Hundreds of residents of a coastal Mannar village gathered outside a Sri Lankan Navy camp to protest the arrest of 25 Tamil fishermen on Monday.

The Navy arrested 25 fishermen on 5 boats in the sea off Thalvupadu and detained them in the navy camp.

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena refused the budgetary proposal to reduce the tax on beer, saying it was contrary to the policy of his government.

Speaking in parliament , Mr Sirisena said,

“No one can agree with the granting of tax concessions to any type of liquor because the policy of this government is to minimise the consumption of liquor and minimise the smoking habit.”

Despite ongoing calls for the harassment of media workers to end and for those responsible to be brought to justice, Sri Lanka's prime minister claimed on Monday there were no crimes committed against journalists on the island under the current regime. 

The Asian Development Bank has approved a further $120 million  loan to develop drinking water within the Jaffna peninsula. 

In 2010, the bank approved $90 million of the first stage of assistance towards a water supply project in Jaffna and Kilinochchi. The full project is expected by be completed by 2025 and is expected to cost £266 million. 

Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe this weekend sought to assure voters that local government polls would be held by early February 2018 at the latest. 

The exact date is yet to be determined, with the election commission having the final say. However, local papers have cited February 10th as the confirmed date. 

A Tamil journalist was attacked in a suburb of Jaffna on Saturday evening.

44-year-old Shanmuganathan Manoharan, an anchor for the radio Yaarl FM, was driving home in Chavakachcheri on Saturday when his car was obstructed by a three-wheeler.

Mr Manoharan and another person were beaten by three men who alighted from the three-wheeler.

The attackers escaped as soon as onlookers began to gather.

Unemployment continues to affects Jaffna residents, with over 33,000 residents filing a complaint with the District Employment Bureau. 

A total of 33204 residents with qualifications including Bachelor degrees, A levels and O levels, filed the complaint, Adaderana reported. 

See more here. 

Sri Lanka's trade deficit continued to widen in the first nine months of the year, despite an increase in exports, the Sunday Times' economic column noted.

Last year the trade deficit over the first nine months was US$ 6.1 billion, rising to US$ 6.8 billion this year. 

The deficit was expected to fall this year as export figures increased by 8.2 percent. However, despite this increase imports increased further by 9.7% percent. 

Former LTTE cadres have only received a "tiny fraction of money" pledged by the government last year in the form of self-employment loans, Ceylon Today reported. 

According to the paper, 7858 of the 12,185 cadres who underwent the government's 'rehabilitation' programme applied for the loan, however only 1799 were deemed eligble. 

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickrememsinghe defended the China’s and India’s stake in the Hambantota Port Project and the running of Mattala airport during a public speech on Friday.

Opening a new bus stand and economic centre in Ampara, Mr Wickremesinghe said,

Twenty fishermen from Tamil Nadu, India were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Friday for allegedly crossing into the island's waters. 

The men were detained along with two fishing boats and fishing equipment. They are to be produced at court in Point Pedro. 

The arrest is the latest in the ongoing issue of Tamil Nadu fishermen being arrested by Sri Lankan navy personnel. 

The body of a Tamil man reported missing over a month ago was found in a forest in Mannar.

Anthonipillai Saint Nicholas who ran a barbershop in Aandankulam did not return home after work on October 25, according to the police report filed by his wife.

The Northern Provincial Council's education minister, K Sarveswaran defended his refusal to hoist the Sri Lankan flag stating it was not acceptable to all communities. 

The European Union and Sri Lanka held the fourth dialogue on strengthening investment and trade. 

The EU's delegation, led by Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka Tung-Lai Margue, included representatives from the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. 

Ambassador Margue said the EU was studying Sri Lanka's latest budget, adding that some of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund objectives had been included.