President Maithripala Sirisena this week appointed a committee headed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Karunasena Hettiarachchi to expedite the release of private land occupied by the military in the north to owners. The President chaired an hour long meeting attended by the District Secretaries from the North, Army Commander Lieutenant General Chrishantha De Silva, Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs D.M. Swaminathan and the Governor of the Northern Province H.M.G.S.Palihakkara. Mr. Hettiarachchi told the Sunday Times that he would visit Jaffna on Wednesday to assess the situation.
  

The Defence Secretary said that the land that is needed in the interest of national security will be retained while alternative land will be given to the owners of such land. The Government has already released more than 3,000 acres of land that was occupied by the security forces and around 6,000 more acres of land remains to be redistributed. The land that has to be released is in the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar and Vavuniya.Minister Swaminathan said that around 11,000 families in the North remain to be resettled of which 1,600 families are in 32 welfare centers.

The Minister added that President Sirisena has asked that the reconstruction and resettlement work in the North be expedited.

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.