The Mullaitivu court has ordered an interim injunction on works to a disputed Buddha statue being constructed by a Tamil Hindu temple in Neeraviyadi in Semmalai.

The case regarding the legality of the statue, which was hurriedly declared open by Sinhala Buddhist monks on Wednesday, was heard before the Mullaitivu magistrates judge Lenin Kumar on Thursday.

The Sri Lankan military further consolidated its presence in the North-East with the construction of yet another army building in Mullaitivu this month.

^{Photograph: ColomboPage}

At least two American nationals have been arrested by Sri Lankan Special Task Force after the reported seizure of over 90kg of heroin from a hotel room in Colombo.

Parents in Vavuniya protested on Monday, criticising the local authorities' failure to ensure adequate sports facilities at the village school, forcing children to walk long distances for the use of sports grounds. 

Students and staff at Vipulanantha College in Vavuniya joined parents at the protest. 

Villagers from Madu Divisional Secretariat's area held a protest on January 23, condemning the authorities' failure to ensure basic facilities. 

Blocking the main entrance of the Secretariat, protesters said that the issue of the lack of basic facilities had not been addressed for several years despite enumerous requests. 

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R Sampanthan, today held meetings with Japan's ambassador and Australia's High Commissioner. 

The meeting comes after Sri Lanka's political crisis at the end of last year which resulted in Sampanthan losing his position as opposition leader, despite much protest by the TNA. 

Sri Lankan army soldiers and police stopped and searched a Tamil member of Vavuniya South Divisional Secretariat on  Wednesday as she was returning hom after attending an event in in Omanthai. 

Anchala Kokilakumar, was searched despite producing her National ID card and stating that she was a member of the Divisional Secretariat. 

^{Buddhist monks harass Tamil politicians and journalists}

A large Buddha statue being illegally constructed in the land of a Tamil Hindu temple in Mullaitivu was hurriedly declared open by Sinhala Buddhist monks on Wednesday, with the aid of Sri Lankan police and the archaeology department.

While a a Right to Information (RTI) request to Karaithuraipattu (Maritimepattu) divisional council confirmed that the monks had no permission or land rights to build the statue, the Mullaitivu magistrates court was due to hear about the illegal constructions on Thursday (Jan 24), leading locals to accuse the monks of rushing through the statue opening before a potential injunction served by the court.

Tamils in the North protested in solidarity with tea estate workers campaign for a raise in their minimum wage.

Up-country Tamils have been protesting and campaigning for several months for the daily minimum wage for tea estate labour to be raised to 1000 rupees.

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa met with officials from Facebook on Tuesday, where they discussed cyber security and the spread of “fake news”.

The United States navy will begin an operation to transfer its cargo between planes at Sri Lanka’s main airport in Colombo, where goods will then be sent to its vessels at sea.

The transfer operation, scheduled for later this month, will only see “non-lethal supplies” transferred between aircraft, according to a US embassy press release, and is the third reported operation to have taken place in the last few months.