Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena plans to visit Jaffna on Thai Pongal Day and hand over the land deeds for 600 acres held by the security forces to the rightful owners, according to a report in The Hindu newspaper. In an interview to The Hindu on Sunday, President Sirisena said he would soon set up a task force to find solutions to problems of the displaced persons. The Army last month formally released 700 acres of land held by Armed Forces in Valikamam North area of Jaffna and handed them over to the Jaffna Government Agent Nagalingam Vedanayagam.

According to the Government Agent, since the boundary markers of the plots have been removed when the security forces occupied the land, the lands needed to be re-measured before handing over to the owners. The President, who recently visited a welfare camp for the displaced in Thelippanai, Jaffna, where a large number of displaced families and listened to the inmates' grievances vowed to resolve the resettlement problem soon.

He told The Hindu only after his unscheduled visit to the camp did he find that there were people living there for the last 25 years. "I blamed myself that I was not aware of the tragic situation of people," he was quoted as saying. On repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a long-standing demand of human rights activists and Tamil groups, he said there existed a commonly held view that the Act had to be repealed. "When even powerful nations are grappling with problems my government has to consider all factors before taking a decision,he said.

While refuting claims by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe that his government had allocated funds required to increase public sector salaries, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that no such funds had been allocated.

A Fundamental Rights petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking an order preventing Ranjan Ramanayake from contesting the parliamentary election scheduled for November 14.

Claiming that Sri Lanka has come a long way in terms of undertaking reforms which have led to some hard won gains, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)said they could move fast towards the third review which will come up soon.

The Election Commission has decided to mark the voters' index fingers for this year's general elections, Commissioner General Saman Ratnayake announced. He said the elections are scheduled for November 14, 2024.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to hold a series of meetings with the High Commissioners of South Africa and New Zealand, along with the Ambassadors of Iran and Myanmar, as well as a delegation from the European Union today (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the security threats to Israeli nationals in the Arugam Bay area, Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath said.

Sri Lanka should get its foreign policy right in the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mujibur Rahman said today.

The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory urging travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Sri Lanka due to demonstrations, the threat of terrorist attacks and crime, particularly in the Arugam Bay area.

Sri Lankan security forces have been alerted to a potential attack on Israelis in the Arugam Bay area by Indian intelligence agencies. According to intelligence information, the threat is believed to be targeted at foreign nationals.

Former Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara asked why the government did not take action to beef up security for foreign tourists in advance if it had received information on a possible threat on October 7, according to the statement made by Acting Chief of Police.