Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry claimed it had been defrauded by over $100,000 by the embassy in the United States.

The Sri Lankan military ceremoniously declared open a new extension to the  563 Brigade Headquarters in Vanni this week.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Province C V Wigneswaran criticised the current UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, accusing her of ignoring the topic of war crimes in a report that was sent to his office.

Addressing the Northern Provincial Council earlier this week, Justice Wigneswaran said that whilst topics such as justice, harmony, good governance and reconciliation were mentioned in the report, there was no mention of war crimes.

The Sri Lankan Joint Opposition threatened to mvoe a motion of no confidence against the Speaker of the Parliament if he signs the controversial Office of Missing Persons bill, on Thursday.

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader MP Udaya Gammanpila said the matter had been formally raised with the Speaker, calling the bill - which was passed without a vote - illegal.

Family and loved ones of the disappeared protested in Kilinochchi on Thursday demanding to know the whereabouts of the missing. 

The chief minister of the northern province, C V Wigneswaran highlighted the need for justice for the Tamil people, as he addressed a public event where the former president, Chandrika Kumaratunga was present. 

"Without compensation for all the injustice meted out to the Tamils in the past, including war crimes, whatever benefits that are provided to us will not satisfy us," Mr Wigneswaran told the gathering on August 12. 

The Sri Lankan cabinet this week approved a motion to grant state lands to former army soldiers who are reportedly 'landless', reported the Colombo Page. 

The move comes amid ongoing protests by displaced Tamils in the North-East against the Sri Lankan military's occupation of their lands. 

Sri Lanka's state minister of defence, Ruwan Wijewardene, this week  accused Tamil politicians of "false allegations", after concerns were raised about the high number of unexplained deaths among former LTTE cadres who had undergone the government's 'rehabilitation' programme. 

TNA parliamentarian S Sritharan peers through barbed wire fences constructed by the military.

Tamil disappearances campaigner Balendran Jeyakumary has been called in for yet another inquiry by Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), following an interrogation by authorities this week.

Ms Jeyakumary was summoned to appear before the TID in Colombo on the 16^th of August, where she was questioned for several hours.

The Sri Lankan government reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China over key Chinese investment and development projects.

The projects include the Hambantota port's further development, the Mattala International Airport project, as well as rail projects connecting Beliatta to Hambantota, the Daily Mirror reported.

The MoU was signed earlier this year in April, the paper added, however it was tabled in parliament last week.

The Sri Lankan navy on Monday arrested 18 people who were fleeing the island towards Australia by boat. 

The refugees, who were on board the fishing vessel, 'Blue Star', were detained off the coast of Batticaloa after a tip off was received by the navy, the SundayTimes.lk reported. 

Sri Lanka's joint opposition is to seek legal action over the government's introduction of the Office of Missing Persons bill, the FT.lk reported on Tuesday.

Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran, US Ambasador Atul Keshap and Minister of National Coexistence Dialogue Mano Ganesan as they arrived in Jaffna on a USAF aircraft..

The US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Atul Keshap, stressed that much remained to be done in order to ensure the implementation of the UN Human Rights council resolution on accountability and reconciliation, as he marked a historic trip to Jaffna this week.