Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence will see the largest portion of budget allocation in 2018 reports dailymirror.lk

The 2018 budget bill will be presented by Sri Lanka’s Finance and Mass Media minister Mangala Samaraweera on November 9.

The former foreign affairs minister Mangala Samraweera, briefed Sri Lanka’s cabinet ministers on an Appropriation Bill outlining preliminary budget allocations for 2018.

Another Catholic roadside shrine in Mannar has been attacked and destroyed.

Sri Lanka is one of Asia's most undernourished countries a study commissioned by the Asia Development Bank has found. 

Twenty-two percent of Sri Lanka's population is undernourished, putting it on a par with Pakistan, third only to Afghanistan (26.8%) and Timor Leste (26.9%). 

Just over 15% of India's and 16% of Bangladesh's populations were undernourished. 

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The head of the National Freedom Front, Wimal Weerawansa warned the government's Bill on on the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances would "endanger the lives of security forces". 

“If the convention was passed in Parliament, the government is bound to hand over even General (Rtd) Jagath Jayasuriya, who had a case filed against him, in a foreign country,” he was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. 

Five police officers arrested in connection with the killing of two Jaffna university students have been granted bail.

Sri Lankan police shot dead two Tamil students from Jaffna University, 23 year old Nadarasa Kajan and 24 year old Pavunraj Sulaxan, in October 2016.

The five officers who have been in custody for eleven months in connection with the killings were granted bail by the Jaffna High Court with the conditions that they sign in with the Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo every Sunday morning.

The officers are also prohibited from leaving the country and were ordered to hand their passports in to the magistrate court’s registrar.

The United States Marine Corps Forces Pacific has begun a program for Sri Lankan troops on Preventive Medicine and Casualty Care this week.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development echoed calls y the UN human rights chief for the exercise of universal jurisdiction on Sri Lanka and expressed concern over the lack of action towards accountability by the Sri Lankan government.

In a statement delivered at the UN Human Rights Council this week, the organisation said that it had concerns “in relation to lack of progress in essential confidence building measures including the release of military occupied civilian land and the Prevention of Terrorism Act”.

“We echo the need for a clear timeline and benchmarks for the implementation of government commitments under resolution 30/1,” the statement continued.

The Sri Lankan government’s strategy of setting up various reconciliation offices is not the same as full implementation of a UN resolution on accountability said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement released on Thursday.

“Governments at the Human Rights Council should be clear with Sri Lanka that setting up various reconciliation offices and talking of progress is not the same as implementing the 2015 resolution,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“Long-suffering Sri Lankans need to see the resolution fully carried out, and they need to see evidence that justice is being achieved.”

The sentencing in the case of the rape and murder of Punguduthivu schoolgirl Vithiya will take place on September 27th.

The panel of judges made the annoucement after hearing the defence's summary on Wednesday.

The trial-at-bar for the case has been taking place since May at the Jaffna High Court, with Vavuniya High Court judge Balasingam Sasi Mahenthiran leading alongside Jaffna High Court judge Manikkavasagam Ilancheliyan and Trincomalee High Court judge Annalingam Premashankar.

The signing of a gazette to operationalise the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has been welcomed by the US, EU and Canada on Wednesday, with calls for “credible commissioners” to be swiftly appointed.

The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap said the move was an “important step forward” for advancing reconciliation. “A well-funded and robust OMP with independent & well qualified commissioners will give hope to families from all communities who seek answers,” he tweeted.

The European Union said operationalising the OMP was “an important and welcome development” and that it hopes “credible commissioners can be recruited quickly”.