Despite the growing concern over Sri Lanka's increasing militarisation, and the numerous human rights cases of abuse committed by the Sri Lankan military, China continues to bankroll the institution and has granted Rs 5 million to develop the National Cadet Corps (NCC).

The donation was presented by the Defence Attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, Senior Colonel Wan Dong to Sri Lanka's war crimes accused Defence Secretary Gen. Kamal Gunaratne.

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Responding to Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan's claim that all of the disappeared were killed, Vavuniya District Tamil Families of the Disappeared  Association Secretary Jenita slammed the Tamil politicians and called for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"As a Tamil leader, what has Sampanthan done for the Tamil community," she asked.

After receiving complaints against the Sri Lankan military's continued occupation of the Tamil North and  Eastern provinces, Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission has called for a report from military commanders to assess the legal provisions under which they were deployed and if a public security threat can justify their presence.

A commemoration event was held this morning to mark 22 years since the Mirusuvil massacre, where Sri Lankan soldiers murdered eight Tamil civilians in Jaffna, including three children, before dumping their bodies in a mass grave.

A joint statement by several Tamil diaspora organisations has called on Tamil parliamentarians to affirm their commitment to the non-negotiable core principles of the Tamil nation.

The statement stressed the need for the international community, including the IMF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank, to tie aid to Sri Lanka to “a permanent political solution to address the legitimate aspiration of the Tamil people”.

Minister for Labor and Foreign Employment  Manusha Nanayakkara, noted that 300,000 Sri Lankans have left the island for foreign employment.

Addressing an event to mark International Migrants Day, Sri Lankan Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said this is the highest number of Sri Lankans leaving for foreign jobs in its post-independent history.

The minister said that the remittances they send will help Sri Lanka overcome the current economic crisis.

Deputy Chief of the Chinese Embassy, Hu Wei visited the Eastern province between 8-10 December and noted that China is ready to 'assist all communities' across the island.

Hu Wei was following up on recent donations made by the Beijing government which included  10.6 million litres of diesel to farmers and fishermen, 9,000 metric tonnes of rice to students from underprivileged families and 100 sets of solar streetlights donated by China’s Yunnan Province to 38 schools across the Eastern Province.

After the Office of Missing Persons, 244 family members of the disappeared to appear for investigation in the Mullaitivu district, members of these families staged a protest demanding that they end their sham investigations.

Cyclone Mandous situated in the Bay of Bengal brought high levels of pollution from India to Sri Lanka forcing schools to be closed last Friday.

The cyclone was situated in the Bay of Bengal, with winds blowing anti-clockwise around the central low pressure, sweeping the polluted air from India across the Palk strait into Sri Lanka. Subsequently, this merged with Sri Lanka’s local air pollution, leading to unhealthy pollutant concentrations that created a haze across parts of the country, including the capital, Colombo.