The Sri Lankan military decided to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of the 51 Division’s occupying Headquarters in Jaffna, with a blood donation program, despite previous widely criticised comments from officials previously that the blood of Sinhalese soldiers runs in Tamils who have received treatment.

Approximately 275 farming families in Batticaloa are still waiting for land deeds to be issued, despite having legally owned land and settled in the region since at least 1967.

The families had settled in Kaddumurivu in the Vaharai Division of Batticaloa under an agricultural expansion scheme and were given 3 acres of land each.

However, despite more than 50 years having passed since, the families have still not been issued land deeds. The issue has plagued the Tamil farmers for decades, rendering them unable to transfer land ownership to their children, or even apply for fertiliser subsidies and agricultural loans.

Sri Lankan police have arrested a further two Tamil youths in Kilinochchi over the alleged discovery of an LTTE flag and ammunition in Oddusudan in June. 

One of the arrested youths is a former LTTE cadre and father of three, from Santhapuram, whilst the other is from Mallavi. 

Last month officers from Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) collected information about babies born in Kilinochchi from May 25 - 30 in order to arrest a man over the alleged discovery of the flag and ammunition.

The Sri Lankan military have begun rebuilding a Buddhist vihara in Kankesanthurai this week at an event headed by Buddhist monks. 

Officials at the Divisional Secretariat (Pradesiya Sabai) have said that the rebuilding work is taking place without proper authorisation. 

Sri Lanka's ambassador to China, Karunasena Kodituwakku on Wednesday denied reports that the country was forced to accept loans from China.

"What I want to highlight here is that Sri Lanka asked for this project loan on our own. We were not forced to get this loan," Mr Kodituwakku said in an interview to the Global Times in Beijing. "In the case of Chinese finance for Hambantota, that came to Sri Lanka at the request of Sri Lanka."

Moody's Investor Service said Sri Lanka was among countries that would be most vulnerable to rising interest rates given its large debt burden and imminent debt repayments. 

China wants to rebuild house roads and houses in the North-East, Luo Chong from the embassy in Colombo was quoted by Reuters as saying. 

“Since the situation is different now, we are willing to have more projects in remote areas in the north and east with the support of the Sri Lankan government and from the Tamil communities,” he told Reuters.

China's project to build 40,000 houses in Jaffna district was halted earlier this year after locals protested, demanding brick houses instead of concrete structures. 

Sri Lanka's Joint Opposition this week called for the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa to be allowed to contest for president once again despite the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which imposes a two term limit. 

"If the people wished to elect Mr Rajapaksa as the president again, the opportunity should be given, irrespective of the number of presidential terms," the JO MP Indika Anuruddha was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. 

Sri Lanka's Office of Missing Persons (OMP) claimed this week that about 20,000 are missing since 1983. 

The OMP, which has been deeply criticised by Tamil families of the disappeared for lacking independence and failing to take their views into consideration, is yet to formally finalise figures of missing persons. 

A court in Sri Lanka stated that two Buddhists monks lied and supressed evidence during the defence of BBS chief and fellow monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara, who was sentenced for contempt of court earlier this year.

Whilst Gnanasara himself had admitted to using disparaging language at a Magistrate’s court hearing in January 2016, his colleagues Kirama Devinda and Pitigala Dhamma Veneetha insisted that he had not.