The Sri Lankan government has announced that the former minister for law and order, who was forced to resign amidst investigations into an arms scandal, has now been appointed the new foreign minister. Tilak Marapana served as Sri Lanka’s Minister of Law and Order and Prison Reforms before resigning from the position on November 9, 2015. He was forced to quit over his involvement in an investigation into Sri Lankan security firm Avant Garde Maritime Services (AGMS) which was accused of operating a “floating armoury”. He has since held the post of Minister of Development Assignments before...
Tamils in Batticaloa marked 11 years since the Sencholai Massacre on Monday, at an event remembering the victims and calling for justice.
53 Tamil schoolgirls and 3 teachers killed by Sri Lankan Air Force bombs in the Sencholai Massacre of 2006 were remembered today in Vallipunam at an event organised by the Tamil National People’s Front.
Sencholai Massacre victims were remembered this morning at the site of the original Sencholai school in Vallipunam, Mullaitivu.
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremeisnghe pledged that his government would bear the costs for the renovation of the golden roof for a Buddhist vihara in Kandy, after meeting with monks during a ceremony held in his honour today.
Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister Ravi Karunayake, who stepped down from the role amidst allegations of corruption, said he had done so to safeguard the president and prime minister, as he met with Buddhist monks in Kandy today.
The Sri Lankan navy has arrested four Tamil Nadu fishermen on Monday for allegedly entering the island's waters. The fishermen are from Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu, the Pune Mirror reported. This is the latest in a series of arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy which continues to raise tensions in the southern Indian state. The fishermen's boat has been taken to Kangesanthurai.
A no-confidence motion is being drafted against Sri Lanka's Minister of Local Governments and Provincial Councils, Faizer Mustapha regarding the postponement of the local elections. The motion is being led by the UNP MP for Badulla district, Chaminda Wijesiri who informed parliament of the motion on August 9 and commenced the drafting process on Sunday. "The no-confidence motion is brought against Minister Mustapha based on the postponement of the local election, protecting the corrupted and avoiding answering questions in parliament," Mr Wijesiri was quoted by Colombo Page as saying.
The Sri Lankan government is to present the modified draft Inland Revenue bill this week. The bill which was re-drafted after the country's Supreme court deemed certain provisions violated the constitution. The government had "re-drafted the Bill knocking off the clauses that were deemed to be inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution", the State Minister of Finance Eran Wickamaratne was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying.
The victims of the Sencholai Massacre, 53 Tamil schoolgirls and 3 teachers killed by Sri Lankan air force bombs 11 years ago, were remembered today at the University of Jaffna.