The US State Department held a series of seminars on trade policy from Novemebr 29 till December 1st. 

Over 70 key decision makers and technical experts from various Sri Lankan ministries, agencies, research institutes, trade policy think tanks, and Chambers of Commerce were present, the US embassy said. 

Tamils in Indonesia on Sunday marked Maaveerar Naal (Tamil national remembrance day) with the lighting of lamps and laying of flowers by the photographs of fallen Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre. 

The Tamil community in Paris gathered to mark Maaveerar Naal on Sunday, with thousands attending a commemoration ceremony.

Maaveerar Naal was marked in several locations in Batticaloa, including Kathiraveli, Vakarai with TNA MP S. Viyalenthiran in attendance.

Thousands in Norway marked Maaveerar Naal on Sunday,as Tamils across the world remembered their fallen heroes.

Tamil Guardian sat down with Spokesperson for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and MP, M. A. Sumanthiran at his home in Colombo last week to discuss matters of the constitution, transitional justice and the budget.

The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena, oversaw the meeting of the National Buddhist think tank on Wednesday. 

The meeting included discussions on developing Privena education, building institutions for novice monks, establishing a Theravada Buddhist cnetre and launching an international festival to mark Vesak in 2017. 

Sri Lanka's cabinet this week approved the construction of two wind power plants of 10 megawatts each in Chunnakam, in the North-East. 

“The government has paid its attention on generating a larger portion of electricity requirement by renewable energy sources and it is proposed to establish solar and wind power plants,” the cabinet statement was quoted by LBO as saying. 

A series of commemorations events took places across Australia on Sunday, as Tamils across the country came together to mark Maaveerar Naal and remember the lives sacrificed for the liberation of the Tamil homeland.

A group of 11 Tamils who were detained in Jaffna by Sri Lanka’s counter-terrorism police have been granted bail by a court in Colombo on Wednesday.

The Tamils were arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Division for allegedly with committing offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). They have been granted bail in two sureties, worth one million rupees for each suspect. 

Student commemorations of Maaveerar Naal were held at the University College London, led by Tamil Youth Organisation UK last Wednesday.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by Sirisena would not agree to a federal set-up in the new Constitution said senior minister of transport, Nimal Siripala de Silva this week. 

The Sri Lanka government earlier this month gazetted a new "List of Designated Persons" under Regulation 4(7) of UN Regulation No. 1 of 2012, removing 69 names from the list last amended in November 20, 2015. 

Sri Lanka's defence secretary, Karunasena Hettiarachchi called for investigations into events in the North-East marking Maaveerar Naal or Tamil national remembrance day over recent days. 

Mr Hettiarachchi said the law and order ministry and police should lead the investigation at a media briefing in Colombo on Tuesday. 

See here.