Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) officers assaulted two Tamil youths in Karadiyanaru, Batticaloa yesterday. 

Tamil diaspora organisations yesterday welcomed the report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka, which concluded that there had been "virtually no progress" on the investigations of war crimes as detailed in the co-sponsored resolution 30/1. 

The US-based advocacy group PEARL (People for Equality and Relief in Lanka) have launched “Sinhalization of the North-East”, a series on demographic changes in the Tamil homeland.

Presenting and analysing data gathered by PEARL researchers, the series examines how Sinhalisation and militarisation is used to deliberately shift the demographics of Tamil and Muslim areas.

The first report in the series focuses on Pulmoaddai, the Trincomalee town which borders Mullaitivu, and the extent to which military infrastructure, Buddhist instalments and Sinhala settlements have altered the town.

Sri Lanka's former navy commander, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda arrived at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) this morning to make a statement over the abduction of 11 youths in 2008 - 2009. 

The Tamil People's Alliance (Thamil Makkal Koottani TMK) opened a new party office in Kilinochchi yesterday. 

The United States ambassador, Alaina Teplitz met with the Jaffna Press Club on Saturday and discussed the importance of free press for democracy. 

<p>Over a billion rupees have been allocated for special military allowances in Sri Lanka’s budget for this year.</p> <p>Presenting the budget in parliament last week, Sri Lanka’s finance minister said Rs 1.175 billion had been allocated to increase allowances for military forces, including commando allowance, uniform allowance, rent allowance and ‘good conduct’ allowance. <a href="http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19A/Mar10_1552161270CH.php">(See more from Colombo Page)</a></p>

In the week when Tamils across the North-East were preparing to condemn Sri Lanka’s failure to progress on accountability and justice, including its failure to demilitarise the Tamil homeland, with widespread protests, the Sri Lankan army held a Sinhala-language workshop on ‘modern social etiquette’, ‘western dress code’, leadership and drug prevention with 300 Tamils in its occupying headquarters in Palaly.

A decade after the end of the armed conflict, only 12 percent of police officers in the Northern province speak Tamil, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Roshan Fernando admitted this week. 

Sri Lanka's Leader of the House, Minister Lakshman Kiriella reassured parliament on Friday that foreign judges would not hear cases within a war crimes inquiry, Colombo papers reported.