A major corruption scandal has revealed that Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena demanded a “political donation” be paid by an Australian company, in order to secure construction contracts on the island.

A Fairfax Media investigation uncovered company emails from the Snowy Mountains Engineering Company (SMEC) that revealed the Sri Lankan president and his adviser demanded a political "donation" be made in order to secure a construction contract.

Displaced Tamil families in Paravipanchan, Kilinochchi last week ended their hunger strike against the Sri Lankan military's occupation of their land, after the Tamil National Alliance leader, R Sampanthan assured them the land would be released within two weeks. 

In a series of video clips published by LankaSri, the elderly TNA leader is seen getting out of a vehicle to be met with the full team of key TNA figures, including the spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran, the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi leader, Mavai Senathirajah, the Uthayan editor and TNA MP, Saravanabhavan and the Kilinochchi MP, S Sritharan. 

A new Sri Lankan constitution would be put to a referendum after being presented in parliament, the leader of the House, and the minister of higher education and highways, Lakshman Kiriella said last week. 

“We know where our government is headed. Our main priority is to create a new constitution. All parties present in Parliament have put behind their radical ideas and come to a common ground," Mr Kiriella was quoted by FT.lk as saying during an opening ceremony for a hostel at Eastern university, in Batticaloa. 

Attempts by officials to survey land in Pallimunai, Mannar were halted on Tuesday after villagers protested against further land grabs and refused entry to the officials. 

The land which originally belonged to 19 Tamil families is currently under the the military's control and houses a navy base. 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R Sampanthan called for the release of Tamil political prisoners, stating that their continued detention was impeding hopes of reconciliation and criticised Sri Lanka's draconian Prevntion of Terrorism Act.

A Hindu festival in Vaharai saw Sri Lankan soldiers overseeing proceedings last week.

The United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Trincomalee on Monday, where he met with the commander of the Sri Lankan navy.

Mr Mabus observed joint training which is currently taking place between members of the US navy and the Sri Lankan navy.

Sri Lanka’s president said his government was under “no compulsion” to implement a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling for an internationalised accountability mechanism, as he addressed a gathering of Sri Lankan soldiers on Monday.

The official Ministry of Defence website quoted Maithripala Sirisena as telling the soldiers “it is his duty and responsibility to protect war heroes who fought to bring freedom to the country”.

China's bank is to establish its South Asian branch in Sri Lanka the country's prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, told parliament on Tuesday. 

“China agreed to set up the branch here in Colombo at the proposed financial city,” Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by the LBO as saying. 

“We expect to have discussions about the proposal with China," he said, adding that the proposals could be released before the end of this year. 
 

Sri Lanka's Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, signed the Office on Missing Persons Bill on Tuesday, making it into a legal act, Colombo Page reported. 

The bill has received criticism from Tamil families who expressed concern about the lack of adequate consultation prior and lack of emphasis over justice for disappearances. 

Sri Lanka's joint opposition movement has meanwhile vehemently opposed the bill, accusing the government of betraying the country's soldiers.