<p>Japan's government this week pledged Rs 100 million for humanitarian demining in the Northern province.&nbsp;</p> <p>The contract was signed by the Japanese ambassador, Akira Sugiyama and the programme manager of Devlon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH) on January 24.&nbsp;</p> <p>Japan has given over US$ 34.5 million for demining since 2003.&nbsp;</p> <p>Read more <a href="http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19A/Jan29_1548739066CH.php">here</a>.&nbsp;</p>

The Sri Lankan navy arrested a man in Point Pedro, Jaffna on Monday, accusing him of possessing at least 86 kg of cannabis, as the military launched a reported crackdown on illegal drugs.

The navy said that a 50-year-old man was concealing the cannabis on the roof at a home in Point Pedro and has since been handed over to the Sri Lankan police.

Youth in Jaffna protested on Sunday demanding action to curb the widespread availability of illicit drugs. 

The protest, organised by the Youth Movement for Democracy, took place by the main Jaffna bus station. 

Protesters also called for an end to the abuse of women and children, and a salary rise for tea plantation workers. 

 

The hardline Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader, Udaya Gammanpila today accused the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) of not having accepted the unitary state of Sri Lanka. 

"Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said recently that there was no draft Constitution and that the TNA had accepted the concept of a Unitary State. Unfortunately, the PM still attempts to deceive the nation. We pointed out that the phrase 'this Constitution' can be found in the first page of the document tabled by him in the Constitutional Assembly," Gammanpila told a news briefing. 

The Sri Lankan military announced that two soldiers had been killed after a military vehicle lost control and crashed in Mullaitivu last week.

At least four other soldiers were injured in the collision, which happened on the Nedunkeni road in Mullaitivu last Monday.

Yet another group of Tamil pre-schoolchildren were taken on a tour of the Sri Lankan army base located inside the Palaly High Security Zone this week, on land which the military occupies and remains off limits to local Tamils.

Tamil pre-schoolchildren from Jaffna were escorted by informed soldiers around the base, where they showed off aircraft used by the military during the armed conflict in which countless Tamil civilians were massacred.

Sri Lanka’s former president and opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa lashed out against constitutional reform proposals that were present to parliament earlier this month, calling on the Buddhist Maha Sangha in particular to be wary of Sri Lanka becoming a “federal state”.

Rajapaksa, who oversaw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils in 2009, said the new constitution would weaken the parliament and "immeasurably strengthen provincial legislatures".

Tamil families in Keppapulavu continued their protest demanding the release of their land from Sri Lankan military occupation on Sunday.

Over 100 displaced families from Keppapulavu in Mullaitivu began their protest on Saturday, with Sri Lankan security forces deploying police and military personnel in the area and photographing the families from within the camp in apparent acts of intimidation.

Residents in Batticaloa gathered at the Kokkadichcholai memorial to remember the massacre of 87 Tamils by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force officers at a prawn farm. 

On January 27, 1987 STF officers raided a prawn factory in the village, shooting dead the workers, which including seven boys aged between 12 to 14.

Two Sinhalese men were arrested on friday in Mannar for being in possession of cannabis. 

The arrest was made by the Sri Lankan navy near the main bridge in Mannar. 

The navy state 2kg of cannabis was found in the vehicle in which the two suspects were travelling. 

Both men, aged 37 and 47, have been handed over to police.