Human rights lawyer and former leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Kumar Ponnambalam, was remembered today in Jaffna and Batticaloa, 19 years after his assassination in Colombo.

A Sinhala Buddhist monk called for Sinhalese people in Mullaitivu to receive rights over the land which they illegally occupy, and said that military forces should not be removed from the North, during a visit to flood-affected families in Mullaitivu.

Seelarathana, a monk from the Colombo suburb of Battaramulla, made the remarks while visiting families in the areas of Kokkilai and Nayaru, where local Tamils and representatives have been contesting ongoing Sinhala colonisation and land-grabs, especially under the Mahaweli scheme.

<p>Former Chief Minister of the Northern Province and Supreme Court judge C V Wigneswaran has criticised the Sri Lankan army commander for saying that those who were in hiding from the LTTE now criticise the army’s activities in the North.</p>

<p>The Indian ministry of external affairs (MEA) has not yet approved plans to prepare a report on developing Jaffna’s Palaly airport, with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) citing political instability as a reason for the delay.</p> <p>The AAI has completed a detailed project report for developing an airport in Kalay in Myanmar but the MEA is yet to give the required permission for a similar report to be produced on Palaly.</p>

<p>Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed a $1.85 billion loan to Sri Lanka to build a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system.&nbsp;</p> <p>The agreement was put on hold in November in response to the country's political turmoil which followed the president's sacking of the prime minister and attempt to dissolve parliament.&nbsp;</p> <p>JICA will also provide technical assistance for the project.&nbsp;</p>

<p>After weeks of political crisis and a falling rupee due to foreign outflows, Sri Lanka announced this week it intends to further limit foreign holdings of government securities to 5 percent, down from the current 10 percent.&nbsp;</p>

The Mullaitivu district government agent said 2300 houses had been damaged by the extreme flooding last month within that district, with 86 homes completely destroyed and 2297 homes partially damaged. 

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Roopavathy Ketheeswaran said that 10,118 families had been affected and 24,293 acres of plantation destroyed. 

United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP M. L. A. M. Hizbullah, who entered parliament as a national list MP after failing to win a seat from Batticaloa in the last election, has been appointed as the governor of the Eastern Province.

Muslims in Vavuniya protested on Friday for the release of their lands which are still occupied by the Sri Lankan army.

Owners of land in Ramayankulam and Cheddikulam protested outside the mosque in Andiya Puliyankulam after lunchtime prayers on Friday.

 Public bus drivers in the North engaged in strike action on Friday in protest of the Sri Lanka central transport board’s failure to address their complaints about mismanagement and corruption in the board’s regional management.

The former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa said he would be contesting the polls under a broader coalition, speaking to journalists today. 

"Sri Lanka Freedom Party would also be included in this coalition," Rajapaksa, who is currently a member of the SLPP party, added. 

Rajapaksa made these comments whilst taking up his work at his personal office, following religious prayers with senior Buddhist clergy. 

<p>Sri Lanka's Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya has backed the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa as the country's opposition leader, despite objections from the TNA and party leaders such as Rauff Hakeem and Mano Ganeshan.&nbsp;</p> <p>Informing party leaders of his decision, Jayasuriya said anyone could take up the matter through a judicial process.&nbsp;</p>

Two youths were arrested yesterday over a post on social media mocking the rampant bribery by Sri Lankan police.

The two youths, aged 23, posted photos of themselves offering bribes to life size cut outs of traffic police officers along the Puttalam-Colombo road. 

<p>Sri Lankan police have reportedly arrested yet another Tamil man over the shooting of two police officers in Batticaloa, which took place in November last year.</p> <p>The man, identified as 31-year-old George Niranjan, was arrested for perverting the course of justice, with regards to the police investigation of the shooting.</p>