<p>The Proscribed Organisations Appeals Commission (POAC) heard a challenge to the UK ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Wednesday.&nbsp;</p>

Former Sri Lankan Minister and Colombo district candidate representing Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Champika Ranawaka, rejected the idea of federalism and attacked former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and former President, Maithripala Sirisena, for a “weak, lethargic approach” that allowed for the return of the Rajapaksas, during an interview with the Daily Mirror.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is considering amending the Antiquities Ordinance, an act that is intended to conserve archaeological heritage sites and buildings, as the Buddhist clergy has called for power over land disputes in the North-East connected to Buddhist colonisation be transferred to courts in the South. An all-Sinhala committee has been put together to determine the implementation of these changes.

The move comes as the Sri Lankan president appointed an all-Sinhala committee "comprising Maha Sangha and experts in the field to study how the amendments should take place".

Former Northern Province Chief Minister and leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK) C.V. Wigneswaran, expressed his concerns to the Swiss Ambassador about the security of ballot boxes from the military in the North-East during the upcoming parliamentary elections.

<p>The UNP has authorised the expulsion of 115 members following its Working Committee’s decision to terminate the membership of those who sought nominations from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) for the upcoming General Elections.</p>

Sri Lankan police have questioned the former Supreme Court justice and current leader of the Tamizh Makkal Kootanii over a press release from December, with just days left until Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election.

C V Wigneswaran said police had visited him to question him about the press release, where had spoken on the history of Tamils on the island.

See the full text of the press release here.

"I stand by every word of what I have said here," the former chief minister told the questioning SL Police inspector on Friday, according to an interview with TamilNet. “You may collect it and you can question me on anything if you like.

Candidates from the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) who are contesting in the Eastern province are “on the verge of withdrawing due to ferocious threats and harassment” from paramilitary groups, said party leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, with parliamentary elections scheduled for next week.

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said he was confident that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) will win with a two-thirds majority in the upcoming parliamentary elections, at a rally earlier this week.

Rajapaksa claimed the SLPP “was born and emerged as a strong party due to the intimidation and harassment by the Yahapalana Government” and highlighted how the previous government overlooked the SLPP as the opposition party, despite winning 53 seats.

The heads of Sri Lanka’s diplomatic missions spent 7 hours on a call with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussing “strategic communication” on the issue of genocide, reports a column in the Sunday Times this week.

Sri Lanka's former Foreign Secretary has called on New Delhi and Colombo to “nourish the roots” of their relationship in a piece where he recalls ties between the two governments and makes the case for “special and differential treatment for Sri Lanka”.

Reports of genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state against Eelam Tamils need to be “addressed and recognized” wrote Tasha Manoranjan and Meruba Sivaselvachandran in Opinio Juris last week, 37 years after the Black July pogroms that killed thousands of Tamils.

Kumaran Pathmanathan, a former LTTE official who switched to become a staunch supporter of the Rajapaksas,  has heaped praise on Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, calling him “the right leader for the country” and compared him to Nelson Mandela, in an interview where he sang the praises of the accused war criminal.

A former Sri Lankan parliamentarian who has lobbied against an international inquiry mechanism into atrocities committed by state forces admitted that “obviously collateral damage” had occurred as the military launched an offensive that killed tens of thousnads of Tamil civilians in 2009.

Tamils from a village have complained about the Sri Lankan army for blocking them from carrying out farming activities on their land.

Last week, the Tamil farmers from villages bordering North Vavuniya, stated they were not given permission to access their 250 acres of land. The land was assigned to Tamil people of Paddikudiyiruppu and its bordering villages for agricultural activities. A well was also reconstructed and handed for agricultural activities for these people.