China which has been increasingly involved in Sri Lanka’s economy, has secured another lucrative deal — creating a new 500-acre, port city on reclaimed land on the sea off the Galle Face Green. A top Government source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the deal, said the government had agreed to the US$700 million offer from a Chinese investor. The offer has been channelled through Chinese authorities.

The Commonwealth Secretariat in London has expressed concern over the contents of the recent British Channel 4 television programme that showed alleged Sri Lankan soldiers killing suspected terrorists in the final stages of the military campaign against the LTTE in May 2009 – despite a member-nation of the Commonwealth (Sri Lanka) challenging the authenticity of the footage in the programme.