On September 9th 1990, Tamil men, women and children from Sathurukondan and surrounding villages were taken to an army camp and slaughtered by Sri Lankan soldiers, with the help of Muslim Home Guards. Only one person, Kanthasamy Krishnakumar, survived. Victims of the Sathurukondan massacre were remembered in Batticaloa on Saturday in an event organised by the World Tamil Students Union and local organisations.

The Commander of the Security Forces in Kilinochchi Major General Ajith Kariyakarawana oversaw the distribution of 100 coconut seedlings to families in the region on Thursday.

President Maithripala Sirisena will issue a gazette allowing uncultivated private lands to be handed over to those that are willing to cultivate them, reports adaderena.lk.

Mr Sirisena said the government is taking the decisions to lift the island out of poverty and strengthen the production economy.

The president added that the move was part of the ‘Vaga Sangramaya’ program to increase food production by bringing drought affected lands to normal conditions.

^{Photograph SundayTimes.lk}

The Sri Lankan navy was forced to tighten security in Hambantota this week as the Chinese delegations arrived for the launch of the port project amid protests. 

Casual port workers protesters demanding jobs directly from Sri Lanka Ports Authority, rather than through the joint venture company, the Sunday Times reported. 

The US Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Alice Wells this week expressed concerned over Sri Lanka's "unsustainable debt burden" from China's non-concessional loans. 

"China is providing non-concessional loans that promote unsustainable debt burdens, which I think are increasingly now of concern to the Sri Lankan people in the government," Ms Wells said. 

Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Tilak Marapana met with the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in New Delhi as well as his counterpart, Sushma Swaraj. 

Mr Modi tweeted: "Held wide ranging discussions on India-Sri Lanka ties with SL's Foreign Minister, Mr. Tilak Marapana."

The Tamil National Alliance leader will meet senior Buddhist clergy later this month in a bid to win-over Sinhala-Buddhist support for the new constitution, reports the Uthayan.

The party leader R. Sampanthan will meet with the Mahanayakes of the different chapters to convince them to lend their support to the new constitution.

Mr Sampanthan will urge the monks to recognise the historic opportunity to end the ethnic strife on the island, claiming that the Tamils have dropped their separatist ideologies.

It is hoped that if the Buddhist clergy are on board then the Sinhala majority would also support the passing of a new constitution.

A Sri Lankan admiral who oversaw naval operations during the armed conflict attended the ‘20th Asia-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference’, which was held in Canada last week.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena paid a visit to Battaramulla last week, where the Ministry of Defence’s construction of a new headquarters is currently underway.

Members of the Sri Lankan army visited the United Kingdom last month to compete in the Armed Forces Parachutes Championship.