The Chief Minister of the Northern Province CV Wigneswaran said out of the tens of thousands of acres of land occupied by the Sri Lankan military, only 5.2% of it had been returned to Tamil families.

Speaking in Jaffna this weekend to mark International Human Rights Day, the chief minister said out of 67,000 acres of private land owned by Tamils that were seized by the Sri Lankan armed forces, only 3,500 acres have been released.

Justice Wigneswaran went on to question the sincerity of the current Sri Lankan government, especially in light of several Sinhalese politicians making statements that belie Tamil hopes in a new constitution.

Several Malaysian political parties and non governmental organisations have lodged protests over Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's visit to the country.

Johor PKR vice-chairman Rony Murugan called on the Malaysian government to bar Mr Sirisena from the country, citing his role in the killing of Tamil civilians during the island's armed conflict, where he acted as minister of defence. Protests have been lodged at police stations across the state he added. 

Thousands of Tamils gathered in Dortmund last month to remember those that sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the Tamil nation.

Members of the Tamil National People’s Front marked 10 years since the death of Anton Balasingham, the chief political strategist of the LTTE, today.

The US State Department this week announced it would be offering up to $1.7 million for transitional justice and reconciliation projects in Sri Lanka. 

"The US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support the DRL policy goal to bolster and enhance transitional justice and reconciliation processes in Sri Lanka at the provincial and national levels." 

Sri Lanka was this week selected to receive aid from the Millennium Challenge fund, the US government's Millennium Challenge Corporation tweeted today. 

Protests have taken place in Hambantota over a proposed deal that will see a Chinese state owned company control an 80% stake in the town's port.

Port workers and local residents blocked a main highway leading into the town to demonstrate against the $1.1 billion deal that will see China Merchants Port Holdings Company gain an 80% share of the port and adjoining land.

Today marks 10 years since the passing of Anton Balasingham, the chief negotiator and political strategist of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sri Lanka's military approached senior TNA MP Maavai Senathirajah to gather "information" on Sunday night, according to sources in the North-East.

Two men visited the ITAK office at Martin Road in Jaffna on Sunday at around 7:30pm, asking security guards, in Sinhalese, to speak to the MP, who is also the leader of ITAK. As he wasn't in the office, the men waited until his arrival soon after.

Rejecting the UN Committee Against Torture's call on Sri Lanka to investigate the former intelligence chief, Sirisa Mendis, the state minister of defence, Ruwan Wijewardene told The Sunday Leader MR Mendis would not be investigated. 

Mr Wijewardene was quoted as saying "he does not see any need to investigate Mendis as the allegations against him are baseless." 

The government would "look into the ocncerns raised by the UN committee", he added however.