COLOMBO — Independent Jaffna District lawmaker Archchuna Ramanathan wore a black armband in Parliament on Wednesday in protest over the deadly violence at Negombo Prison, joining members of the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya in demanding that the government accept responsibility for the deaths. Opposition lawmakers, including Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, entered the parliamentary chamber wearing black armbands during Wednesday's sitting. Several other legislators also attended dressed

COLOMBO — The minister responsible for Sri Lanka’s mining sector conceded in Parliament that mineral-extraction projects had gone ahead without any environmental assessment, that companies had profited by trading and transferring their licenses, and that the country had no plan to add value to the raw minerals it exports — admissions a Tamil opposition leader said should force the cancellation of every permit issued under those conditions. The concessions by Sunil Handunnetti, the Minister of I

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's government will fast-track legislation to allow courts to place some suspects under house arrest with electronic monitoring instead of remanding them in overcrowded prisons, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said on Tuesday, presenting the proposal as part of a broader effort to address chronic congestion in the country's prison system following the deadly violence at Negombo Prison. Speaking in Parliament, Mr. Nanayakkara said Sri Lanka's prisons were operating far be