A special discussion is currently underway between the the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the United National Party (UNP) regarding voting on the second reading of the budget. Speaking to the press yesterday (Mar 11), TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah said that his party would not vote in favour of the budget if it does not address the issues of the North and the East.

A resolution on

Speaking during the debate on the Budget

Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the Second Reading of the Budget today (12), Mr Rajapaksa claimed that they could not allow this Government to continue any longer, adding that it has deceived the people and proved itself to be incompetent, corrupt and insensitive. "We should not bear this any longer," he insisted.

TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah said yesterday they would support Budget 2019 only if it resolved the issues pertaining to the development in the North and East. He told Parliament that the TNA would meet President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe next week to discuss the development in these areas.

Another set of samples from the Mannar mass grave should be sent for carbon dating in another country, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said. "This is not to say that we do not accept the reports sent by a lab in Florida, US, but given the importance of the Mannar grave site we need to get a second opinion," Mullaitivu District MP, Nirmalanathan Sivamohan said.

The meeting between the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on the proposed 20th constitutional amendment commenced at 2 pm today (Mar 11). TNA parliamentarians M.A. Sumandiran, Mavai Senathirajah, and Selvan Adaikkalanthan engaged in talks with JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, General Secretary Vijitha Herath, and politburo member Lal Kantha. The meeting took place to discuss the the abolishing of the executive presidency via the 20th amendment.

Former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda has left the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) after nearly eight hours of questioning. Admiral Karannagoda had arrived in the morning to record a statement and had been at the CID office from 9 am until 5 pm. He was questioned regarding the case pertaining to the abduction of youths in 2008/09.

A special note would be sent to the UNHRC via the Governor of the Northern Province, Suren Raghavan, former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, M. K. Sivajilingam said. Sivajilingam said that after learning that Raghavan would attend the UNHRC sessions, as a representative of the President, he had handed over the letter to the Secretary to the Governor a few days back.

Those who had attempted to blame the army for the Mannar mass grave without any evidence were now silent, the Army Commander Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake said, yesterday, commenting on the laboratory revelation the site was hundreds of years old.

A Malaysian woman has died on board a SriLankan Airlines flight enroute to Colombo earlier today (Mar 11), a senior Police officer attached to the Police Media Spokesman's Office said. The deceased, a 65-year old was travelling to Sri Lanka on a tourist visa, and had departed from Saudi Arabia and reached the Bandaranaike International Airport at around 4:35 am on SriLankan flight UL 282.

The Army

Following the report of Radiocarbon dating analysis obtained from Florida, United States of America, on the six skeleton samples, the lawyers representing the families of the disappeared persons in the North, cautioned that the report obtained......cannot be counted as the final report, when articles such as biscuit wrappers, toffee papers and metallic chains tied to the tibia bones (lower legs), that were found, are sent to the local laboratory for testing.

The Army refused to investigate Army Chief of Staff Major General Shavendra Silva for human rights abuses which have been raised by some human rights groups targeting the ongoing session at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The Cabinet has given the green light to make necessary arrangements to develop the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The $ 20 million facility, situated in the Southern Province, is dubbed the world

The founder of SLPP former Minister Basil Rajapaksa emphasizes that the SLPP (Pohottuwa) will field a candidate of their own for the forthcoming presidential election. He said that that candidate will surely win the election and he would take oaths on December 09. He made these comments addressing the Women's Federation of the SLPP in the Kalutara electorate. Minister Rajapaksa further said that Mahinda Rajapaksa will nominate the Presidential candidate and any candidate to be nominated will be supported by the SLPP, said Mr. Basil Rajapaksa.

After weeks of absconding from the police, former Navy Chief Wasantha Karannagoda has been noticed to appear before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at 9 am tomorrow, on an order issued by the country

The bone samples from the mass grave in Mannar must be subjected to another test, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian S. Sivamohan said yesterday (Mar 08). Speaking in Parliament, the MP said that he was not convinced regarding the recent report sent by BETA Analytics Department on six bone samples which were sent for testing purposes. He claimed that the recent report was constructed in the backdrop of mounting pressure exerted by powerful countries. The TNA parliamentarian added that there is no sign of justice being delivered for the victims of enforced disappearances.

The UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture will visit Sri Lanka next month, a OHCHR statement said. In addition to visiting Sri Lanka the committee will also visit Palestine and Argentina along with other countries such as Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Ghana and Senegal. The visit to Sri Lanka will take place in early April, and a media advisory announcing the precise dates, as well as further information, is to be issued ahead of the visit.

UNP MP Hirunika Premachandra said yesterday more than 25 UNP backbenchers were prepared to defeat the President's expenditure head. She told parliament that President Maithripala Sirisena had allocated half of the funds for him than what was allocated for all the ministries in the budget. "The President claims that he is a simple man. But he should show it by practice," she said.

President Maithripala Sirisena has issued an extraordinary gazette notice bringing the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRC) under the purview of the Ministry of Defence. Through the extraordinary gazette the financially troubled SriLankan Airlines and its subsidiaries have been brought under the purview of the Ministry of Finance.

China is not giving Sri Lanka loans as easy as before, a Former Minister told Parliament today. Former Minister Sarath Amunugama told Parliament today that China used to clear and expedite loans to Sri Lanka in the past. However he noted that now China takes time to clear loans and has more conditions attached.He said that the main reason for this is because the current Government had been critical of China.

The law should apply to former navy commander Wasantha Karannangoda if he had done anything wrong, Field Marshal and MP Sarath Fonseka said today during the debate on the second reading of the Budget. He said the former navy commander should be penalized if he was found guilty on the charges which he was facing.

In a report on Sri Lanka by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights which was made public today, tough action has been proposed over Sri Lanka

Mannar Magistrate T. Saravanarajah today ordered to suspend the excavations at the Mannar mass grave site until further notice. Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Saminda Rajapaksa said they would withdraw from the site following the court order. He said the excavation officers are scheduled to meet the Magistrate on April 20 and a decision on future action would be taken during the meeting.

There is no one in this government who accepts what I say, President Maithripala Sirisena said. Speaking at the launch of the Sinhala translation of

The TNA

The Colombo High Court today rejected a bail application put forward by former Terrorist Investigations Division (TID) DIG Nalaka de Silva.Nalaka de Silva has been in remand over the alleged plot to kill the President. The Criminal Investigations Department told court recently that there was evidence to prove Nalaka de Silva was linked to the alleged plot to kill President Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.