The Sri Lankan government is growing frustrated over China’s delays in concluding a Free Trade Agreement, the Nikkei Asian Review reports.

Colombo sent Beijing a formal request to resume talks over three months ago and has not received a response, with some observers saying China has turned a cold shoulder due to the current government’s hesitation to incur more debt.

The Chinese are reported to be “unhappy” about various clauses being put forward by Sri Lankan negotiators, including a proposal to review the agreement every ten years.

The JVP leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake warned parliament against transferring Mattala airport to India, arguing it would be a threat to national security. 

"Issues with national interest should be considered than losses or economic benefits of the airport. An airport is important in military affairs in a country. It can pose more threat to national security and sovereignty of the country," Mr Dissanayake was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. 

Explosives were recovered in Suthanthirapuram, Mullaitivu this week from private land, when a resident cleared a well inside his land.  

Ammunition was found inside the well, Sri Lankan police said. 

The police and navy began recovering the ammunititions yesterday with a court register in attendance. 

As part of their continuing involvement in civilian life in the North-East, the Sri Lankan military was seen planting coconut trees in Myliddy this week. 

Over 200 trees were planted as part of the project initiated by the Jaffna army commander, Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi. 

The decision by the Sri Lankan government to resume implementation of the death penalty on the island could lead to the loss of GSP-Plus preferential trade concession, reports AFP this week.

The report comes after heads of delegations of several Western states, including the European Union, wrote to Sri Lanka’s president expressing their opposition to the reported resumption of capital punishment.

"If Sri Lanka resumes capital punishment, Colombo will immediately lose the GSP-Plus status," an EU diplomatic source told AFP.

The head of Sri Lanka’s military declared opened a range of new buildings at military bases in Amparai last week.

The head of Sri Lanka’s army met with a US Army Pacific Command (USPACOM) delegation last month, where he spoke of the military’s much criticised involvement in civilian projects across the Tamil North-East.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister stressed to Parliament yesterday that the government had not made any plans to reduce the number of military personnel or camps in the North-East.

Responding to a question about a Sri Lankan Army circular indicating the removal of certain personnel and camps, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the Army made its own decisions on numbers.

The Sri Lankan government spent more than Rs 1 million to bring the controversial British politician Lord Naseby for a one-day visit to the island, reports Ceylon Today.

According to a Right to Information (RTI) request obtained by Ceylon Today, the 2012 visit cost Rs 1,273,534.79. The total includes the Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force chartering a              B412 helicopter ride for the British Lord, who has in the past been labelled an “apologist” for the Rajapaksa regime.

The Sri Lankan Army has admitted to holding a military intelligence report on a Tamil journalist, a Right to Information Commission report has revealed.

The information was revealed during the proceedings of a Right to Information request submitted by Uthayan journalist Dileep Amuthan, when the Sri Lankan Army submitted that it was hesitant to release the requested information – about military hospitality ventures and the Haiti child sex abuse case – because of a Military Intelligence Report held about Mr Amuthan.