Cairn Lanka has discovered a natural gas field off the coast of Mannar in the Northern Province, the first time that deposits have been found on the island.

Speaking at the AmCham's (American Chamber of Commerce) annual general meeting on Sri Lanka's economic outlook, US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Patricia Butenis urged 'full political reconciliation', stressing the need for economic development and political reconciliation to go 'hand in hand', and highlighting the unquestionable 'reservoir of skills and financial resources' of the Diaspora.

See full speech here.

Extracts reproduced below:

"I think that most would agree that in Sri Lanka economic development and political reconciliation must go hand in hand."

"I think about what more could be achieved with full political reconciliation, where every Sri Lankan feels that they have a full stake in the country and where potential foreign investors have confidence in the continued political stability of the country. The overseas Diaspora has a tremendous reservoir of skills and financial resources that could contribute so much to rebuilding Sri Lanka."

"It is not just the money, it’s also the people.  Their skills and overseas connections are just as important, and they can help propel Sri Lanka to the new level of development we all want." 

Parents of the 1800 alleged LTTE members, detained without charge by the Sri Lankan government and supposedly released last Friday, have informed BBC Tamil service, that they are yet to be united with their loved ones.

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party has unequivocally called for an international commission to be set up to investigate the allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Mahinda Rajapaksa was served a US court summons on Friday, under the US Torture Victim's Protection Act for extrajudicial killings - a civil suit.

The case was brought by three plaintiffs who allege that Rajapaksa held command responsibility for extrajudicial killings of Ragihar Manoharan, the son of plaintiff Dr. Kasippillai Manoharan; of Premas Anandarajah, a humanitarian aid worker for Action Against Hunger and the husband of plaintiff Kalaiselvi Lavan and four members of the Tevarajah family, all relatives of plaintiff Jeyakumar Aiyathurai.

Rajapaksa has so far evaded a accepting a legal summons, by simply refusing or instructing his government officials, including the Minister for Justice, to refuse any official summons.

In an unprecedented attempt to overcome this obstacle, US constituitional lawyer, Bruce Fein, has issued the summons via over 100 media outlets in Sri Lanka, social networking sites and the internet - so that it becomes impossible for Rajapaksa to plead ignorance of the summons issued for him.

At the same time as issuing the summons, Fein, filed a motion in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, requesting Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to authorise the novel method by which it has been issued. 

The Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has been criticised after handing out certificates to alleged Tamil rebels who went through two years of military led rehabilitation, The Age reports.

Talks scheduled for Monday, between the TNA (Tamil National Alliance) and the Sri Lankan government, have once again been postponed, as government officials were reportedly too busy with local elections due to take place on the 8th October.

Reportedly purchased from the Chinese under a loan scheme, the aircraft wil

Writing in Himal, the BBC correspondent, Charles Haviland shared his thoughts on his journey to the North-East.

Over 100 Sinhala Buddhist monks and supporters attacked a Japanese Buddhist Temple in Kollupitiya on Sunday, forcing worshippers to barricade themselves in for fear of assault.

The Sinhala monks, followers of the Theravada sect of Buddhism, reportedly launched the attack to protect Sri Lanka from the Mahayana sect of Buddhism - the form practised at the Japanese temple.

One worshipper who hid inside the temple as the Sinhala monks stormed the temple, said,

“The Buddhist monks forcibly entered the premises shouting out that we stop our prayer session.

The monks said we should only have Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and not Mahayana,”

Worshippers were trapped inside for over four hours before the police were able to free them and escort them to safety.

In addition to the aggression exhibited by the protesters, the rescue operation was further hindered by five bhikkus who sat in front of the closed door and refused to permit the police to enter.

Further to our analysis last week on Sri Lanka’s trade, debt and currency quandary, see this report by LBO: