The Sri Lankan government will be holding an event entitled “Armed Forces Day” on May 19, marking 6 years since the end of the armed conflict and the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

A government official told the Sunday Times that the event had been renamed from the previous “Victory Day Parade” and would be held “in remembrance of all those who died during wars in Sri Lanka.”

The Sri Lankan government will propose a business plan to develop the China Bay oil storage facility in Trincomalee with Indian assistance, with the aim to make the town a regional petroleum hub.

The secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, Dr. B.M.S Batagoda told the Business Times that a ten member task force currently formulating the business plan, aimed at harnessing the full potential of the facility.

The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka will be held under the current proportional representation system, the JVP said on Sunday.

Speaking after a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said to the Sunday Times this will be the case, even if an agreement on the 20th amendment, on electoral reforms, was reached.

The International Federation of Journalists said in its latest report on press freedom that journalists in the North-East of the island continue to face threats and harassment.

The detailed report on press freedom in South Asia, focused on attacks in the North-East and impunity for the killings of journalists who were murdered over the past few decades.

"Even six years after the end of the war, the media in the Northern and Eastern Province of the island continue to face attacks and harassment," the report said.