Four people have been arrested by Ilavalai Police in Jaffna following an explosion, which the police allege, was caused by the individuals lighting explosives they had discovered clearing land.

The four individuals have been admitted to Jaffna Teach Hospital for treatment before they were arrested. They were all residents of Ilavalai between the ages of 30 and 40.

The Police have alleged that the explosives were abandoned by the LTTE during the armed conflict.

Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that a weakened United National Party (UNP) will result in Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan being appointed Sri Lanka’s Leader of the Opposition, as campaigning continues ahead of next month’s general elections.

Chief Inspector of Police in Akkaraipattu, Ampara, has been arrested under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by officers from Colombo’s Crimes Division (CCD) over alleged ties to the Easter Sunday bombings, which killed over 250 people.

The attack in Sainthamaruthu

Reports in the Sri Lankan media claim that the Rajapaksa regime is looking to re-list several Tamil diaspora groups as banned terrorist organisations on the island, as a military crackdown in the North has seen dozens of Tamils arrested.

Sri Lanka’s ministry of defence has published an article which claims that a former LTTE cadre who was killed in an explosion earlier this month, received funding from abroad “to create incidents in the North”.

The British government has called on Sri Lanka to engage with recommendations put forward by the UN Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, following the release of a report which expressed “deep concern” at developments on the island.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa announced the formation of a committee to examine multi-million dollar deal between Colombo and New Delhi, after pressure from trade unions provoked long-standing anti-Indian sentiment.

The Sri Lankan Navy has detained four Tamils, including a former LTTE cadre and a 'suspected LTTE activist', as they reportedly attempted to seek asylum in India on Saturday.

The individuals were spotted 11 nautical miles off the coast of Jaffna by the Sri Lankan navy, in a dinghy.

Japan has granted Sri Lanka 345 million Rs. (or 200 million Japanese Yen) in support of the country’s anti-drug campaign, which is headed by the accused war criminal, Kamal Gunaratne.

Sri Lanka responded to a report from the United Nations Special Rapporteur this week, by stating he should “be mindful of that stark reality when making recommendations related to security sector reforms”.

The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has issued a statement expressing concern over Sri Lanka’s withdraw from co-sponsorship of the Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 as well as statements from the government on the issue of enforced disappearances.

Up to 2,000 sites in the Eastern province are subject to 'archaeological' examination says Ellawala Medhananda, a Presidential Task Force (PTF) for Archaeological Heritage Management member. 

Writing on Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan’s (aka Karuna Amman) recent boast, that under the LTTE he had killed “2,000 – 3,000 soldiers” during the attack on elephant pass, Tissainayagam notes that this statement “shattered an alternate reality Sri Lanka has tried to create about the country’s civil war” and its post-war order.