The Sri Lankan president on Friday claimed the LTTE was preparing an air strike from Chennai during the end of the armed conflict in 2009. 

“The Tigers were going to operate an aircraft from Chennai or some other jungle in Tamil Nadu to bomb and destroy targets in Colombo,” Sirisena was quoted by Economy Next as saying. “I was the acting defence minister. All the others had fled because they feared air attacks.”

Sri Lankan police this week arrested three men who took a photograph at Pidurangala Rock with their bottoms showing.

The arrest was made after a Buddhist monk filed a complaint claiming the men had made a religious insult by taking the photograph with the Sigiriya rock in sight. 

The Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe has also ordered an investigation into the photograph. 
 

Sri Lanka’s finance minister has claimed it “is not the end of the world” despite Sri Lanka’s rupee continuing to tumble to record lows this week as foreign investors exited government securities.

The murder case of the Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha Wickrematunge has been postponed until January 17.

Progress on the investigation was presented by the Criminal Invesigations Department (CID) yesterday. 

The International Monetary Fund has urged Sri Lanka to push through with pledged reforms to large state-owned enterprises. 

"Reforms need to accelerate to strengthen the Sri Lankan economy's resilience to domestic and external shocks, given still significant vulnerabilities," the IMF official, Manuela Goretti said following her visit to Colombo from September 13 to 27. 

Parliamentarians from the United National Party welcomed the Sri Lankan president’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly this week, where he rejected ‘foreign influences’.

“What president told at the General Assembly is that Sri Lanka should be allowed to work independently without any interference,” said UNP MP Hector Appuhamy, speaking alongside fellow parliamentarian Kavinda Jayawardene at a press conference. “This is something that has to be done, and therefore, what President said was correct.”

Sirisena was accompanied by Buddhist monks and a senior leader from the extremist Jathika Hela Urumaya party during his visit to the United Nations, where he vowed to protect the “pride of the security forces” and call for war crimes charges against Sri Lankan troops to be dropped.

The head of Sri Lanka’s air force was invited to attend a military conference in Hawaii earlier this month, as Sri Lankan increases its military relations despite concerns regarding human rights abuses committed by troops.

Kapila Jayampathy attended the conference of Chiefs of Defence in Honolulu, Hawaii earlier this month, meeting with other senior military officials from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Sri Lankan military has been assisting Sinhala Buddhists monks in Punanai who are attempting to expand a vihara that has been illegally constructed on a Hindu temple’s land, according to the local temple administration.

Three Tamil youths were arrested in Jaffna on Wednesday night.

The three were arrested after a reported police chase with Jaffna police who went to Tirunelveli following reports that two groups of Tamil youths were gathered in the area and preparing for a fight.

Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force will take over security and investigations at three major Colombo prisons, Colombo Page reports.

The security and investigations at Welikada, Colombo Remand and Magazine prison have been handed over to the STF effective from next month.

An Indian national was arrested on Tuesday over an alleged plot to kill the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena. 

Marsili Thomas was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), whilst visiting the residence of the Anti-Corruption Movement Operations Director, Namal Kumara. 

According to local reports the former director of the Terrorism Investigation Division, Nalaka Silva had discussed a plan to assassinate Sirisena. 

Students at the Eastern University in Batticaloa yesterday evening marked the 31st anniversary of Lt Col Thileepan's fast unto death. 

Remembering the sacrifice he made, students lit lamps and paid tribute to Thileepan and his hunger strike. 

A court in Kilinochchi on Tuesday ordered huts built by fishermen from the South who had been fishing illegally to be removed and for the fishermen to leave from Vadamaradchchi East.

The court issued the order to eight organisations who had failed to seek permission from the divisional secretariat at Maruthenkeni and had staying on government land illegally. 

Thirty-two huts are to be removed and 850 Southern fishermen have been ordered to vacate the area. 

An organisation of Sinhala Buddhist monks have spoken out against Sri Lanka’s president, stating that despite his call at the United Nations against ‘foreign influence’ they remain wary of an international accountability mechanism for war crimes.