Malaysian police have arrested four more people for allegedly having links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reported Reuters.

Police inspector general Khalid Abu Bakar said the two Tamils, one Muslim and one Sinhalese, "were planning to reactivate the group by making Malaysia as their base of operations" adding that some had “exploited their status as refugees to pursue illegal activities”.

The Sri Lankan government’s adherence to policies by the IMF, was behind the annual cuts in social welfare, health and education budgets, UNP MP and financial analyst Eran Wickremeratne told The Island.

A Chinese embassy official said that a stable and peaceful Sri Lanka was to India’s advantage and that the country can gain a lot from its southern neighbour, reported Colombo Gazette.

Speaking at an event in Colombo, Ren Faqiang said that India was one of the first countries to make use of the Chinese funded Hambantota port and that Sri Lanka was now more like a developed country due to the many infrastructure project funded by the Chinese.

Photo: @AiyoMalli

The paramilitary leader and Minister Douglas Devananda represented the Sri Lankan government at an event to celebrate the US independence day at an event in Colombo.

The South African Special Envoy to Sri Lanka, Cyril Ramaphosa, is due to visit the island next week for talks with the government and other groups, to discuss a political solution for the “Northeast problem” a senior government source told the Daily Mirror.

Several parties in the ruling coalition expressed their opposition to the visit.

“No positive results would be brought from a South African model peace initiative as the issues in Sri Lanka and South Africa are totally different. Besides, South Africa cannot win the confidence of the people in Sri Lanka as that country maintained a close link with the LTTE. Therefore, it concerns only on the grievances of minorities,” said spokesperson for the JHU Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe.