the US, UK, Canada, Kenya and South Africa. 

The Sri Lankan navy on Saturday arrested three further Tamil Nadu fishermen for allegedly crossing into Sri Lankan waters, Colombo Page reported. 

Saturday's arrest follows the arrest of eight Tamil Nadu fishermen earlier this week, and comes amid heated exchanges over Sri Lanka's new fishing bill. 

On Friday the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappdi K Palaniswami, wrote to the Indian premier, Narenda Modi, expressing his concern about Sri Lanka's new fishing legislation which bans bottom trawling. 

Sri Lanka's Fisheries Minister, Mahinda Amaraweera on Saturday rejected concerns raised by Tamil Nadu's chief minister of the island's new fishing law. 

"The new laws were passed in Parliament for the benefit of Sri Lanka’s fisheries industry," Mr Amaraweera was quoted by the Sunday Times as saying. “We have to look after our interests and we cannot be too concerned about fishermen of other countries.” 

The Nagapoosani Amman Kovil in Nainathivu celebrated its annual chariot festival on Saturday.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe says the government expects to raise exports earnings to US$20 billion by focussing on entering into Free Trade Agreements.

The minister outlined the aim to increase Sri Lanka’s current export revenue from US$ 11 billion to US$ 20 billion by 2020.

Speaking to press Minister Senasinghe said,

The outgoing Defence Attache at the US Embassy in Sri Lanka Lieutenant Colonel Robert Knox Ross met with the new Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Mahes Senanayake, reports the Sri Lankan army website.

The Sri Lankan army said, that the US Defence Attache spoke of a special attachment to Sri Lanka as he was born in Colombo when his father was also a US envoy at the US Embassy many years ago. Lieutenant Ross thanked the Sri Lankan  army for hosting a group of US Cadet officers on tour and said that such collaborative assignments would continue in the future.

A Buddhist monk, a Sri Lankan judge and several other wealthy businessman may be cleared of keeping illegally captured elephants and may even get the animals returned to them after recent changes in Sri Lankan law, reports the Associated Press.

A trial involving 42 people may see several of them released without charge after recent measures adopted by the Sri Lankan cabinet will allow them to keep the elephants, provided they can demonstrate they did not know the animals were captured illegally.

"This is nonsense," said Sumith Pilapitiya a former World Bank environmental specialist. "The onus is on the buyer to make sure the paperwork is right."

Sri Lanka’s Housing and Construction Minister Sajith Premadasa declared plans to establish model villages named after Sri Lankan soldiers, reports The Island.

Speaking in Anamaduwa, Mr Premadasa said that villages would be named after Sri Lankan soldiers who oversaw the final phase of the armed conflict, in which tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were slaughtered by Sri Lankan army shelling.