Ten Tamils were arrested in Jaffna on Saturday evening when Sri Lankan Special Task Force troops and police engaged in sudden checking activities in the Thirunelveli and Kondavil areas. Koppay police said that some of youths were arrested on various suspicions, others because they failed to sufficiently identify themselves. Although parents of some of the arrested youths went to the police station to identify them, they were told by police that since they were arrested by Special Task Force troops, they could not be released without their permission.
Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has assured parliamentarians from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake will be out of government in the near future, reports Colombo Gazette. The assurance was given after parliamentarians of the SLFP requested a meeting to speak about corruption charges against Mr Karunanayake. The Foreign Minister previously denied having been asked by President Sirisena to resign.
The Ministry Of Power and Renewable energy stated that they have signed private energy contracts to deal with the shortage of electricity that the island is currently facing. The ministry’s media spokesperson, Sulakshana Jayawardena said that whilst the government was working to generate a smooth supply of electricity, private energy contracts were also being singed to ensure the grid has a stable supply of electricity reports Adaderana.lk.
The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena has implemented a development programme in his home town of Polonnaruwa, to 'avoid the injustice caused to the people of the Polonnaruwa district". The project, which is aimed at 'uplifting the rural economy', will is to be completed over three years, Colombo Page reported. The programme includes the development of educational, health and drinking water facilities in the region.
A 22 year old woman from Switzerland was reportedly raped in Anuradhapura by a three-wheel driver on July 27. According to the Sunday Times when the victim presented at Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital for medical assistance, there was only a male Judicial Medical Officer working at the time and therefore she declined an examination. "In disgust" the paper reported, the woman left Sri Lanka along with three of her friends the following day. A man was arrested on July 30 and produced in court, the paper added. See more here .
Sri Lanka's Minister of Port and Shipping, Mahinda Samarasinghe on Saturday presented the Hambantota Port agreement to senior Buddhist clergy, assuring them the government was not handing over parts of the island to China. The port is being leased for 99 years, the minister told the prelates. "Under the agreement the Sri Lanka Port Authority does not have to pay the debt to the Chinese from now and the government can save Rs. 9 billion a year, which can be used to grant benefits for the port employees and to develop the other ports in the country," the minister was quoted by Colombo Page as...
The TNA leader, R Sampanthan celebrated 40 years of Ranil Wickremesinghe's parliamentary career this week during a ceremony in parliament to mark the occasion. “Premier by nature is calm and stable person and a person who cannot be ruffled easily. We are felicitating him on his outstanding achievement of being 40 years in Parliament but the concern is his future. He and President Maithripala Sirisena should work together to come up with a political solution to the national question,” Mr Sampanthan qas quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. “Economic development and the national question are...
The Chief of Sri Lanka’s army has pledged he would protect those who “fought bravely” in the military and that “murderers” would be punished, in a speech in Kandy this week. "Those who fought the war will not be punished,” said army chief Mahesh Senanayake. “Not a single soldier who fought bravely has been punished, nor will they be allowed to be penalised because we have not committed any offences". Whilst the army chief did not admit human rights violations had taken place, he went on to state “there is a difference between 'mini maruwa' (murderer) and 'rana viruwa' (war hero),” according...
Hundreds of Sri Lankan soldiers and Civil Security Department members were involved in cleaning up shrubs and wild plants from around Mallavi hospital last month .
Five Sri Lankan soldiers remanded in connection with the 1997 abduction and murder of two Tamil youths in Siruppiddy have been granted bail on the order of the Court of Appeal. The five suspects had their remand extended after eleven other suspects in the case were acquitted at the Attorney-general’s advice in March. Selvaratnam Jeyaseelan and Nagamany Soundararajan of Madduvil North, Chavakachcheri, were abducted on 28th October 1997 while on the way to a relative’s wedding. The men are suspected to have been murdered by soldiers based in the Vatharavathai camp in the Puttur, Siruppiddy area...