Sri Lanka's former navy spokesperson who was arrested last year over the enforced disappearance of Tamil youths during 2008 - 2009 was on Friday released on bail. 

Commodore D K P Dassanayake and five others were charged with aiding and abetting the abduction of 11 Tamil youths. 

The Colombo High Court judge, Manilal Waidyaratne released the six on a cash bail of Rs 100,000 with a Rs 1 million sureties on three. 

Sri Lanka's Supreme court concluded its hearing on Thursday over whether the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena could hold his office for 6 years from the 9th January 2015, when he was sworn in as president. 

Mr Sirisena had written to the Supreme Court asking if he could extend his term to 6 years, despite the 19th Amendment to the constitution stipulating that a president's term should not exceed 5 years. 

The Amendment, brought in by the unity government, was heralded as a sign of its 'good governance' measures. 

Britian’s Prince Edward is set to visit Sri Lanka at the end of this month, where he will be present in Colombo for Independence Day.

The British High Commission in Sri Lanka said the visits will celebrate “the long-standing friendship between the two countries and shared interest in the Commonwealth, youth development and education”.

As part of his visit, Prince Edward, who holds the title of Earl of Wessex, will also visit Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Nuwara Eliya.

Whilst Sri Lanka’s Independence Day is marked by parades and military displays, Tamils across the North-East have previously held large protests to mark the occasion.

Sri Lankan troops further consolidated their involvement in religious activities in the North-East, as the military held a ceremony last week, where they met with the newly appointed Bishop of Mannar.

The Sri Lankan government is looking to raise US$500 million through development bonds, as it struggles to repay a record high debt.

Reuters reports the Colombo must repay an estimated 1.97 trillion rupees ($12.85 billion) in 2018 which includes $2.9 billion of foreign loans, and a total of $5.36 billion of interest. The sum is a record high for the Sri Lankan government.

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank announced this week that it plans to raise $500 million in 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDB).

A group of British MPs who are touring Sri Lanka met with the military in Jaffna last week, despite criticism of ongoing militarisation of the North-East.

A demining staff member was shot by unknown gunmen close to the police station in Palai on Monday night at 8pm local time. 

The victim, 38 year old father of two, Sivananthamoorthy Surenthiran, was rushed to Palai hospital before being transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital for treatment of significant injuries. 
 

The killing of eleven Tamils by Sri Lankan police officers at the 1974 International Tamil Research Conference in Jaffna was remembered today. 

Residents and members of the Northern Provincial Councils gathered by a memorial to mark the 44th anniversary of the massacre. 

Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena has asked the Supreme Court for its view on whether he can extend his term in office till 2021, making his presidency a total of 6 years. 

According to the 19th Amendment to the constitution which the government hailed as evidence of its revolutionary governance and part of its 100 day 'good governance' plan, a president's term is limited to 5 years. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) criticised what it described as "lots of talk but little progress in Sri Lanka over journalist murders' as the government commenced its 4th year in power. 

"Impunity for crimes against journalists remains a front-line issue in Sri Lanka; indeed, ending impunity was a promise of the government of President Maithripala Sirisena when he defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa in elections in 2015," CPJ's Asia program coordinator, Steven Butler wrote. 

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