Sri Lanka has denied accusations from the US that it continues to import Iranian crude, in breach of sanctions.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapakse, brother of the president, said this issue was raised by the US with the government.

President Mahinda Rajapakse said, according to the Sunday Times, that small countries like Sri Lanka were being picked for such accusations.

Plans to build a Buddha statue at the northern gateway of Batticaloa city have raised concerns among residents, reports Uthayan.

There are currently no religious symbols at the ornamental gateway to the region, where a Buddhist population is practically non-existent.

TNA MP P. Ariyendran slammed the idea, alleging that the plans were drawn up with the intent of distressing the population of Batticaloa.

"The entire population of Batticaloa is Tamil-speaking," Ariyendran said, "there is no need to raise more Buddha statues here."

Sri Lankan Buddhist organisation 'Ravana Balaya' has slammed Sri Lanka's cricketers as having 'betrayed the country', after several players returned from participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament.

The group's secretary Ven. Iththaekande Saddhatissa Thero stated that the cricketers were "disgracing the country and themselves too", according to ColomboPage, and warned that they would " face their wrath", as they returned from India.

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa exalted the values of Buddhist teachings, asserting that Buddhism had never allowed Buddhists to become extremists.

Addressing devotees on Wednesday, Rajapaksa said that the Mahasangha 'should be more concerned and well-informed about a situation being plotted to rouse communal tensions and create a crisis situation among religions and sects of the same religion to breach the religious harmony in the country'.

A government website quoted him as saying:

A parliamentarian from the Tamil National Alliance, M.A Sumanthiran, speaking to the Sunday Leader, outlined that the government was  responsible for the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) calls to abolish the 13 Amendment.

Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has interrogated members of the German NGO the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, for allegedly working beyond its legal mandate.

The NGO, which has been working on the island since 1974, has had their local representative Sagarika Delgoda interrogated by CID.

According to ColomboPage,

The Sri Lankan government has expressed concern over a recent Memorandum of understanding, signed between the US Embassy in Colombo and the Trincomalee Urban Council, to establish an ‘American Corner’, a public information centre.

Unnamed officials said the External Affairs Ministry had no knowledge of this and did not authorise the MoU, reported the DailyMirror.

Two American corners already exist in Jaffna and Kandy.