The Sri Lankan army announced that China has completed its construction of an auditorium for the military this week, in yet another Chinese-funded project on the island.

The auditorium, a reportedly state-of-the art building that can seat 785 officers, was constructed in the garrison town of Diyatalawa, for the Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA).

A further two petrol bomb attacks have taken place in Jaffna, despite the ongoing military and police presence on the streets in the area. 

A gang entered a house in the Kaladdy area of Jaffna on December 15, before throwing a petrol bomb at the home. 

The following day a petrol bomb was thrown at another house in Jaffna after the gate was cut with a sword. 

Sri Lankan police have arrested nine Tamil youths in Jaffna for allegedly being involved in recent sword attacks in the area. 

Chunnakam police reported recovering six swords and one motorbike from the youths. 

The nine Tamils are to be produced before Mallakam Magistrate Court. 

<p>Welcoming the resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom highlighted its support towards safeguarding human rights in the country, as well as other reforms.&nbsp;</p> <p>"I welcome progress made towards the peaceful resolution of the political situation in Sri Lanka. The outcome is a welcome indication of the resilience of Sri Lanka's judicial and democratic institutions, and of effective checks and balances between state powers," the UK &nbsp;Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mark Field said.&nbsp;</p>

Mahinda Rajapaksa was today appointed as Sri Lanka's opposition leader following his resignation as prime minister this weekend. 

Rajapaksa replaces the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader, R Sampanthan, who held the position since 2015. The TNA has questioned Rajapaksa's eligibility to continue in politics. 

Rajapaksa, who was nominated to the post by the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), had called for the appointment, arguing he led the largest number of opposition MPs. 

In a statement released in Sinhalese following his resignation, Rajapaksa said the United National Party (UNP) had been held hostage by the TNA.

<p>China welcomed Sri Lanka's "peaceful and proper resolution" of the crisis in a statement this week, following the reappointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe.&nbsp;</p> <p>"China, as a traditional close neighbor and a most important development partner, welcomed the peaceful and proper resolution of recent political situation in Sri Lanka by all related parties," the Chinese Embassy said in a statement.</p> <p>China said it believed the Sri Lankan government, political parties and the people have the ability and wisdom to manage well its domestic affairs, and maintain the country's stability and development.</p>

Tamil families of the disappeared filed a Right to Information (RTI) request with the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission (HRCSL), inquiring about the status of complaints they had registered with the commission in 2012.

A number of families had registered complaints six years ago about their forcibly disappeared relatives and had received no response since.

The families registered an RTI request at the Vavuniya HRCSL regional headquarters on Friday, demanding a response to their original complaints.

Tamil and Muslim landowners from a Trincomalee village have been threatened with the seizure of their lands after rejecting requests to offer their land to Sinhalese settlers, according to local media reports.

At the instruction of the Eastern Province’s assistant land commissioner, 17 Tamil and Muslim landowners had received requests in writing from the Kuchchaveli divisional secretary to offer sections of their land in Valaiyootru to Sinhalese settlers who had requested to be granted land. However the landowners had refused.

<p>The United States' ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz today said the US "welcomes this weekend's political developments, which upheld Sri Lanka's democratic and constitutional norms," following Rajapaksa's resignation as Sri Lanka's prime minister and Ranil Wickremesinghe's re-appointment to the post.&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> "Sri Lanka is a valued partner in the Indo Pacific and we look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with the government and people of this country," Teplitz tweeted.&nbsp; </p></blockquote> <p>Her words were echoed by Canada's ambassador, Chrystia Freeland, who tweeted:</p>

A Buddha statue has been built on the premises of a Hindu temple in a Mullaitivu village, despite years of fierce opposition by locals.

Residents of Neeraviyadi in the Semmalai area of Mullaitivu said a Sinhala Buddhist monk had used the opportunity of Sri Lanka’s political crisis, while local authorities were distracted, to push through the construction of a large Buddha statue directly encroaching the village’s Pillaiyaar Kovil.