The archaeological department of Sri Lanka has begun construction work at an area surrounding a Hindu temple in Trincomalee, in further attempts to occupy land in the North-East. 

This week, the archaeology department began construction work at the Kanthaswamy hill in Thennamaravaadu village, a village in the Trincomalee district. 

Sri Lankan police have arrested a man from Kilinochchi, accusing him of being involved in the shooting dead of two officers at a checkpoint in Vavunathivu, Batticaloa. 

The man, 48 year old Sarvanandam Rasanayagam, was arrested yesterday by Kilinochchi police. 

The bodies of the two police officers were found on Thursday with gunshot wounds. 

The incident sparked a major police operation in the area. 

Chunnakam police have arrested three youths from Kokkuvil, Jaffna on Friday, accusing them of being associated with the Aava gang. 

According to the police the men were in possession of seven swords, each 3 feet long. 

The men are expected to be produced before court today. 

Several events were staged across Europe to mark Maaveerar Naal this week, as tens of thousands of Tamils across the continent gathered to pay their respects to fallen Tamil fighters.

Thousands of Tamils gathered at memorial events across Tamil Nadu, India this week to commemorate Maaveerar Naal. 

In Thanjavur, Naam Tamilar Katchi supporters held a large scale event where party leader, Seeman spoke. 

Tamils in Malaysia commemorated Maaveerar Naal on Tuesday, joining thousands of the Tamils worldwide in marking this day of remembrance. 

Families of the disappeared continued their months of protest today in Kilinochchi, demanding answers over the whereabouts of their missing loved ones. 

The demonstration took place by an office for the disappeared in the local area. 

The Chinese Embassy in the UK responded to a Financial Times editorial by hitting back at suggestions that loans to Sri Lanka were leaving Colombo in a “debt trap”.

“China and Sri Lanka have long been friendly neighbours that always support each other in their major and core interests,” claimed Zeng Rong spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in the UK.

“The co-operation between the two countries is win-win and mutually beneficial. Such co-operation has delivered tangible benefit to the people of Sri Lanka.”

He went on to state that

A senior US administration official confirmed that Sri Lanka’s participation in the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which is worth several million dollars in funding, has been “put on hold” as political turmoil has rocked the island.