Grammy and Oscar-nominated musician M.I.A. released a trailer for an upcoming documentary on her childhood earlier this week, reflecting on key events that have shaped her life including the genocide of Tamils.

Senior DUP members met on Saturday to discuss the future of the MP, Ian Paisley Jr following his suspension from parliament for 'paid advocacy' for the Sri Lankan government.

Mr Paisley Jr was found to have not declared trips to Sri Lanka worth up to £100,000, whilst supporting the then Rajapaksa government in an attempt to defeat a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for accountability. 

The DUP has not disclosed the meeting's outcome, however the party is understood to be considering releasing a statement next week. 

A 'China-Sri Lanka friendship hospital' was launched in Polonnaruwa on Saturday at a ceremony attended by the Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan and the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena.

The hospital, which will become a nephrology centre, "is being constructed following a request by President Sirisena to the Chinese government", China's state news agency, Xinhua reported. 

Japan and Sri Lanka this week held discussions on increasing military ties and maritime safety during the third Sri Lanka –Japan Dialogue on Maritime Security, Safety and Oceanic Issues, which took place in Colombo on July 19. 

“Sri Lanka expressed appreciation for the extensive support extended by Japan to improve the maritime safety capabilities of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard including through the provision of two patrol vessels and numerous training opportunities,” Sri Lanka's foreign affiars ministry said in a statement. 

A Sri Lankan parliamentarian claimed that the former regime in Colombo bribed at least five more British MPs today, after the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards suspended British parliamentarian Ian Paisley Jr for not declaring trips worth up to £100,000.

"There are at least five other British MP’s who similarly were bribed by the Rajapaksa regime to make statements supportive of it," claimed UNP MP Mujibar Rahuman. “We though these British MPs in tie and coat were honest respectable people, but they are worse."

A Buddhist monk has been arrested in Chilaw on suspicion of counterfeiting money.

Sri Lankan police arrested the monk who was in possession of counterfeit 1000 rupee notes after receiving information from businesses in the area, where the monk has attempted to make purchases using the counterfeit money.

Counterfeiting equipment including two printers, a scanner and 200 sheets of special printing paper used for counterfeits were found by police when searching the monk’s resident temple in Mahameddewa, Navagaththegama.

Sri Lankan troops accused of war crimes have been deployed as United Nations peacekeepers in conflict zones around the world according to a confidential report by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP).

A document drawn up by the organisation and submitted to the United Nations names several senior Sri Lankan commanders who have been deployed in peacekeeping operations, since a massive military offensive in 2009 which saw tens of thousands of Tamils massacred by the Sri Lankan army.

Amongst the regions senior Sri Lankan personnel have been deployed to include Mali, Darfur and South Sudan.

The executive director of the ITJP Yasmin Sooka stated that,

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded approximately 1.6 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($10,000,000) in grant assistance to an American NGO to engage local communities in reconciliation activities in Sri Lanka.

The three-year initiative by Global Communities will partner with the Government of Sri Lanka and local civil society to address underlying challenges to reconciliation, the US Embassy in Colombo said in a statement.

The project is supposed to “promote a shared and inclusive Sri Lankan identity, reduce socio-economic disparities, and strengthen resilience among multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities.”

“Our people should be in constant touch with each other. So that we know each other better and become even closer friends,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering in Jaffna on Saturday.

Sri Lanka’s president pledged that he would press ahead with implementing capital punishment on the island, despite facing a barrage of criticism for the decision.

"I will go ahead with executing drug convicts," said Maithripala Sirisena at an event in Polonnaruwa on Saturday.