Fresh issues arose this week within the new Government as a ruling coalition partner, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), said yesterday that it would move amendments to the 19th Amendment — now before the Supreme Court — charging that the draft did not conform to what was agreed to by party leaders.

China on Friday said it appreciated Sri Lanka’s stance on the Dalai Lama, as it seems unlikely their government would grant him a visa to visit.

Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday that it was Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who had told him that the Chinese contractor building a section of the Colombo Outer Circular Road connecting the Highways had agreed to reduce the cost of the project by Rs. 30 billion.

New Delhi has agreed to help Colombo rescue 67 Sri Lankans stranded in Yemen, officials said on Thursday. India’s nod followed a request by the Sri Lankan government for help in the repatriation of Lankans from Yemen.

The Court of Appeal today issued an interim order suspending the Gazette notification on banning the use of full-face helmets, until April 27.

President Maithrpala Sirisena has signed the documents to pardon the girl (23) who damaged the Sigiriya Mirror Wall using a hairpin, Minister Wijayadasa Rajapaksa said.

China has pledged over $1 billion in new grant money to Sri Lanka after a Chinese luxury real estate project in the capital Colombo was suspended, a Sri Lankan government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa is staying up all night these days reading books on parliamentary traditions to resolve the issue of who should lead the opposition in Parliament, sources said.

Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana and Democratic Governance Tissa Karalliyadda has quit the government.

UPFA Parliamentarian Duminda Silva and 10 others, who were accused in the killing of former Minister Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra were released under the previous bail conditions with two more sureties by the Colombo High Court today.

Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera has said that he had never made any defamatory statements regarding Muslims, but had always criticized extremist Islamic organizations such as the Jihad.

Expressing deep appreciation over the new government’s policies on improving human rights and strengthening democratic institutions, European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr David Daly, said the EU is seriously reevaluating the Sri Lanka’s request to grant the GSP+ concession once again for Sri Lanka exports to EU and to lift the restrictions imposed on export of fish products.

Former monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena was released on a personal bail of Rs. 1 million with two sureties each by Colombo Fort Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya today in the case where MP Gunawardena had failed to declare his assets and liabilities.

Three navy personnel have been detained and are being questioned by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over the killing of TNA MP Nadarajah Raviraj in 2006, the police spokesman said.