Tamils gathered at the Lt. Col. Thileepan memorial in Nallur on Sunday to mark the third day of his hunger strike that took place 30 years ago.

The Sri Lankan government has announced it will block all visas for tourists from Myanmar, in an effort to stop Rohingya Muslim refugees from entering the island.

Organisers of the ongoing commemorations to Thileepan have condemned as an intimidation tactic the burning of tyres in front of the Nallur monument.

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa said the former commander of the army should “shut up”, after stating he would testify against a military colleague accused of war crimes.

In an interview to Ceylon Today, Mr Rajapaksa rebuked former army commander Sarath Fonseka’s comments.

“Everybody was shocked by Fonseka’s statement,” he said. “An Army Commander should not behave like this.”

The Sri Lankan government illegally imported commodities from North Korea in violation of sanctions placed on the country, according to United Nations experts last week.

UN experts monitoring sanctions named Sri Lanka, alongside other countries including India, Pakistan and China as having flouted restrictions on North Korea.

The Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe has reiterated his stance that the government "has no desire to send soldiers to any court", Adaderana reported. 

"The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, ratified by Sri Lanka, will be effective only for the future and not for the past", he added, echoing the words of this former foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera. 

The Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena leaves for New York today to attend the 72nd UN General Assembly which commences on September 19. 

Mr Sirisena is scheduled to address the Assembly on September 19. 

Sinhalese residents and Buddhist monks in Trincomalee staged a protest against Sarath Fonseka and Ranjan Ramanayake on Saturday.

Sri Lankan troops serving as United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic received medals in a ceremony to mark their contribution this week.

The Japanese government has committed to providing US$1.2 million in aid towards demining efforts in the Northern Province.

The Sri Lankan navy received a ship from the Indian government on Saturday.

Sinhala Buddhist monks staged a rally in Colombo yesterday in support of Myanmar’s military offensive in the Rakhine state, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims.

The Tamil National People's Front continued its commemorations of Lt. Col. Thileepan with tributes to mark the second day of his hunger strike.

A sudden police operation round-up in Thunnalai on Friday morning has resulted in three arrests.

Point Pedro police said they carried out the operation in the early hours following an anonymous tip-off.

Thunnalai and surrounding villages in the Vadamaradchi area have been subjected to repeated operations, including deployments of Special Task Force troops.