<p>Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Tilak Marapana, called on diplomats to improve the country's image abroad through their diplomacy, the Sunday Times reports.&nbsp;</p> <p>Marapana, speaking at an awarding ceremony of the Public Diplomacy and Media Relations training programme on Friday, stressed the importance of presenting Sri Lanka as a civilised nation with untapped potential and talent.&nbsp;</p> <p>Foreign secretary, Ravinatha Aryasinha, said that international affairs would continue to play a pivotal role in diplomacy both at home and abroad.&nbsp;</p>

Officials from the Sri Lankan government’s Office of Missing Persons (OMP) will join the chief investigator of the Mannar mass grave, where over 200 skeletons have been unearthed, in accompanying samples from the grave to a laboratory in Florida where they will be analysed.

“Preparations are under way for the bone samples collected for carbon dating to be flown to the Beta Analytic Radio Carbon Dating Lab in Florida, USA,” said Dr Saminda Rajapaksha, who has been heading the excavation.

<p>The former president and now opposition leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the government to call a new parliamentary election, stating that it did not have the legitimacy to change the country's constitution.&nbsp;</p> <p>"There should be legitimacy prior to introducing a new constitution. We doubt if the present government has that legitimacy," Rajapaksa told the Constitutional Assembly.</p>

<p>The appointment of the alleged war criminal, Major General Shavendra Silva as Sri Lanka's new Chief of Staff confirms the government's "lack of political will to address accountability and justice", the Jaffna based research group, Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, and the Washington based group, People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), noted in a joint statement.</p>

A Tamil youth was found dead on Sunday night, after what locals say was an assault by unknown men. 

Vasuthevan Amalkaran, aged 22 and from Katkovalam, Vadamarachchi, is understood to have been attacked by sharp instruments by his house, before the assailants escaped from the area. 

The reason for the attack is not known. 

Sri Lankan police are investigating the incident. 

<p>The Sri Lankan navy has arrested at least twenty Tamil Nadu fishermen on Sunday for allegedly poaching fish, PTI reports.&nbsp;</p> <p>The fishermen were detained off the coast of Neduntheevu during the early hours of Sunday morning.&nbsp;</p> <p>Their boats have been impounded and the men taken to Karainagar for investigation. &nbsp;</p> <p>Last month over 3000 Indian fishermen were chased away by the Sri Lankan navy and eight fishermen arrested.&nbsp;</p>

Sri Lanka’s former defence secretary, accused of orchestrating the military offensive that killed tens of thousands of Tamils, has hinted at running in the island’s upcoming presidential elections

Gotabhaya’s spokesperson tweeted that Rajapaksa addressed a gathering of “key activists” this weekend, where he spoke of the importance of a presidential election and said he was “ready to take own any challenge if the people, too, are ready”.

A video from NewsFirst shows Gotabhaya stating in Sinhala,

“We know that this is a very important year. A presidential election should be held. I am ready for it, if you are ready.” 

<p>Two Tamil youths were arrested in connection with the burning of tyres during the hartal which took place across the Batticaloa District on Friday in protest of the appointment of former UPFA MP Hizbullah as governor of the Eastern Province.</p> <p>The youths aged 19 and 23 were arrested by Kattankudy police and were due to be produced in court.</p> <p>There were also reports of vandal attacks on Muslim-owned businesses which stayed open during the hartal.</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s prime minister has vowed to ensure that Buddhism will continue to hold “foremost” place in the island’s constitution and denied that there had been any federal proposals for power sharing to Tamil provinces, as he presented an experts’ report on the proposals to draft&nbsp;a new constitution.</p> <p>Presenting the report Ranil Wickremesinghe declared:&nbsp;"there is no federal proposal in this. All have accepted the unitary character, although they may have different views on its terminology”.</p> <p>"There were no plans to divide the country," he added.&nbsp; "This report consists of proposals made by all parties including the chief ministers of provinces."&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Batticaloa High Court ruled last week that the confessions of the two main suspects in the murder of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham were made voluntarily and admissible in court.</p> <p>Judge M.Y.M. Irshadeen granted permission to the prosecution to produce the confessions of Rengasamy Kanaganayagam alias Kajan Mama and Edwin Silva Krishnanantharajah alias Pradeep Master.</p> <p>Lawyers for paramilitary leader and former Chief Minister of the Eastern Province Sivanesanthurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, had refuted the confessions which linked Pillayan to the murder.</p>