Sri Lankan soldiers were heavily involved in new year rites held by villagers at the newly released Keppapulavu Pillaiyaar temple.

Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is to approve new media regulations ahead of the upcoming local government polls. 

"All media divisions will be bound by the criteria and it is their responsibility and duty to abide by them," the PM's office said, claiming it was "another victory for good governance". 

"The quintessential fact in the conduct of a free and fair election is the conduct of media in keeping with this criteria. The impartiality of media will be ensured by the strict compliance with the guidelines. This will ensure that the forthcoming elections will be fair and free," the office added. 

The Tamil actor, Rajinikanth announced on Sunday that he is to enter state politics, contesting the next Tamil Nadu Assembly polls in 2021. 

Speaking at an event in Chennai, Mr Rajinikanth said he was yet to make a decision about the 2019 parliamentary elections. 

He denied he was contesting elections for power or money, stating, "If I was hungry for power, I would have entered politics in 1996”. 

He said he would instead practice "spiritual politics". 

The Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties of Sri Lanka's coalition government, the UNP and SLFP expired on December 31. 

The MoU which was initially signed for two years, came to an end last September, before being extended until yesterday. 

The end of the agreement comes amid increasing speculation over the longevity of the coalition into 2018. 

Sri Lankan soldiers have embarked on a United Nations peacekeeping mission to Mali this week, despite concern over their role in the sexual abuse of minors on a previous mission.

The Sri Lankan military declared that 150 troops from 10 regiments of the army had left this week to join the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

A further 50 Sri Lankan soldiers will also join.

The departure comes after the commander of Sri Lanka’s army claimed their involvement in peacekeeping missions was an “endorsement that recognizes our professionalism at international level”.

Thirteen Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested on Sunday morning by the Sri Lankan navy for allegedly entering island's eaters. 

The navy also confiscated two fishing trawlers, which have been taken to the naval base at Karainagar. 

The 13 fishermen have been handed over to Jaffna fisheries officials, the Daily Mirror reported. 

The arrest comes just days after courts in the North-East ordered the release of 69 Indian fishermen detained in Sri Lanka. 

The Sri Lankan Army is demolishing houses and buildings in unreleased lands in Myliddy and using those materials for further construction on the Thalsevana resort, a  military-run resort built on occupied land in Kankesanthurai, the Vali North resettlement committee has said.

In the majority of cases where Tamil lands have been released from high security zones and general army occupation, the residents have returned to destroyed homes and infrastructure, the committee said.

Sri Lanka’s navy provided interest free loans to forty sailors this week as part of a range of benefits provided for its troops, as defense spending continues to dominate Sri Lanka’s budget.

Loans worth Rs. 500,000 each were granted to the sailors, reports an official military website. The loans are part of a range of benefits granted to the military.

A total of 1,151 sailors have been granted interest free loans so far said the navy, totaling a sum of at least Rs. 576.2 million. At least an additional 4,000 more sailors are also set to receive loans.

The Sri Lankan military continued to intrude on Christmas festivities in Jaffna this month, despite government pledges to withdraw the military from civilian activities.

Sri Lanka received its first instalment from China for Hambantota Port totalling US$ 292.1 million, the Central Bank confirmed on December 26. 

The sum was credited to Sri Lanka by China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPort) in line with the long lease of Hambantota Port to the Chinese state owned company. 

The whole programme is expected to see a US$ 1.12 billion investment by CMPort. 

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