Despite the Sri Lankan government's claims it had significantly improved press freedom, a report published by Groundviews on Friday revealed that 13 news websites had been blocked since 2015, when the present Sirisena and Ranil led unity government came to power. 

An RTI request to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) by Groundviews and its sisters sites revealed not only the list of websites but that the order to block the sites came from "as high up as the "Presidential Secretariat, for at least four of the websites". 

Groundviews further reported: 

The International Monetary Fund approved a disbursement of US $251.4 million to Sri Lanka following the completion of the third review of the 3 year Extended Fund Facility arrangement which was set up in June 2016. 

Approving the latest tranche of funds, the IMF warned that further fiscal consolidation was needed given Sri Lanka's high debt burden and weakly performing state owned enterprises. 

The present review was undertaken after an earlier review was postponed by the IMF pending further reforms by the Sri Lankan government. 

Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror reported on Friday that seven nominees for the Office of Missing Persons had been selected by the Constitutional Council. 

The list of nominees, which remains undisclosed, was reportedy submitted to the president for approval. 

According to the paper over 100 applications were received for the posts. 

See here for more. 

Sri Lanka on Tuesday acceded to the 'Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment'. 

The protocol will become effective on January 4th, 2018. 

Sri Lanka's decision to accede the protocol comes amid ongoing reports of torture committed by state security forces. 

Unemployed graduates in Batticaloa marched in protest at the Sri Lankan government's failure to appoint the promised number of graduate teachers.

Several graduates who passed a graduate scheme entrance exam set by the Eastern Provincial Council have not been given the promised employment, the protestors said.

Five representatives from the protest met with the Government Agent and stressed the graduates' demand that all those who passed the criteria should be appointed by the end of the year.

Photograph: Yardstick Films

Secret filming at the Scottish Police academy revealed deep ties between Scotland’s police force and Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force – a notorious paramilitary unit that has been accused of directly carrying out war crimes.

Undercover footage provided by Yardstick films shows an interview with a manager of Police Scotland's international training unit, who said, "We know there are issues”. “We know the previous President was being taken for war crimes,” he added. “Yeah. The choices are we do nothing or we go in. UK government's position was we want to go in and do something."

The governor of Sri Lanka's Central Bank this warned that island's signficant debt was the achilles heel of the economy. 

"The underlying problem was that Sri Lanka allowed exports to come down as a share of gross domestic product and allow foreign commercial borrowing to go up," the governor, Indrajit Coomaraswamy was quoted by Economy Next as saying. 

“That was a suicidal set of policies - to allow exports to collapse and go on a foreign commercial borrowing binge.”

A new coalition was formed today to rival the Tamil National Alliance, following months of criticism at its failure to fulfill its mandate and what has been described as the undemocratic rule of the TNA leader, R Sampanthan and TNA MP, M A Sumanthiran. 

The Sri Lankan government is undertaking another large-scale project for Sinhalisation of Mullaitivu, an Northern Provincial Council member for the district has said.

The billion rupee irrigation scheme titled 'Hipul Oya' on the Mullaitivu border is another front to settle more Sinhalese families on the appropriated land of Tamils, NPC member T. Ravikaran told the council.

The government is attempting to replicate the colonisation of Manalaaru, now known only as 'Weli Oya', which has been transformed into an entirely Sinhalese division in Mullaitivu, Mr Ravikaran said.

The Sri Lankan military held a Buddhist ceremony at its headquarters in Jaffna this week, as it laid the foundation for a new building to be constructed.