Families in Sampur have reiterated their calls on the Sri Lankan navy to release their land after navy officers were seen planting coconut trees in the area earlier this month. 

Writing to the Trincomalee District Secretariat, the Eastern Province's governor and the Sri Lankan president, displaced families have urged action. 

Sri Lanka's National University Teachers' Association (NUTA) on Tuesday filed a complaint against Jaffna University authorities for allowing students to take part in Mullivaikkal remembrance events on May 18. 

Accusing the students of "acting like the unofficial private army" of the chief minister of the Northern Province, the NUTA secretary, Channa Jayasumana said the students, whom he described as "misguided youths", should be "thankful to their political leadership and Sri Lankan forces that ended the armed conflict". 

Nine people were killed and 65 injured on Tuesday in Tamil Nadu after police opened fire at protesters in Thoothukudi, who had been seeking a ban on Sterlite Industries' copper plant. 

The protesters, who launched their protest many months ago, accuse Sterlite Industries of releasing pollutants from its plants and have been demanding the plant be closed. 

Sri Lanka’s president awarded honours to 50 senior military officers, included those accused of war crimes in a lavish ceremony in Colombo this weekend.

Hundreds of Tamils gathered in New Zealand on Friday to mark 9 years since the massacres at Mullivaikkal, where tens of thousands of Tamils were slaughtered.

Members of the Tamil community organized an event at Albert Campbell Square in Toronto and at Van horn Parc in Montreal to commemorate the 9^th year anniversary since tens of thousands of Tamils were killed in Mullivaikkal on Friday.

Sinhalese in a Colombo suburb burnt a Tamil Eelam flag this weekend, as they celebrated Sri Lanka’s military offensive 9 years ago which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamils.

Maithripala Sirisena denied Sri Lankan troops had been accused of war crimes by the UN Human Rights Council and instead struck out at the Tamil diaspora, in a speech in Colombo this weekend.

The Sri Lankan president was quoted by his official media outlet as stating,

Sri Lanka's finance minister, Mangala Samaraweera on Sunday warned the country's debt crisis is only set to get worse. 

"This crisis will further worsen next year," Samaraweera told journalists. 

"$ 4,285 million have to be paid in 2019 and of which $3,315 or 77% of the repayment are for the debt obtained during the tenure of the Rajapaksa regime." 

Thousands participated in a rally at Marina beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on Sunday to remember Tamils who were killed by the Sri Lankan armed forces during the final stages of the conflict in 2009. 

The rally took place despite police efforts to prevent participants from marching. Hundreds of officers were deployed to the area. 

Over 500 people were arrested during the event, Indian newspapers reported. See here and here. 

Today marks 10 years since the death of Brigadier Balraj, a senior commander with the LTTE, who passed away from a sudden heart attack in 2008.

Brig. Balraj was famed for his courage, leadership and skills on the battlefield.

His body was laid to rest with full military honours, at the Mulliyavalai Heroes Cemetery in Mullaitivu. The cemetery has since been destroyed by Sri Lankan security forces.

Four men were arrested in Jaffna by Special Task Force officers on Sunday for alleged involvement in the 'Ava gang'. 

During the raid, STF officers reportedly seized weapons, including two swords. 

The four men were produced before Kodkamam magistrate today. 

Sri Lanka's Office of Missing Persons (OMP) is to establish 12 regional offives, the body's chairman, Saliya Peiris told journalists. 

Speaking after the OMP's second sitting in Matara on Saturday, Mr Peiris said, "the OMP is not limited to the missing in the North and it will also inquire into missing persons in the South, including 5,100 missing soldiers and police officers during the war."

Sri Lanka's minister of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the government was looking to introduce changes to the law to 'protect' Buddhist religious sites. 

The laws would give authorities the power to penalise individuals who vandalise Buddhist sites, he added.