Sri Lanka’s opening of the ‘Lotus Tower’ in Colombo was marred amidst claims from the president that the Chinese company behind the construction disappeared with more than $11 million of the funding.

The 356-metre tall structure was opened on Monday in a grand ceremony with several Chinese officials, including the ambassador to Sri Lanka, present. 

 

Sri Lanka’s elections office announced today that presidential elections will be held on November 16^th.

The elections come at a crucial time for the island, in the wake of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed hundreds and the UN Human Rights Council's decision earlier this year to grant a two year extension to Sri Lanka to implement a resolution which mandates a hybrid accountability mechanism for mass atrocities.

A new report from the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has identified at least 58 alleged torturers in the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lankan police, including those who personally participated in violence and those who bear command responsibility.

The remains of at least two Tamil Eelam flags and LTTE uniforms have been uncovered in Mullivaikkal on Wednesday, more than a decade after tens of thousands of Tamils were killed in a Sri Lankan military offensive in 2009.

<p>A Sri Lankan soldier was arrested in connection with the armed robbery of a house in Inuvil, Jaffna, which left a woman hospitalised.</p> <p>The house was broken into in the early hours of Sunday morning and residents attacked by five masked, armed men.</p> <p>Following investigations and a secret tip-off, Chunnakam police arrested a soldier after a laptop stolen from the Inuvil house was found at his residence in Punnalaikattuvan.</p> <p>After questioning, the soldier revealed the identities of the remaining suspects whom police reported were all in hiding.</p>

The former Chief Minister of the Northern Province C V Wigneswaran told the international community that the Tamil people can “no longer tolerate” the injustices that they continue to face, in a. Speech that also appealed to the Sinhala people of the south.

<p>Sri Lanka is keen to resume the ferry service with India, the Prime Minister’s Office said. The issue had been discussed during a meeting between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and a visiting Indian delegation.</p> <p>Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, a Tamil Nadu politician, met with the PM for talks in Colombo on Saturday.</p> <p>The ferry service linking Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu and Colombo was launched in 2011 but later suspended due to less traffic. &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The United National Front (UNF) says it held successful talks with the United National Party Deputy Leader and Presidential hopeful, Sajith Premadasa on Saturday.</p> <p>Mano Ganesan, a UNF member and Tamil Progressive Alliance leader said that several important decisions were reached during the talks.</p>

Shops and transportation links were shut down across many parts of the Jaffna peninsula today, as businesses expressed solidarity with the Ezhuka Tamil rally taking place.

With no further information on the whereabouts of their loved ones, families of the disappeared in Jaffna protested outside Sri Lanka’s Office of Missing Persons (OMP) office in the district on Sunday.

Though Sri Lanka’s president signed the gazette for the OMP more than two years ago, relatives of the disappeared have repeatedly criticised the office for failing to consult with war-affected victims and for not having the mandate to adequately investigate forcible disappearances.