In a bid to increase government revenues, Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry unveiled a 150% increase on annual taxes for casinos, from Rs 200 million to Rs 500 million, as well as the introduction of an entrance for locals of 200 US dollars.

More than 13 years after the Sri Lankan military massacred tens of thousands of Tamils in Mullaitivu, human remains have been discovered in the district earlier this month.

The Mullaitivu District Judge has ordered Forensic Medical Officers to conduct an investigation on the remains, which were discovered in a private site in Ananthapuram, Puthukudiyiruppu.

The remains have been sent to Mullaitivu Hospital for investigation.

The Colombo High Court granted bail to four persons who were detained under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) over an alleged assassination attempt on Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran last week.

The four suspects had been detained since February 2017.

Senior Counsel K.S. Ratnavale with Ranitha Gnanaraja, Suranga Bandara and Suwathikka Ravichandran appeared on behalf of the suspects, who are all residents of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

The 35th anniversary event of the Kokuvil Hindu College massacre by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IKPF) was held in Jaffna on Monday.

The commemoration was in front of the entrance of Kokuvil Hindu College on Kankesanturai Road and organized by the relatives of victims.

The Sri Lankan police stationed in Jaffna said that cases of theft and robberies are on the rise in the peninsula, as the economic crisis in Sri Lanka and a surge of illegal drug use has plagued the North-East.

On Friday, Sri Lankan parliament passed the 22^nd amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution aimed at curbing the powers of the executive presidency.

The 22^nd amendment passed with a two-thirds majority gaining 174 votes during its third reading. Responding to the passage of the bill, Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe applauded the amendment stating:

Rishi Sunak is set to become the next Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest earlier today.

In August of this year, Sunak reaffirmed his commitment to justice for mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka and discussed the possibility of applying targeted sanctions on Sri Lankan officials just as the UK has on Russians. 

Almost half of the Sri Lankan population has been forced to live under the poverty line, but Sri Lanka Central Bank Governor, Nandalal Weerasinghe has reassured the public that he expects inflation to ease and claimed that inflation peaked in September, hitting over 70%.

Flights from Jaffna International Airport  will resume from the end of this month Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said in Parliament this week. 

Australia has forcibly sent back 183 asylum seekers who attempted to flee crisis-hit Sri Lanka.  

“We will stop any maritime people smuggling vessels seeking to reach Australia, and safely return those on board to their point of departure or country of origin, or if required, transfer them to a regional processing country,” Operation Sovereign Borders Rear Admiral Jones reportedly said.