Former Jaffna district parliamentarian MK Sivajilingam told the

Speaking on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestian people, Mahinda Rajapaksa supported the Palestinian peoples' struggle for statehood, highlighting their 'inalienable right' to do so.

Tamil prisoners have been attacked by guards in a prison in Anuradhapuram, The Island reports.

According to reports in the pro-government newspaper, Island, Sri Lanka's External Affairs minister, G.L. Peiris, accused the West of allowing the LTTE to "operate with impunity". Peiris added, that even now the West were "playing ball with the LTTE" and "facilitating LTTE operations".

The External Affairs minister went on to accuse an unnamed UK minister of "receiving a well paid job from an LTTE front organisation".

His comments were made at a conference on reconciliation and the international community, over two years after Sri Lanka proclaimed victory over the LTTE.

"As youth, we are the future of our nation and in the face of genocide, I am proud to say we stand strong and united."

Addressing delegates in the National Conference on Reconciliation, Sri Lanka's defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said,

Posters, honouring the sacrifice of Eelam's heroes and proclaiming the continuation of the struggle for independence, were found across Jaffna University campus on Wednesday.

The posters, seen at the student's common room and parking area, had increased in number by the following morning.

Students reported that the posters read,

“We take a vow that we will travel in the ultimate path of our heroes who sacrificed their life for the truth.”

Jaffna university students are understood to have been behind it.

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, stated,

"Repression and murders will not wipe out our maaverar from our hearts, nor will it diminish the sacrifice they made for Tamils’ struggle and their goal. This is our clear message from these posters, SL Gov and the international community should understand that.”

"No matter how the SL gov continues its repression, our struggle for liberation will not diminish."

The Sri Lankan government has appointed six “Competent Authorities” that will handle the 37 enterprises that are due to be taken over by the recently passed Assets Acquisition Bill.

The much celebrated discovery of natural gas in the Mannar basin may turn out to be a damp squib.

The Daily Mirror reported that one of the wells discovered recently has been assessed and proven to be inadequate for extraction.

Sri Lankan defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse has told a conference on reconciliation in Colombo that the number of civilians killed during the final phase of the military conflict was far too small to be classed as war crimes or genocide.

Reports have emerged that the Sri Lankan Navy has explicitly banned Hindu temples in Kaarainagar from tolling their bells, in the week leading up to Remembrance Day on 27th November.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has stated in a report that Sri Lanka’s latest expropriation laws would only serve to further harm the economy and scare off any potential investors.

It comes as the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced plans to acquire 37,000 acres of land from plantation companies and redistribute them among certain farmer families in the country.