Mahinda Rajapaksa will lead a business delegation to Belarus later this month to participate in a joint business forum between the two countries. In October last year, the EU renewed sanctions on Belarus based on the country's failure to improve its human rights record.

Residents from a village in the District of Mannar have raised concerns, this week, over a ‘special resettlement’ programme under which 1,300 Sinhalese families from Anuradhapura are to be resettled in Mannar, reported Sri Lankan news sources.

Speaking at the 67^th Indian national day celebrations, Indian High Commissioner Y K Sinha, highlighted India’s aim to double bi-lateral trade with Sri Lanka to $10 billion within the following 3 years.

The UK is Sri Lanka’s second biggest trade partner by volume after India. 2012 saw Sri Lanka export £907m worth of goods to the UK, 13% higher than the previous year, while imports from the UK were worth £146m.

John Rankin, the British High Commissioner in Colombo said the trade balance was largely in favour of Sri Lanka and he would like to see that change.

Mahinda Rajapakse on Wednesday appointed a commission to investigate wartime abductions and disappearances, reports the Associated Press.

Rajapaksa's office said that the commission had the "authority to conduct inquiries and investigations necessary, and submit a report to the president within six months," with Rajapaksa reportedly stressing "the necessity to identify the persons responsible ... and to take legal action against those persons,"

A Sri Lankan official today outlined that the Sri Lankan government and the United States are not at odds with each other.

A statement from Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the US, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, read,

Several new African heads of missions to Sri Lanka pledged the support of their countries for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) taking place in Colombo this year, reported Sri Lankan news sources.

In an operation named PACANGEL (Operation Pacific Angel - Sri Lanka), the US military's engineers from the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps, has joined hands with its "Sri Lankan counterparts", to do a spot of DIY in Jaffna.

In a blog post by Staff Sgt Blake Mize, on the US Air Force's website, outlining how they were 'giving back to the Sri Lankan community', listed 'humanitarian' tasks undertaken by the US and Sri Lanka militaries, to avert disaster included the following:

- installing plumbing
- installing commodes, urinals and sinks
- repairing roofs
- painting buildings inside and out
- installing lighting and fans