Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will meet the Chief Minister of the Northern Province CV Wigneswaran during his 3 day visit to Sri Lanka.

After meeting Mr Wigneswaran in Jaffna, Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister will participate in a donation ceremony at Jaffna Library and launch the Lee Foundation-Singhealth Orthopedic Development Programme at the Jaffna University Medical Facility.

Talks on establishing a Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and China are to reach their seventh round said Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.

Speaking at the launch of the China Guangxi Products Expo in Colombo on Friday, Mr Bathiudeen highlighted that 42% of Sri Lanka’s imports where from China, adding,

Photographs: Tamil Guardian

Hundreds of Tamils protested in Mullaitivu against Sri Lankan state-organised resettlement schemes for Muslims that that locals say are intended to alter the ethno-demography of the area and destroy hundreds of acres of forest planted and preserved by the LTTE.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced that she will be visiting Sri Lanka later this month where she will hold talks with government leaders.

Sri Lanka's police spoke publicly this week about what they described as "cogent evidence" against the former navy spokesperson over the disappearance of 11 Tamil youths in 2008. 

The Sri Lankan government on Monday signed a US$ 100 million credit agreement with the World Bank to support the island's higher education sector. 

The Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) operation is aimed at increasing enrollment in priority disciplines, improving the quality of degree programs, and promoting research and innovation in the higher education sector. 

The Sri Lankan government rejected reports that new visa screening processes would result in visas not being issued, stating that visas would be issued "without any special test or delay irrespective of their country of origin". 

Sri Lanka's prime minister and UNP leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday called for the SLFP and UNP to continue to work together as a unity government, arguing it was necessary for the country's development. 

His comments came as Sri Lankan papers were increasingly dubious over the longevity of the unity government. 

The United States and Sri Lanka are to renew a defence agreement which was signed in 2007, according to reports in the Sri Lankan press.

Microfinance loans with soaring interest rates have left the community in Batticaloa trapped in a cycle of debt, reports The Hindu.

In a piece entitled “Getting sucked into a quicksand of debt”, villagers in the Eastern town described how microfinance loans have left many trapped.

“First, it was the tsunami that destroyed our community,” said one villager. “Then came the war. Now, it’s microfinance.”

The Sri Lankan government had advised its ambassadors to lobby the UK, Canada and Australia over travel advisories that it feels "placed the country in poor light and threatnes to scare off foreign visitors", the Sunday Times reported. 

The Sri Lankan government has introduced screening for tourists from Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon prior to the issuing of visas. 

The minister of internal affairs, S B Navinna was quoted by the Sunday Leader as saying, "the screening will be carried out in light of national security concerns."

The leader of the National Freedom Front and MP Wimal Weerawansa condemned the arrest of the former Sri Lankan navy spokesperson saying that he was a talented officer who had been arrested over the disappearance of "terrorists". 

Commodore D K P Dassanayake was arrested this month of the disappearance of 11 Tamil youths in 2008. 

Rejecting the conclusions of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson following an official visit to Sri Lanka, the country's justice minister, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe described Mr Emmerson as someone who "lacked cailbre and diplomacy" and accused him of using "false facts" about the Prevention of Terrorism Act.