Internal Developments:

President Dissolves Parliament:

1. President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the parliament 8 months ahead of its schedule with effect from June 27, 2015. This paves the way for fresh parliamentary elections likely to be held in mid-August. President clarified that since the passage of the 20th Amendment dealing with electoral reforms, looked uncertain given the opposition from smaller political parties, it was decided to go head with the elections under the existing electoral laws. He was obviously unwilling to alienate the minorities by trying to push through the reforms despite their opposition. The Cabinet will continue and function as a caretaker government.

Ranil Challenges Rajapaksa to Defeat Him:

2. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe challenged former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to defeat him if possible after securing his party’s endorsement as its prime ministerial candidate.

President Appoints Committee to Resolve Crisis Within UPFA:

3. With a view to mend fences with group of SLFP and UPFA members backing former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Maithripala Sirisena, on June 29, appointed a committee headed by former higher education minister S.B. Dissanayake to hold talks with them and resolve the crisis within the UPFA. The dissident group is pressing for the nomination of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime ministerial candidate of the UPFA. It also has a fallback option in the event of Mr. Rajapaksa being denied the nomination.

JNP to Support Rajapaksa:

4. Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) leader Wimal Weerawansa said that his party will contest the elections with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He however clarified that the final decision in this regard will be taken by UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajanatha.

Appointment of new Ambassadors:

5. The Foreign Affairs Ministry, on June 24, confirmed the appointments of new ambassadors to nine countries;Thailand, Vietnam, Sweden, Netherlands, Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar and Israel.

SLFP Initiates Talks With Smaller Parties:

6. SLFP, on June 28, appointed a committee to hold discussion with the smaller parties on contesting the parliamentary elections together. The idea is to put together a formidable alliance of as many parties under the UPFA banner as possible, including the smaller ones, to record an excellent victory in the general elections.

External Relations:

Sri Lanka Yet to Fix Accountability for Alleged HR Violations - US Report

7. The 2014 Country Report on Human Rights Practices published by the U.S. Department of State said the Sri Lankan government prosecuted a very small number of government and military officials implicated in human rights abuses and that government officials and others tied to the former ruling coalition enjoyed a high degree of impunity.

8. Releasing the report (June 25), Secretary of State John Kerry said nepotism and cronyism continued in Sri Lanka with loyalists of the then ruling dispensation, allegedly receiving favored consideration for high-ranking government and business positions, with Anti-corruption messages becoming a hallmark of the successful opposition political campaign in the run-up to the January 2015 Presidential elections.

World Bank to lend US$ 165 million to Sri Lanka:

9. The World Bank Board has approved US$ 165 million credit for Sri Lanka to provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation in several districts. Funding will be provided to increase access to piped water services and improved sanitation in the Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Monaragala, Kegalle and Ratnapura districts. Around 450,000 people are expected to benefit under the project, contributing to the government's national target of increasing piped water coverage from the current 45 percent to 60 percent by 2020.

World Bank to provide US$50 million for Child Development Programme:

10. The World Bank on June 23 also approved US$ 50 million credit to Sri Lanka to support a national plan for early childhood care and development. The credit is to be utilized to improve the quality and increase equitable access to Early Childhood Development (ECD) services in Sri Lanka, the Bank said in a statement.

Sri Lanka to Reconsider Chinese-funded Colombo Port City Project:

11. The Cabinet on June 17, decided to reconsider the recommencement of USD 1.4 billion Chinese-funded Colombo Port City Project following a complete Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. The new government on March 06, 2015 had temporarily suspended the Colombo Port City Project launched by the previous government in partnership with China in September 2014.

Sri Lanka Initiates Collaboration with CERN

12. Sri Lanka and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) signed an agreement on 25 June 2015 in Geneva for cooperation between CERN and the scientific community in Sri Lanka to facilitate engineers, scientists and researchers from Sri Lankan universities and research institutes to gain valuable first-hand experience and knowledge in both experimental and theoretical ‘particle physics’ and related aspects of technologies through the highly-demanded programmes conducted by CERN.