The Sri Lankan government has again raised its defence to a record Rs253bn ($1.95bn) in 2014, over 4 years after the end of military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The latest figures were presented in parliament on Monday, and the defence and police budget make up nearly 12% of the government’s total spend of Rs2.54 trillion, which is slightly lower than the Rs2.56 trillion allocated for the current year, according to AFP.

Writing in The Guardian today, the British Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, called on David Cameron to reverse his approach with Sri Lanka.

Elaborating on his demand and providing assurance of the Labour party's intention of supporting the Prime minister, Alexander reiterated that Cameron must:

Discontent over the possibility over India's attendance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting intensified today as 150 activists of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam movement were arrested in Tamil Nadu, for staging a rail roko in demand of an Indian boycott of CHOGM in Sri Lanka next month.

Sri Lanka's Sunday Times has reported that the government may be getting around US sanctions placed on Iran by purchasing crude oil from ships in international waters.

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is reported to have contracted a company called Mercol General Trading LLC to supply the shipment for its oil refineries.

“The Archaeological Department is not capable of protecting our heritage. There are some corrupt officers in the department. They are giving away clues to treasure hunters. The Defence Ministry should take over the Department”.

"Sometimes I think to myself, 'perhaps if they had killed my son, that may be better than me sitting here and wondering where he is'"

"If they had killed him, at least we could have done a religious ceremony and prayer and I would have thought to myself 'it's another death'. The pain of a missing child is not something that anyone can really understand."

“He was a strong boy and because he was my only son, I loved him beyond words... He would vomit every time and he would cry to just stay on my lap”.