The Northern Provincial Council's education minister, K Sarveswaran defended his refusal to hoist the Sri Lankan flag stating it was not acceptable to all communities. 

Asked by The Hindu about his refusal to hoist the flag last month whilst at a public event in Vavuniya, Mr Sarveswaran was quoted by the paper as saying, "the national flag was not accepted across sections of people and the issue of designing a national flag acceptable to all 'also forms part of any debate to resolve the ethnic conflict'."

He did not "disrespect" the flag he added. 

The European Union and Sri Lanka held the fourth dialogue on strengthening investment and trade. 

The EU's delegation, led by Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka Tung-Lai Margue, included representatives from the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. 

Ambassador Margue said the EU was studying Sri Lanka's latest budget, adding that some of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund objectives had been included. 

Residents in Othiyamalai, Mullaitivu came together on Saturday to remember the massacre of 32 Tamils by the Sri Lankan military in 1984. 

Lamps were lit and flowers were laid in remembrance of those who were killed. 

A Sri Lankan soldier has been arrested for indecent exposure and sexual harassment after flashing his genitals to a Tamil woman on a bus.

Following the incident on packed private bus in Kilinochchi, the soldier alighted and entered the Gajaba regiment camp in Mulankavil.

The woman affected alerted other passengers and reported the harassment to Mulankavil police, who arrested the soldier at the camp.

The soldier will be presented to the Kilinochchi magistrates court on Saturday.

Chunnakam police assaulted Tamil youths on Maaveerar Naal and harassed locals coming to their defence, according to a complaint filed at the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission.

A local trader from Punnalaikattuvan, in Valikamam South, said he was verbally abused, assualted and had false drug charges laid on him by police when he attempted to intervene while the police were beating Tamil youths outside shops in the area.

The trader, who had gone to the scene on his motorcycle, fled on foot upon being attacked and returned later to recover his motorcycle. However police said that 200 grams of cannabis had been found in his vehicle.

Three Tamil political prisoners who are on hunger strike were moved from Anuradhapura to Jaffna jail temporarily in order to receive medical treatment. 

Tharshan, Ganeshan and Thiruvarul will be kept in Jaffna for 10 days before before transferred back to Anuradhapura jail. 

The three men are hunger striking in protest at their ongoing detention without charge. The issue of Tamil political prisoners has been highlighted by a number of protests across the North-East urging the government to charge or release them. 

Sri Lankan army soldiers are set to leave on a new peacekeeping mission despite ongoing reports of torture and rape committed against Tamils. 

The use of the Sri Lankan soldiers for peacekeeping missions has been widely criticised by Tamil rights groups as well as international human rights organisations following the lack of accountability for crimes committed against Tamils in the final stages of the armed conflict as well as documented cases of sexual violence in Haiti. 

The Sri Lankan president this week reiterated he would not agree to federalism and there would be no international war crimes tribunal. 

"I did not become president to betray the Jathiya [Sinhalese] and I am not ready to give in to the federal demand or devolve power in any way that might result in a fracture of the country," he told an audience whilst visiting South Korea on Wednesday. 

"There won't be electric chairs, international war crimes tribunals or foreign judges. That book is closed. They still bring up issues that we have already brought to a close," he said, referring to the UNHRC co sponsored resolution. 

A Tamil media worker was found dead in a well near her home in Delft (Neduntheevu) on Thursday morning.

The body of 32-year-old Yogenthiran Padmavathi was found in the well in the early hours of Thursday morning, following a search after family members deemed her to be missing on Wednesday night.

The cause of her death is unknown.

Ms Padmavathi worked for several years in the advertising department of Uthayan, and was most recently working in advertising at Kalaikkathir. She was taking a hiatus from her media career since moving to Delft.

A Tamil civil society activist has been questioned by Mullaitivu police over the celebration of the birthday of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Local activist Peter Ilachcheliyan was summoned for questioning by police on Thursday.

Mr Ilachcheliyan had reportedly cut a cake next to a photograph of Prabhakaran on the Mullaitivu seaside on the occasion of the LTTE leader’s 63rd birthday on Sunday.

Mr Ilachcheliyan was allowed to go after a signing a statement at the Mullaitivu police station.