• New Inland Revenue Act to stop ministers granting tax concessions

    Sri Lanka's proposed New Inland Revenue Act will stop ministers from being able to grant discretionary tax concessions, the country's finance minister was quoted by LBO as saying. 

    The move is aimed at ensuring the system of tax concessions is not subject to abuse. 

  • Sri Lankan State Minister of Defence says Fonseka's statement was personal view

    Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defence, Ruwan Wijewardene on Saturday attempted to distance the government from statements made by the minister and Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka, stating that Mr Fonseka had been expressing his "own personal view. 

  • Sri Lankan PM says PC elections by next year

    Sri Lanka's prime minister on Saturday announced the draft 20th Amendment to the constitution would be amended to ensure that the provincial council elections would take place by the end of next year. 

    The proposed Amendment seeks to hold all nine PC elections on the same day. Mr Wickremesinghe's comment came after the proposed Amendment faced widespread criticism from local bodies to election monitors who condemned the postponement of elections. 

  • PHU calls for Fonseka to be arrested

    The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) this week called for the Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka to be arrested "for withholding evidence in connection with the war crime charges levelled against former army commander (Rtd) General Jagath Jayasuriya, the Daily Mirror reported. 

  • Sri Lanka denies cluster bomb use, agrees to discuss convention accession

    Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations maintained that security forces “never” deployed cluster munitions during the island’s armed conflict, whilst stating his government was currently reviewing the process of acceding to the convention banning their use in Geneva today.

  • Sri Lankan army releases Oorani school surrounded by army camps

    The Sri Lankan Army has released a school being used as an army base in the Kankensanthurai area, although the lands surrounding the school remain occupied by the army.

  • EU granted access to Rs. 7 billion market claims Sri Lankan minister

    The granting of GSP+ trade concessions and the lifting of a ban on Sri Lanka’s fishing exports by the European Union has opened up access to a market worth Rs. 7 billion claims a Sri Lankan minister.

    Sri Lanka’s Minister of Primary Industries Daya Gamage made the claim whilst speaking to shrimp farmers in Puttalam who have come under pressure due to ongoing dry weather.

  • Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeals fixes date for Raviraj hearing

    Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeals has said it will hear the case on the murder of Tamil National Alliance MP Nadarajah Raviraj in December of this year, more than 11 years after his assassination.

  • Sri Lanka seeks international assistance to tackle drug smuggling

    The Sri Lankan government is seeking foreign assistance in order to curb illegal drug trafficking on the island, after it emerged that it was becoming a transit hub to transport cocaine across Asia.

    Sri Lanka’s Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka admitted that the island had become a ”transit point for mass scale drug dealers”.

    Speaking to reporters in Colombo, he went on to add, "We have a responsibility to prevent and stop this."

    See more here.

  • Jayasuriya backtracks over responsibility for war, blames Fonseka

    A former Sri Lankan military commander who stands accused of overseeing war crimes has backtracked over claims of responsibility for the military during the final stages of the armed conflict, and instead blamed Sri Lanka's former army commander Sarath Fonseka.

    Speaking in an interview to Ceylon Today, Jagath Jayasuriya who fled his post as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Brazil last week after a law suit accusing him of war crimes, contradicted previous public statements on his role.

  • New constitution must not be allowed to fail - TNA tells US Assistant Secretary of State

    The new constitution being drafted for Sri Lanka must not be allowed to fail, TNA leaders told the visiting Assistant Secretary of State of the United States.

  • Sri Lankan navy arrests 3 Indian nationals

    The Sri Lankan navy on Friday arrested three Indian nationals for allegedly attempting to smuggle in the banned weedicide glyphosate via boat. 

    The men were arrested off the coast of Kudiramalai by navy officers attached to the Thalaimannar base, Colombo Page reported. 

    They have been handed over to Thalaimannar police for further investigations. 

  • Fonseka should be sacked for betraying army - Weerawansa

    Sri Lanka's Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka should be stripped of his portfolio over his comments which betray the army, the leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) Wimal Weerawansa said on Sunday. 

    Mr Fonseka this week said he would be prepared to testify against the former military general Jagath Jayasuriya who has been accused of committing war crimes in the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009. 

  • Sri Lanka looks to strengthen Special Task Force

    The Sri Lankan government is to strengthen its Special Task Force officers in order to combat "extremist" threats and "foreign terrorists", the Minister of Law and Order, Sagala Ratnayake said. 

  • Buddhist ceremony as new Sri Lankan brigadier takes charge in East

    A Buddhist ceremony was held by the Sri Lankan military in the East earlier this month to mark the appointment of a new Brigadier General Staff.

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