The Sri Lankan government has cut import taxes on rice, flour, maize and fish in an attempt to keep prices down after drought affected crops, reports Economy Next. 

The 5 rupee import tax on rice has been cut to 25 cents and fish levy cut from 50 rupees to 25 rupees. 

The commander of the Sri Lankan army has reiterated “strong army commitment” to peacekeeping missions at a seminar held at the Hotel Taj Samudra in Colombo today.

Two suspects have been arrested in Jaffna today for their alleged involvement in a sword attack on police constables in Kokkuvil last week.

A statement released by the police said that Jaffna and Kopay police had arrested 20 year old Thavarasa Madushan and 23 year old Vijayarathnam Sivaraj.

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. 

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,

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

As the splits within Sri Lanka's national unity government continued to widen president Maithripala Sirisena warned on Monday that no one could form a government without his approval according to the constitution.