A Buddhist monk today set himself on fire in Kandy demanding an end to cattle slaughter

The monk who set himself on fire outside the Dalada Maligawa Temple is a member of the Sihala Ravaya.

He had earlier staged a walk from Kattaragama to Colombo to protest against cattle slaughter.

Identified as the venerable Bohowatte Indararatna thero, the monk was also a one-time member of the JHU.

The Sri Lanka government yesterday expressed concern over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US embassy in Colombo and the Trincomalee Urban Council to jointly establish a public information and activity centre known as the American Corner, without the knowledge or the authorisation of the Sri Lanka External Affairs Ministry.

Government sources said that foreign missions based in Colombo should obtain prior approval or inform to the External Affairs Ministry of Sri Lanka whenever they need to engage with local authorities - which is the international norm.

Secretary of the Democratic Left Front, Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara opines that a new constitution based on national unity should be created.

The Minister expressed this view at an event held in Colombo on Thursday.
The Socialist Alliance celebrated Republic Day on Wednesday under the theme, Creating a new constitution for strengthening democracy and national peace.

The Jathika Hela Urumaya says that the 13th amendment to the constitution cannot be accepted in terms of the principles of justice.Convening a media briefing on Wednesdaythe JHU announced that a private member's bill, seeking the abolishment of the 13th amendment and the Provincial Council system, would be tabled in Parliament, next week.

Monks of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) were not involved in a clash with several other Buddist monks near the BBS Headquarters at Thummulla, the organization says.

Speaking to ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’, a BBS spokesperson  said that conflict has occurred between two groups of monks from two temples.

Mannar Bishop, Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph says that the Bodu Bala Sena should involve themselves in politics only after learning the history of the country first.
A racist organization named the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) is raising its head by spreading lies, attempting to break the unity between Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim masses and bringing destruction to the country, the Mannar Bishop says.

The Mannar Bishop was responding to a recent statement of the secretary of BBS – Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero.