Two Sinhalese men were arrested on friday in Mannar for being in possession of cannabis. 

The arrest was made by the Sri Lankan navy near the main bridge in Mannar. 

The navy state 2kg of cannabis was found in the vehicle in which the two suspects were travelling. 

Crowds at Valvettithurai beach cheered as kites bearing motifs of the Tamil armed struggle took to the skies for the annual Thai Pongal kite festival on January 14.

Residents in Nedunkulam, Ariyali, Jaffna District on Friday forced the government's surveyor to stop measuring and leave as they protested vehemently against the decision to acquire 300 'parappu' units of land in the area. 

<p>The Sri Lankan government pledged this week to build 4750 houses within six months in the North-East.&nbsp;</p>

Residents in Batticaloa on Saturday remembered the 13th anniversary of the murder of the Tamil journalist, Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan, who was shot dead in Trincomalee after exposing the Sri Lankan Special Task Force's killing of 5 Tamil students, known as the 'Trinco 5'.  

Sugirdharajan, who was a journalist at the Sudar Oli paper, had accompanied one of the father of the murdered students, Dr Manoharan to the mortuary and published photos showing the bodies with point-blank gunshot injuries, thereby disproving government claims that the students had been killed by a grenade explosion.

A British court has revoked the arrest warrant for a Sri Lankan brigadier who was found guilty of intentionally harassing Tamil protestors, pending a further hearing on February 1st to determine the status of his diplomatic immunity.

Samples of bones found in the Mannar ‘Sathosa’ mass grave were handed over for carbon dating to an American analytics company in Florida on Friday.

The body of an elderly man was found in Santhipuram salt fields in Mannar on Saturday. 

The man is believed to be 82-year-old Kathirkamanathan Arulananthan from the village of Pannankaddikkodu. 

<p>Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena told the Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong today to expect amendments to the Free Trade Agreement in place between the two countries.&nbsp;</p> <p>"A few mistakes had been made by Sri Lanka when drafting the FTA," Sirisena explained during a meeting with Loong in Singapore today.&nbsp;</p>

Heavy rains fell in Mullaitivu today just weeks after families recovered from recent flooding across the Vanni area. 

Families continue to watch apprehensively as the rains fall, fearful of further flooding and damage to agricultural land. 

Over 100 displaced families from Keppapulavu, Mullaitivu today moved their ongoing protest to outside the military camp sited on their occupied lands. 

Tamils demanded justice for murdered journalists today at a rally in Jaffna. 

The rally marked the 13th anniversary of the murdered Sudar Oli Tamil journalist, Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan, who was shot dead after exposing the Sri Lankan Special Task Force's killing of 5 Tamil students, known as the 'Trinco 5'.  

Sugirdharajan had published photos showing the students' bodies with point-blank gunshot injuries, thereby disproving government claims the students had been killed by a grenade explosion.

Four Tamil activists have been summoned before the magistrates court for organising a hartal which shut down business in several parts of Batticaloa district on Friday.

The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is assisting Westminster Magistrate's Court in the case of the Sri Lanka's Defence Attaché, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, who was filmed last year motioning a death threat to British Tamils in London. 

Speaking to Tamil Guardian today, the FCO spokesperson confirmed is was providing documentation to assist with the case. 

"The FCO, which is not a party to these legal proceedings, has been contacted by Westminster Magistrate’s Court seeking clarification of the Brigadier’s diplomatic status in the UK at the time of the incident. The FCO is providing documentation to assist the court." 

"We were deeply concerned by the incident involving the Sri Lankan Defence Attaché last year and made immediate representations to the Sri Lankan Government. The Defence Attaché was recalled by his Government soon after," the FCO spokesperson added.