Two Sri Lankan soldiers, including a commander, have been given death sentences for the 1998 murder of a Tamil man who had been taken in for investigation and later found dead with 21 wounds on his body.

On September 10, 1998, Gnanasingam Anton Gunasekaram of Thirunelvely, Jaffna was accused of being a terrorist and taken for investigation by Sri Lankan soldiers. He was later found dead with 21 assault wounds on his body.

The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, the Buddhist monk, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara was sentenced today for 19 years rigorous imprisonment to be served in six years for contempt of court. 

Mr Gnansara, who is currently admitted at Jayewardenepura hospital, was ordered to be arrested by the court. 

He was found guilty of four charges of contempt of courts including offence behaviour at the hearing of the disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. 

The chief minister of the Northern Province, C V Wigneswaran has been summoned to appear before the Court of Appeal on September 7 over a contempt of court in relation to the removal of a former NPC minister, B Deniswaran. 

Mr Deniswaran was removed from his ministerial position in August 2017 following an investigation into corruption and the misuse of funds in 2016.  

The Divisional Council (Prathesa Sabai) in Kayts condemned the Sri Lankan navy's excessive use of water from civilian wells in Mankuli. 

Meeting yesterday, the Council passed a motion calling for an end to this practice and sent a letter to the Navy commander in Kayts, the Northern province's governor and the government agent of Jaffna. 

Microsoft announced this week the launch of Tamil 99, a virtual keyboard which the company said would be accessible to users of both Tamil Nadu Tamil as well as Eelam Tamil. 

"[The keyboard is] now available on Windows 10 to users of both Tamil (India) and Tamil (Sri Lanka) languages, thereby assisting the wide base of Tamil users in India and other countries such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Mauritius," Microsoft said in a statement. 

As the funeral of the DMK leader and the former five-term chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi takes place in Tamil Nadu today, politicians in the North-East paid tribute, commemorating his achievements to the Tamil language and arts. 

Sentiments remain mixed however among Eelam Tamils, with many expressing regret and criticism of Mr Karunanidhi's stance on the Eelam Tamil struggle during his later years. 

The Northern Provincial Council’s Education Minister was questioned for almost six hours by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Department in Colombo, over his refusal to hoist the Sri Lanka flag at a school function in Vavuniya.

Education Minister, Kanthaiah Sarveswaran had declined to hoist the Sri Lanka flag at a school function on November 16, 2017, when he had been the chief guest.

He was later summoned by the TID for investigation in Colombo.

Sri Lankan military forces must release co-operative department owned lands in Mannar, the District Coordinating Committee said on Monday.

The Committee said that co-operative industries can only develop in the district if the specified land is made available for civilian use.

Demands have been made by the district for over five years but the Sri Lankan Army has so far refused to release the lands.

The Tamil UNP MP Vijayakala Maheswaran said politicians from the South of the island are responsible for supplying the drugs in the North. 

Speaking at a sports event at Uruthirapuram Sports Club in Kilinochchi on Friday, Ms Maheswaran was quoted by Ceylon Today as saying “narcotics were moving freely from the South of the country to the North with the massive support of errant lawmakers.”

Uniformed Sri Lankan troops visited a Tamil school in Poonakari earlier this year and distributed supplies to schoolchildren, despite sustained criticism over the military intrusion into Tamil civilian life.

The Sri Lanka Air Force marked 7 years since it established the Iranamadu unit at Kilinochchi, with a series of events this month, including at a local Tamil school.

The Sri Lankan military presence in the Vanni has been particularly heavy, despite almost 10 years since the end of the armed conflict. Despite pledges to demilitarise the region, and continued protests across the North-East calling for the release of occupied land, a massive military presence remains.

Switzerland's Federal Councillor for the Department of Justice and Police, Simonetta Sommaruga met with the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R Sampanthan on Tuesday. 

The meeting held in Trincomalee is part of a four day visit of Ms Sommaruga, where she will review progress on reconciliation and strengthening rule of law. 

The home of a local council member, a Hindu priest and a community organisation’s office in Jaffna were all vandalised by unknown persons earlier this week.

The homes, all in the village of Achchuveli, were damaged on the evening of August 4^th.

DMK chief M Karunanidhi has passed away, announced the Kauvery Hospital in Chennai earlier today.

Thousands of DMK supporters have gathered outside the hospital, where the 94-year former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was receiving treatment.

He was initially admitted to Kauvery Hospital on July 28 with urinary tract infection, with his condition deteriorating since.

^{Photograph: @narendramodi}

“I have had the opportunity of interacting with Karunanidhi Ji on several occasions,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “His understanding of policy and emphasis on social welfare stood out. Firmly committed to democratic ideals, his strong opposition to the Emergency will always be remembered.”