The visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, to Sri Lanka in a few weeks time is not for a 'cosmetic ticking of the box' on the process Sri Lanka undertook based on the Geneva mandate, but will lead to the June session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UK Minister of State for Asia at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hugo Swire said. He said the local mechanism process, which is led by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, will come up with some proposals and table it when High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who will be here in a couple of weeks.

"Quite a lot of work is going on and Minister Samaraweera will come out with some kind of solution to get the thing going in the locally designed process to address the alleged war crimes," he added. He said the process will eventually have an international element to it, which remains in discussion as of now. He said the international element is not the international probe that was discussed in the past. That won't work for Sri Lanka, he added.

He also said the government deserves credit for quickly attending on human rights issues, although there is a long way to go. He said the Human Rights Commissioner is coming to Sri Lanka and the Geneva June session is nearing. "His visit is not just a cosmetic ticking the boxes in seeking if the progress is going on. His visit will really measure some of the long-term issues and proposals the government undertook and how it would be addressed, will be the main concerns," he noted. "It's our belief the country will properly work on the measures undertaken and address the past to bring closure on some of it," he added.

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.