Several thousand Indian fishermen were reportedly chased away by the Sri Lankan navy this week, whilst fishing near Katchatheevu on Thursday.

Rameswaram Fishermen Association President P Sesuraja told reporters that over 3,300 fishermen in approximately 500 boats were chased away by the Sri Lankan navy, whilst over 4,000 were harassed earlier this week.

Homes in Jaffna were vandalised earlier this week, as crime continues to take place across the peninsula.

The gates of homes, fences and water boring in Columbuthurai were damaged earlier this week, in yet another episode of vandalism.

Civil society organisations and former LTTE cadres staged a demonstration in Batticaloa this week, protesting against the arrests of former fighters.

Protestors called for the released of the former LTTE cadres, with as many as six members reportedly arrested this week in connection with the murder of two Sri Lankan policemen.

<p>Three Tamil youths were arrested by the Sri Lankan army yesterday in Kankesanthurai, in two separate incidents.&nbsp;</p> <p>One Tamil youth was arrested for allegedly stealing from tourists visiting the military holiday resort Thalsevana. The youth has been handed over to the police for further investigation.&nbsp;</p> <p>Two other youths were arrested for allegedly stealing iron materials in the Thaiyiddy area.&nbsp;</p> <p>The youths have also been handed over to the police and were later produced before Mallakam Magistrate Court.&nbsp;</p>

A skeleton with its leg in a shackle was unearthed today at the mass grave site in Mannar. 

Over 250 whole skeletons have been recovered from the site to date. 

<p>The UK Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mark Field on Tuesday called for the political turmoil in the Sri Lanka to be resolved "as soon as possible".&nbsp;</p> <p>"It is vital that all sides refrain from violence and make efforts to resolve the situation peacefully and as soon as possible. Our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka continues to meet regularly with all political parties, and has expressed our concern at the behaviour of some MPs in disrupting Parliamentary proceedings. We have stressed the importance of MPs allowing Parliament to do its job," Field said.&nbsp;</p> <p>Field's comments came in response to a question posed by the Labour MP, Keith Vaz who asked if he had plans to visit the island.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The United National Party (UNP) and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe are now facing the consequences of failing to hold Mahinda Rajapaksa accountable, a TNA MP has said.</p> <p>“The UNP should have thrown Mahinda Rajapaksa and his crew in jail as soon as they came to power in 2015,” said MP for Batticaloa district, S Yogeswaran.</p> <p>“Ranil Wickremesinghe is now experiencing the consequences for that [failure],” he said.</p>

The new US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz stressed the need to resolve the country's political crisis in a transparent and democratic manner, in an interview with the Daily FT. 

“We have no dog in this fight. We do not have favourites in this political contest. We are looking at an outcome that respects constitutional processes and transparency and produce a legitimate government," Teplitz said.

<p>A former LTTE cadre committed suicide in his home in Batticaloa on Wednesday according to Kaluvanchikudy&nbsp;police.</p> <p>The cadre was identified as 45-year-old Thisaveerasingham, a father of five.</p> <p>Thisaveerasingham had attempted suicide in the past but had been resuscitated by family members, police said.</p> <p>He reportedly suffered from seizures as a result of shrapnel which had not been removed from his body, despite the injuries being sustained over nine years ago during the war.</p> <p>Police said investigations were ongoing.</p>

<p>The European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka echoed concern expressed by its American counterpart over the ongoing political crisis on the island.&nbsp;</p> <p>"We are of the view that the current situation will result in many adverse economic and social consequences to the country, if it remains unresolved. We would like to highlight that foreign investors and potential businesses are increasingly losing confidence in the reliability of the business environment of Sri Lanka and are reluctant to enter the Sri Lankan market due to the current instability. Most of our members who are established in Sri Lanka and whom have been surveyed are already experiencing negative impacts on their businesses."</p> <p>"We request the relevant political authorities to ensure a stable and reliable business environment through the legal and democratically established institutions as soon as possible. It has been observed that decision making procedures and Government processes have been adversely impacted and in some cases financial damage has been caused to business. We appeal to all parties, political or otherwise, to respect the rule of law to avoid FDI outflow and to enable us to continue promotion of FDI to Sri Lanka. We remain dedicated to the cause of promoting Sri Lanka to European and American investors and to promote fair business and sustainable bilateral trade."</p>