Transparency International's Sri Lanka (TISL) chapter has complained of death threats and intimidation targeting its staff in the country, reports the Sunday Times.

In a letter addressed to the Inspector General of the Sri Lankan Police (IGP), the group listed a number of events of intimidation aimed at disrupting TISL events.

“The primary target of these attacks appears to be events organised for Tamil medium journalists from the North and East,” TISL said in its report.

Photograph Sunday Times

The leader of the opposition party UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe, marked the 18th anniversary of the death of his predecessor, J. R. Jayawardene.

At an anniversary event held at the J. R. Jayawardene Centre on Saturday, the Ranil Wickremesinghe served food for Buddhist monks. He was joined by Chamal Rajapaksa, the Speaker of the House, the Sunday Times reported.

The Sri Lankan president rejected foreign aid offers to deal with the recent Upcountry landslides deeming them to be an attempt by international NGOs to gain popularity in Sri Lanka, reports Ceylon Today.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Friday, Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka would not be accepting foreign relief assistance.

"We will reject assistance from any foreign country, as this is the 'chance' for some NGO's to creep in to gain popularity and we detest that,” he said.

The Sri Lankan government has launched an investigation to, what it has described as a "plot" by the TNA to collect information on atrocities committed during the armed conflict to submit to the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka (OISL), reported The Island.

Police is "hunting" for the TNA's Vavuniya organiser Alva Pulle Vijendrakumar over the claim, the paper added.

Sources told The Island that Vijendrakumar had to be questioned to verify the alleged involvement of two politicians, including an MP, in the collection of evidence, however, he has left his residence and is seeking refuge elsewhere.

A senior investigator said:

"The police searched Vijendrakumar’s residence consequent to the recovery of 25 blank UN war crimes complaint forms from Sinnathamby Krishnarajah, a civilian who had received LTTE training. We took Krishnarajah into custody on October 25 at Mulankavil in the Vanni. Under interrogation, the suspect claimed that he received the blank forms from Vijendrakumar on the afternoon of Oct 22 in Vavuniya."

The Northern Provincial Council indicated that it will adopt the 75 children that lost their parents in the landslide disaster in the Upcountry region last week.

The decision came after the NPC expressed concerns that the orphans would lose their Tamil cultural and linguistic Tamil identity if adopted by the Sri Lankan government, reports Uthayan.

The wife of one of the five Tamil Nadu fisherman sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court this week has filed a motion at the Madras High Court, seeking the appointment of a counsel to appeal the sentence, reports PTI.

Lavanya, the wife of one of the fishermen named Emerson, has also called on the Union Home Minister to intervene, the news agency added.

The Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa said the armed forces, "equipped with weaponry and knowledge", served as a "bridge which builds the friendship between the ethnic groups", speaking at Temple Trees on Friday evening.

"The security forces are today implementing Sports and Cultural programmes by bringing children in the North to the South and children in the South to the North.  The armed forces have extended massive strength for national development," Rajapaksa reportedly told guests at a defence academy convocation ceremony.

"The three armed forces are advancing in parallel to the development of the country," he added.