"There have been unfortunate mistakes made by the Tamils [against Muslims]. The Tamils have unreservedly apologized for those mistakes. We are keen to make sure they are never repeated."

"My party however refuses to speak on behalf of the Muslim people. They don’t like us to speak for them, as if we have a common identity. I think the Tamils must respect their feeling and accept whatever identity they choose for themselves.

We are committed to working out a framework for the North-East that the Muslims and Tamils will feel mutually comfortable and secure with. I have no doubts that such an arrangement can be arrived at."

"The 13th amendment purports to provide devolution within the unitary framework structure of the Sri Lankan State. The term “unitary” has very specific legal connotations under constitutional law.

All legislative and executive powers are vested in one power centre in a unitary state. In other words, the unitary state structure cannot provide for devolution of power.

The 13th amendment only provides the mirage of devolution.

Sri Lanka’s Election Secretariat has announced that three international organisations will be invited to observe the Provincial Council polls.

The Australian Prime minister Kevin Rudd has announced that all new asylum seekers who arrive by boat will not be allowed to stay in the country and sent to Papua New Guinea for processing and settlement, effectively closing Australia’s borders to refugees.

Papua New Guinea will receive generous aid packages in return.

A European Parliamentary Delegation, expressed concern over the Sri Lankan military's economic activities in the North, during a visit to the Northern province this week.  

Commenting on the TNA's choice for chief minister candidate in the Northern Provincial, former Supreme Court judge, C.V. Wigneswaran, the Economic Development Deputy Minister S.M.Chandrasena, called for Wigneswaran's forming judgments to be examined. 

Chandrasena said,

The Sri Lankan army is planning to create business ventures to make profit, according to Army Commander Jagath Jeyasuriya.

A crowd of Sri Lankans was protesting outside the French Embassy in Colombo against the movie Flying Fish, which was screened at a French festival on the island.

The protestors objected to the depiction of the military in the movie.

Representatives of Ranaviru Sevana, politicians and members of the public shouted slogans condemning the movie, reported Ceylon Today.

The Sri Lankan cricket captain, Angelo Mathews and Heshani Silva wedded today at the Temple Trees establishment in Sri Lanka, reported Colombo Page.

Addressing a press conference held at the External Affairs Ministry in Sri Lanka yesterday, External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris, reiterated that,

A report by a parliamentary committee has criticised exports of arms to countries that the Foreign Office has expressed human rights concerns about.

The House of Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls concluded in their 2013 report that over 3,000 export licenses, worth over £12bn, were approved by the UK to the 27 countries in question, including Sri Lanka.

The report says the sales to Sri Lanka, worth over £8mn raised “very serious questions”.

The committee’s chairman, Conservative MP Sir John Stanley, said he was astonished at the scale of the exports, to countries including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Zimbabwe.