Remarks made by US Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Samantha Power, calling Sri Lanka a "global champion for human rights" have come under fire.

Writing in The Diplomat, commentator Taylor Dibbert said the Obama administration's rhetoric "continues to be wildly out of step with reality".

"Sri Lanka watchers will notice that instead of the United States clearly calling for accountability for wartime abuses (a hugely controversial issue in post-war Sri Lanka), the language seems to have shifted to 'accountable democracy.' This is something to watch going forward. Is Washington still genuinely pushing for wartime accountability?" he wrote.

Highlighting the recent increase in abductions, Mr Dibbert further said,

"Global champion of human rights and accountability? That’s quite an assertion.

Officials from the French navy said that it was time to start a "solid" partnership with Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror reported.

“This is a good time to start the partnership between our two nations,” Captain Laurent Machard De Gramont, the Commanding Officer of the French Naval Ship ‘Aconit’, which arrived in Colombo on Friday, said. 

Attempts are being made to acquire 551 acres of private land in Kilinochchi from the Tamil people, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, S Sritharan said this week.

Writing a letter to the TNA leader, R Sampanthan and to the president, Maithripala Sirisena, Mr Sritharan called for the land grabs to be halted.

Private land is also be acquired for the use of the army in six places in Jaffna, as well as 42 places having been earmarked for the use of the navy.

Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan challenged the Sri Lanka state to hold a referendum in the North-East to decide on whether the Tamil people wanted a power sharing mechanism on the island.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror in a wide ranging interview, the TNA leader was questioned on whether proposals for federalism had the backing of the Tamil people of the North-East.

“People want genuine power sharing,” said Mr Sampanthan. “Have a referendum in the North and the East and decide.”

Sri Lankan police have intercepted at least two attempts to smuggle cannabis across the Tamil North-East in the last week, as drug dealing continues to rise across the former conflict area.

Tamil Diplomat reports that over 200 kilograms of cannabis was seized by Sri Lankan police after they searched two vehicles travelling from Mannar last week. Meanwhile another smaller seizure of 8kg was also made in the district, in the Talaimannar islet.

The coastal town has become an increasingly popular route for drug smugglers to deliver packages of narcotics which are thought to be produced across the Palk Strait in Southern India.

Smugglers have also looked to smuggle drugs to Jaffna, with Sri Lankan police stopping a fishing boat which was returning to Point Pedro on Sunday. A M Jaffar, Assistant Superintendent of Police for the Kankesanthurai region, though confirmed no drugs were found on the boat.  Acting on a tip off, Sri Lankan police raided the vessel but only found a sack of tamarind and a motorcycle. All 4 men aboard the boat have since been arrested.

Three people believed to have been abducted in Vadamaradchi are being detained by anti-drugs police in Trincomalee.

Mr Jeffrin, George Rasanayagam and V. Michael were believed to have been abducted as they were seized in vans by unidentified individuals and their families uninformed.

The three men were reported missing by their families to Palai and Kilinochchi police and the case reported to the Human Rights Commission.