Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake confirmed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was prepared to double its annual funding to Sri Lanka, raising the figure to US$1.2 billion.

Mr Karunanayake said that the credit grant was due to independent reviews that placed confidence in Sri Lanka’s economy and not requests by the Sri Lankan government.

The funds are to be directed towards government development initiatives, budgetary allocations, capacity development and debt relief reports Colombo Page.

The credit increase comes in the wake of the ADB’s recent decision to downgrade Sri Lanka’s 2015 GDP growth forecast by 0.5%.

Former Foreign Ministry Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena was arrested earlier today, on charges he misused vehicles belonging to the presidential secretariat.

The Criminal Investigation Department summoned the MP to record a statement this morning where he was arrested and remanded until May 20. Mr Gunawardena is facing several charges of corruption and fraud, committed during his tenure under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The MP is the former CEO of the government owned airline, Mihin Lanka and also served as coordinating secretary on trade and foreign affairs to the former president.

Former Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando was also remanded until May 25, earlier today.

The Sri Lankan government will incorporate regulations on the Sri Lankan flag into common law, criminalising acts that violate the new rules.

The new laws would target printers and distributers of distorted flags. “Legal action will be taken against those who print and distribute these flags,” a government source told the Daily Mirror.

Several individuals were arrested on charges of ‘maligning’ the national flag by displaying a version without the colours representing Tamils and Muslims, during a protest held in support of the former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month.

The new government under President Maithripala Sirisena has not done anything to alleviate the grievances of Tamil people, including on political prisoners, and resettling internally displaced persons, Batticaloa’s TNA MP P Ariyanenthiran charged.

Speaking at an event in Kaluthaivalai, the MP said the current government pledged to solve the humanitarian problems of the people in the North-East, before coming into power, but that the Tamil political prisoners are still in detention.

"The relatives of those political prisoners have pinned their hopes on the new Government. But the Government has not done anything within its 100 days programme to alleviate their grievances such as the releasing of Tamil political prisoners, finding the disappeared persons and resettling the Internally Displaced Persons," Mr Ariyanenthiran said.

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.