Work at Sri Lanka's ministries has ground to a halt as the country's political turmoil continues, the Sunday Times reports. 

The country's unity government was thrown into crisis this month after the country's local government elections delivered a bruising defeat to both main parties of the coalitions, and a victory to the newly established party of the former president, the SLPP. 

"The entire state machinery including the Treasury is operating at a snail’s pace as many officials adopt a wait and see attitude in exercising their official functions," the paper reported. 

The SLFP has decided to quit the national unity government, the party spokesperson, MP Thilanga Sumathipala told reporters on Sunday night. 

The announcement came following a meeting between senior UPFA members, including senior figures within the SLFP, and the president, Maithripala Sirisena.

Mr Sirisena has urged them to wait for a decision from the Supreme Court regarding the president's power over the appointment of the prime minister, before making such a decision, the spokesperson added this morning. 

Ten Tamil fishermen massacred by the Sri Lankan Navy in 1984 were remembered in Vadamarachchi, Jaffna on Sunday.

The Sri Lankan government released 109 Indian fishermen on Sunday. They are expected to be repatriated over the next few days. 

Over 135 fishermen were in Sri Lankan custody for allegedly poaching in the island waters. Their trawlers and nets were confiscated by the Sri Lankan authorities. 

The release comes ahead of the St Anthony's festival on Katchatheevu island on February 23 and 24. 

Read more here. 

Sri Lanka's former army commander, Sarath Fonseka, who is accused of orchestrating war crimes against the Tamil people, sought to be appointed the minister of the law and order, arguing he would demonstrate quick results. 

"I will show results in six months if I am given the portfolio of Law and Order" Mr Fonseka was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. 

The UNP's assistant leader, Ravi Karunanayake vowed the unity government would keep on going despite the UNP and SLFP's election defeat at the local elections last weekend. 

"No matter what sort of political clashes take place, the UNP would not let a reversal of the people's mandate received in January 8, 2015," Mr Karunanayake was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. 

"People had shown a red light to the government by the recent LG election and they have fair reasons to do so. We have failed to initiate some election promises made on 2015."

A 45-year-old man was arrested in Vavuniya on Friday for possessing an assault rifle.

The man was allegedly caught with a type 56 assault rifle and ammunition when randomly stopped by police in Nedunkeni, Vavuniya.

The man was set to be produced before the Vavuniya magistrates judge.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena has reassured the Joint Opposition that he will be seeking legal advice on removing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from office.

Mr Sirisena met with members of the Joint opposition at President’s House yesterday, as turmoil continues in Colombo over the future of the Sri Lankan government.

Joint opposition MP Kumara Welgama told reporters that Mr Sirisena that he “would consult the Attorney General and legal experts on the possibility of removing the Prime Minister”.

Tamil voters in the North-East last week, as Sri Lankan security forces look on.

Sri Lanka’s ruling parties and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have been “offering vacuous rhetoric on reconciliation instead of addressing the roots of the country’s political conflict”, writes J S Tissainayagam in the Asian Correspondent, leading to Sinhalese and Tamil voters to “distrust them as political actors”.

“The voters conveyed just this at the polls” during last week’s local government elections, he continued.

Sri Lanka’s embattled Prime Minister Ranil Wickrmesinghe told reporters on Friday that his government would be sending a delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, to brief them on progress in implementing a UN resolution on accountability.

“Geneva is on the performance up to date so you will have to judge on what has been done so far,” said Mr Wickremesinghe in Colombo.

The Sri Lankan prime minister said his government’s delegation would be meeting with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on March 21.

The UN High Commissioner is scheduled to deliver a report on Sri Lanka on the same day.

The Sri Lankan government co-sponsored a resolution which mandates a hybrid accountability mechanism for violations of international humanitarian law committed during the armed conflict. Despite this, several senior government figures, including the Sri Lankan president have spoken out against allowing foreign judges and prosecutors to participate in such a mechanism.

See more from Colombo Gazette here.