Sri Lankan soldiers involved themselves in yet another religious festival in the Tamil North-East, as they facilitated devotees praying at a Christian festival in Jaffna last week.

Over 1000 people attended the feast of St Mary's Church, which is located inside the Sri Lankan military controlled High Security Zone in Palali.

Photograph: BBC Sinhala

Tamils in Kilinochchi who had launched a hunger strike demanding the return of their lands from the Sri Lankan military have ended their protest, after a Sri Lankan government minister pledged they would be returned to their homes within three months.

The body of an unidentified man was found in Kilinochchi on Tuesday. 

The body was discovered by a local girl who reported the finding to local police. 

Kilinochchi police are reportedly investigating the incident. 

Suspected war criminals from Sri Lanka are amongst the 135 people that Britain has failed to deport, reports the Daily Mail.

The suspects have reportedly been involved in “bloody conflicts in Rwanda, Afghanistan, Libya, Serbia and Sri Lanka”.

Despite having their application for British citizenship rejected, they have managed to avoid deportation from the UK. None of the cases have been referred to Britain’s war crimes investigation unit.

Photograph: NewsFirst.lk

Two school children have been reported missing from Trincomalee, according to latest reports.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena awarded soldiers and policemen in Jaffna last week, as he called for a crackdown on illegal drug smuggling.

Sri Lanka’s commander of the security forces in Jaffna told The Island that the army “would not return even an inch” of the land it occupies in the Northern Province, as he confirmed that the number of soldiers in the region had not been reduced.

The bodies of two women have been discovered at a house in Eravur, Batticaloa this morning according to latest reports.

Ada Derana reports that the two women were identified as a 55 year old lady and her 34 year old daughter.

Police suspect the women have been murdered, reports Colombo Gazette.

The bodies have been transferred to Eravur hospital where an autopsy will be carried out.
 

Sri Lanka’s defence minister said his armed forces were “well prepared” to participate in United Nations peacekeeping missions, at a summit in London this week. 

State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene told the summit that Sri Lankan troops were keen to take part in peacekeeping missions, calling them a “golden opportunity”.

Meeting with 80 other ministers and military officials from across the world, the minister “explained our ability, enthusiasm and readiness to take part,” said Sri Lanka’s official Ministry of Defence website.

After millions of dollars of losses, the Sri Lankan government has finally decided to close down failing airline Mihin Lanka this week.

"By the end of the year, there will be no Mihin Lanka and we (SriLankan airlines) will be servicing the routes they operated," said SriLankan airlines chairman Ajith Dias, after stating losses of $117 million had been piled up.

Mihin Lanka, which was launched in 2008 and flies to several international locations, is now expected to stop its flights by the end of this year, with SriLankan airlines taking over.

SriLankan airlines though faces its own financial turmoil, with an estimated debt of $3.2 billion.