State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene refuted claims made by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the UNHRC resolution would make provision to arrest Sri Lankan military forces personnel and that the government was also assisting the UNHRC to achieve this.

All investigations conducted by the Board of Inquiry of the Navy on Lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapaksa has been temporarily halted due to his arrest on allegations of money laundering, Navy Spokesperson, Captain Akram Alavi said.The Navy appointed a Board of Inquiry to probe several issues including Rajapaksa

Speculation is rife in political circles as to which prominent MP or State official of the previous regime will next be incarcerated.The speculation has been triggered by the fact that the infamous 'S' ward of the Welikada Prison in which former Army Commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and late actor turned politician Vijaya Kumaratunga were detained is being hurriedly renovated.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will visit Sri Lanka next week for a joint

Pablo de Greiff, the UN Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence, has said that Sri Lanka should not be hasty in trying to meet its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in regard to issues of transitional justice.

Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samarweera today officially launched the website for public consultation for the design of reconciliation mechanisms at the District Secretariat office in Jaffna.In keeping up with the resolution passed at the Human Rights Council last year, the government assured earlier that truth seeking mechanism including a accountability model would be setupped following the public consultation. The website can be accessed in three languages at http://www.scrm.gov.lk

Ex-president and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa said today he hoped the SLFP MPs and ministers, who had joined the government, would soon make up their mind as to which side they belonged.

A bill seeking a total ban on the destructive fishing method known as

The US has decided to give a grant of USD 500,000 to organisations in Sri Lanka that will promote investigative journalism and build the capacity of journalists in the country. The objective of such a massive grant, the State Department said, is to increase the capacity of Sri Lankan media and strengthened investigative journalism. The grant would not be given to journalists directly but to the organisations which can work with them to help meet this objective. As such, the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor has sought proposals from organisations for activities that focus on building the capacity of journalists to provide quality, impartial reporting across a variety of media platforms with a special emphasis on investigative journalism.

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) today said that it had not taken a final decision to purchase aircraft from India, Pakistan or any other country. SLAF Spokesman Group Captain Chandima Alwis said they were still carrying out feasibility studies to make a decision on purchasing multirole fighter aircraft to replace its MiG and Kfir fleet.

The Sri Lankan government

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-remanded by the Kaduwela Magistrate today. Rajapaksa, former Sri Lanka cricket board secretary Nishantha Ranatunga and three others were remanded when they were produced in court today. The owners and top management of the Carlton Sports Network (CSN) including Yoshitha Rajapaksa, Nishantha Ranatunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka Navy said it has assisted the Coast Guard on Wednesday to arrest twelve Indian fishermen for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and poaching in island's waters. The fishermen were arrested along with two fishing trawlers while they were fishing in the Sri Lankan waters northwest of Thalaimannar on 10th February 2016. The arrested fishermen were brought to Thalaimannar and handed over to the officials of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Thalaimannar) for onward action.

Jayantha Jayasuriya, President

Sri Lanka has reportedly shown interest in purchasing Light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas from India. Light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas is the multi-role light fighter that is in development with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and recently showcased its acrobatic skills successfully at Bahrain International Airshow 2016, a first such display outside India. Though the aircraft has been in development for some years now, India

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the idea of a Hybrid Court to investigate Sri Lanka is still alive, especially following the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra

The United Nations will not force Sri Lanka to accept a role for international judges in investigating possible war crimes during the 26-year Tamil insurgency but any process must be impartial and independent, the UN human rights chief said on Tuesday. Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, ending a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to assess the investigation, commended some efforts by President Maithripala Sirisena's government but said much still needed to be done. The United Nations says the Sri Lankan military and Tamil Tiger rebels were both likely to have committed war crimes during the war, which ended with a military victory in 2009.

Fourteen ex-LTTE cadres, arrested on charges of criminal activities and later granted bail refused to undergo a period of rehabilitation when the case was taken up by the Colombo Additional Magistrate Aruni Artigala today. TID officers told the Magistrate that rehabilitation was a means of concluding the cases against the suspects. However Senior Counsel K. Ratnavel appearing for the suspects told the Magistrate that his clients were innocent and they did not wish to undergo rehabilitation. He said if the prosecution insisted on sending them for rehabilitation his clients would face trial instead and prove their innocence.

The US government has proposed a $31 million financial aid to Sri Lanka to encourage reconciliation efforts and support anti-corruption activities as the Island nation is undertaking major reforms after the historic political transition. "Following the historic political transition after Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2015, US assistance to Sri Lanka has entered a new era," said the budgetary proposals sent by US Secretary of State John Kerry to the Congress in which he proposed $31 million for Sri Lanka as part of New Silk Road and Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor initiatives.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said some unidentified group had threatened him with death if the joint opposition was not recognised as a separate group in Parliament. He told Parliament that he was not scared of dying.

Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera was further remanded till February 16 when he was produced in the Homagama magistrate

Two Sri Lankans deported from Australia were arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) by the Crime Investigation Division (CID) this morning, Police said. The suspects, residents of Jaffna, were illegal migrants to Australia and were arrested on a tip off. The suspects are to be produced before the Negombo Magistrate today. The Katunayake CID will conduct the investigation.

Extreme nationalistic tendencies lay at the heart of Sri Lanka

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Prince Zeid, has denied that he told the media in Jaffna that he will not ask the Sri Lankan government to release Tamil detainees.Zeid explained to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) here on Tuesday, that he had only said that the UN cannot ask a

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who is on a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of the government, called on the Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today.The High Commissioner also called on the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Temple Trees this morning. During the meeting, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and High Commissioner Zeid focused attention on current challenges and opportunities for strengthening the rule of law and protection of human rights in Sri Lanka.

The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) the venerable Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera was granted bail by the Homagama Magistrate today over contempt of court charges. However he was remanded till tomorrow for allegedly threatening Sandhya Eknaligoda, the wife of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda. The monk was remanded last month after he surrendered to the police after the Homagama Magistrate issued an arrest warrant on him. The arrest warrant was issued after the monk had allegedly disrespected court during proceedings into the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda.

Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs D.M. Swaminathan has instructed the Commissioner General of Prisons to hold an immediate inquiry into the incident of finding a mobile phone in the cell of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka took oath as a Member of the Parliament before the speaker Karu Jayasuriya a short while ago. The United National Party's working committee on Monday decided to appoint Field Marshal Fonseka as a UNP national list MP, a seat which was left vacant by the recent demise of Minister M. K. A. D. S Gunawardene.