The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved a proposal to hire Sir Hugh Orde, the former President of the Association of Chief Police Officers and Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), in order to advise on reforms to the Sri Lankan police.

Law and Order and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayake put forward the proposals to cabinet this week, having met with Sir Hugh in October with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Poverty and unemployment are higher in the Northern Province than anywhere else in Sri Lanka, the Chief Minister has said.

Presenting the data at the Northern Provincial Council's second budget reading on Tuesday, Chief Minister Wigneswaran said that out of all 25 districts on the island, Kilinochchi was the poorest.

Mullaitivu, which was previously the poorest district, is now number 2 on the list of poverty by district.

Jaffna is the 5th poorest district on the island, the Chief Minister said.

The level of unemployment is also higest in the Northern Province than in any other province.

The Sri Lankan government is in discussion with Israel's Aerospace Industries (IAI) over upgrading five grounded Kfir fighter jets.

In an interview to Jane's Defence Weekly, a senior IAI official reportedly said, "the company is in talks with the Sri Lankan government to upgrade and return to service its five grounded Kfir fighters."

Sri Lanka's armed conflict ended over 8 years ago, in May 2009. Kfir jets were used through out the conflict by the Sri Lankan military to target civilian areas in the North-East.

The former Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Commodore D.K.P. Dassanayake has been further remanded until December 22 over the disappearance of 11 Tamil youths in 2008, Colombo Page reports. 

Mr Dassanayake was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in July this year. 

A number of bail applications made have so far been rejected. 

The Sri Lankan military declared open a new holiday resort in the Jaffna peninsula last month exclusively for Sri Lankan troops, built on the tens of thousands of acres of land it still occupies in the Northern Province.

Defying repeated calls for the military to cease its involvement in civilian activities, troops from Sri Lanka’s navy carried out a medical clinic for local Tamils in Jaffna last week.

A Kilinochchi police officer has been arrested for possession of over 100 grams of heroin, worth around 1 lakh rupees.

The police officer who currently serves at Poonakary police department was arrested along with the driver of the three-wheeler in which he was caught with the drugs.

The officer has previously been suspended from duty in connection with criminal activity.

Both the officer and the driver will be presented at Kilinochchi magistrates court.

India's Consulate on Tuesday marked the birthday of the Tamil poet Mahakavi Bharathiyar. 

The event was chaired by India's Consul General, A Natarajan and featured the chief minister of the Northern Province, C V Wigneswaran as the chief guest. 

The event took place at the Nallur Thukka Thevi hall. 

The United States on Friday launched a US$ 2 million programme to end AIDs in Sri Lanka. 

The programme - HIV/AIDS Technical Assistance Partnership - aims to end cases of AIDs in the island by 2025.

"USAID Sri Lanka has been working closely with the Government of Sri Lanka on a number of social and economic development efforts. This partnership is very important as Sri Lanka moves down the path to ending the spread of AIDS," the Mission Director of USAID Sri Lanka, Dr. Andrew Sisson said.

The Sri Lankan navy arrested 27 Tamil Nadu fishermen on early Tuesday morning for allegedly poaching off the coast of Neduntheevu. 

The fishermen, from Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu, were taken to Kangesanthurai port along with five boats.

According to the Rameswaram Fishermen Association, over 3000 fishermen were chased away by Sri Lanka navy by opening fire.