"As youth, we are the future of our nation and in the face of genocide, I am proud to say we stand strong and united."

"Our brothers and sisters have shown bravery that is unmatched. Their struggle, their suffering, their strength, is the reason why we are here today. When faced with a choice that we have never had to make, they did not shy away. They sacrificed their today, for our tomorrow; their present for our future.

Addressing delegates in the National Conference on Reconciliation, Sri Lanka's defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said,

“It is evident that cultural norms differ from country to country. People living in the United States of America, or Australia, or Canada, or the United Kingdom, or any other country, have no proper understanding of the ground situation in Sri Lanka nor do they understand our current cultural context.

Posters, honouring the sacrifice of Eelam's heroes and proclaiming the continuation of the struggle for independence, were found across Jaffna University campus on Wednesday.

The posters, seen at the student's common room and parking area, had increased in number by the following morning.

Students reported that the posters read,

“We take a vow that we will travel in the ultimate path of our heroes who sacrificed their life for the truth.”

Jaffna university students are understood to have been behind it.

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, stated,

"Repression and murders will not wipe out our maaverar from our hearts, nor will it diminish the sacrifice they made for Tamils’ struggle and their goal. This is our clear message from these posters, SL Gov and the international community should understand that.”

"No matter how the SL gov continues its repression, our struggle for liberation will not diminish."

The Sri Lankan government has appointed six “Competent Authorities” that will handle the 37 enterprises that are due to be taken over by the recently passed Assets Acquisition Bill.

The District Secretary of Hambantota and the District Secretary of Monaragala are set to oversee the running of two sugar companies, while the District Secretary of Badulla has been appointed as the Competent Authority for Colombo Commercial Company Limited.

The much celebrated discovery of natural gas in the Mannar basin may turn out to be a damp squib.

The Daily Mirror reported that one of the wells discovered recently has been assessed and proven to be inadequate for extraction.

Cairn Lanka is said to have communicated to the government that of the three wells offered to the subsidiary of Cairn International, two hold unusable gas reserves.

Sri Lankan defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse has told a conference on reconciliation in Colombo that the number of civilians killed during the final phase of the military conflict was far too small to be classed as war crimes or genocide.

The brother of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, also revealed that the government was in the final stages of completing a census on the number of killed during the war.

Reports have emerged that the Sri Lankan Navy has explicitly banned Hindu temples in Kaarainagar from tolling their bells, in the week leading up to Remembrance Day on 27th November.

Orders to prohibiting the lighting of any lamps and the use of microphones have also been issued by the Navy. Many Hindu priests have been threatened and intimidated.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has stated in a report that Sri Lanka’s latest expropriation laws would only serve to further harm the economy and scare off any potential investors.

It comes as the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced plans to acquire 37,000 acres of land from plantation companies and redistribute them among certain farmer families in the country.

Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that "terrorists" were using the "cover of human rights" to attack Sri Lanka, when addressing the graduation ceremony at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) at Temple Trees on Tuesday.

Rajapaksa said,

"Terrorists who attacked us once hiding in the civil society, attack us in the cover of human rights today."

“If this was a personal attack, it would have been easy for me to tolerate. But this is not so. These attacks are against the motherland. You need to understand that it is a threat posed to national security."

“It is the duty of all of us to work towards taking the country to a top position in the world. After the liberation of the country we did not forget our war heroes. We love them respect them and trust them forever”.

According to the Sri Lankan government's official news portal, Rajapaksa added,