The brother of Sri Lanka's new president, Kumarasinghe Sirisena, has been appointed as the new chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, reported Ceylon Today.

Mr Sirisena, has served in state institutions previously, including being the CEO of the State Timber Corporation from 2006 till last month, when he was sacked from his post after his brother and the newly elected president, Maithripala Sirisena, defected from the ruling Rajapaksa regime and launched his own presidential campaign.

Sri Lanka’s former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa denied allegations there was an attempted coup by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, as it became clear he would lose on the night of the election.

Mr Rajapaksa admitted the attorney general, alongside the head of police and military commanders, were present at the president’s residence at Temple Trees on election night, but claimed they discussed whether measures needed to be imposed to ensure a calm post-election environment.

“Yes, the attorney general was called to Temple Trees but that was to discuss the matter of maintaining law and order such as whether it was necessary to impose a curfew, etc. because the opposition had publicly stated that it will surround Temple Trees. That was a situation that needed to be addressed,” he said in an interview with Daily Mirror.

Fishermen from India and Sri Lanka have been released and handed over to their respective coastguards at their countries’ maritime border.

The release of the men, fifteen Indians and ten from Sri Lanka, is the first since the new government has come into power and comes soon after External Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s visit.

The Sri Lankan government announced it intends to request assistance from the World Bank, the IMF and the Reserve Bank of India to trace billions of dollars, which have been allegedly taken abroad by people close to former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Cabinet spokesperson and minister for health Rajith Senaratne told media his government was aware that people who held high positions had hidden "billions of dollars" in foreign accounts.

"We will go after the foreign assets of Sri Lankans. Billions of dollars have been stolen and taken out of the country. We are taking steps to bring them back," Mr Senaratne told reporters.

Tamils protest outside the army camp in Aanaikkoddai (Photo: Tamil Guardian)

Tamil land owners protested outside a Sri Lankan army camp in Jaffna, demanding that the land on which the camp was built be returned to them immediately.

Residents said the army camp, situated in Aanaikkoddai within the Jaffna peninsula, was built on land seized by the military.

Earlier this month, the government issued a gazette notification, declaring that the camp of the army regiment’s 11th Battalion will be made permanent on this day, denying the Tamil families any possibility of return to the land and houses they own.

Due to objections by the land owners the government had temporarily halted the permanent transfer of the land to the military, however refused to return it to its rightful owners, said protest organisers, the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF).

The NGO Secretariat is no longer to be under the purview of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence, following an extraordinary gazette notification by the new president, Maithripala Sirisena, on Wednesday.

The secretariat will now be overseen by the Minister of Policy Planning, Economic Affairs, Child, Youth and Cultural Affairs.

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