The former head of Sri Lanka's army, Sarath Fonseka, will contest parliamentary elections later this year, according to officials from his Democratic Party.

Senior party officials are discussing procedures in order to enable Fonseka to become a member of parliament. The party leader was previously blocked from contesting after his failed attempt to unseat former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Former minister Mervyn Silva has filed a complaint to the CID against Gotabaya and Basil Rajapaksa, over criminal activities, including white van abductions and the killing of a journalist.

Mr Silva said former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was behind the notorious white van abductions, which were used to devastating effect, especially against Tamils.

“I do not want to take revenge from anyone. They are the ones who took revenge from me. I was not given a proper ministry to work. I came to the CID to complain over all the murders such as Bharatha Laksman Premachandra, Lasantha Wikrametunge and the attacks on several private media institutions. It is Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was behind the white van culture in the country,” he said.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s central committee today appointed President Maithripala Sirisena as the chairman of the party at a meeting at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute earlier today.

The unanimous decision came after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa told the UPFA coalition, of which the SLFP is the main constituent party, that he is prepared to hand over chairmanship to the new president.

The European Union (EU) has suspended all fish imports from Sri Lanka, putting in place a ban that could cost Sri Lanka as much as $200 million.

The ban on Sri Lankan imports was announced in October 2014, in response to Sri Lanka failing to deal with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), a move praised by environmental non-governmental organisations, such as Greenpeace.

The EU alone had €74 million of imports in 2013, but Sri Lanka Seafood Association spokesperson Channa Weeratunge estimated that Sri Lanka could stand to lose as much as $200 million.

A spokesperson for Sri Lanka’s army has said no decision has been taken to reduce the number of troops in the military, noting instead that over 20,000 people had been recruited into the armed forces for "development projects".

According to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence, when questioned by reporters on plans to reduce the size of the armed forces, army spokesperson Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera responded by saying no such decision had been taken.