A new Sri Lankan constitution is a "fundamental necessity" the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran said whilst speaking at the 7th meeting on constitutional reform, held in in Galle this week. 

"All the problems of the Tamil people won't be solved by a new constitution, but a new constitution is fundamental," he said. "Without this, no issue can be addressed."

Sri Lankan intelligence officials threatened Tamil fishermen from Vadamarachchi East, forcing them to drop plans to protest during the visit of the Sri Lankan president to Myliddy last month.

Union leader Nagarasa Varnakulasingam said he had received threats from intelligence personnel from Colombo as well as from Kankesanthurai.

The local fishermen had planned to protest on August 22nd to raise awareness of the ongoing disputes caused by the illegal activities and encroachment of fishermen from other districts.

A 35-year-old man has been arrested on Friday in connection to the murder of a pregnant Tamil woman in Kilinochchi this week. 

The man, identified as K Krishnakeethan from Vinanayagapuram, Kilinochchi, is understood to be working for a private security company and a father of two children.

He is reported to have confessed to the killing. 

Local resident protested this week calling for the perpetrator to be brought to justice. 

The 32-year-old victim, a Nithiyakala Karuppaiah was found dead inside the Iranaimadu irrigation canal by locals on Wednesday. 

Sri Lanka's Cabinet has decided to arm wildlife officials with AK 47 rifles citing the conflicts between elephants and civilians, the Sunday Times reports. 

The weapons will replace the Chinese-made T-56 rifles previously held.

The recommendation was made by the former army commander, and current minister for sustainable development, wildlife and regional development, Sarath Fonseka. 

Read more here. 

Two acres of land in Achchuveli, belonging to six families, was released on Friday after 23 years of occupation by the Sri Lankan army.

The land was seized by the army in 1995 when locals became displaced.

The landowners have campaigned to have their properties returned for resettlement since 2014.

While two acres were released on Friday, access roads to some of these properties still remain under army control.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said this week it would be committing £3 billion over the next three years to Sri Lanka. 

“From 2019 to 2021, our commitments will total US $ 3 billion, where we plan to disburse US $ 1 billion each year for development of ports, railways, roads, secondary and higher education, electricity transmission and distribution, fisheries, irrigation, wastewater management, drinking water, sanitation and support Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) projects in Sri Lanka,” the ADB Vice President, Wencai Zhang said.

The president of Vavuniya Citizen's Committee, Gopalakrishnan Rajkumar was today summoned for an inquiry by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department (TID). 

The chairman has been ordered to attend the TID's 2nd floor office in Colombo on September 6 for the inquiry. 

The TID did not explained the reasons for his summons. 

Earlier this week the TID summoned the chairman of Karaichchi Divisional Council (Pradesiya Sabai) without any reasons given. 

The chairman of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) said its interim report would be submitted to the Sri Lankan president, Maithiripala Sirisena on September 5, the Daily Mirror reported. 

The report, which is said to include recommendations to the government, was scheduled to be released at an event yesterday in Colombo to mark International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. 

Earlier this week the OMP claimed about 20,000 people are missing since 1983, however said it was yet to finalise the figures. 

The parting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein highlighted the ongoing anguish of Tamils displaced by the Sri Lankan military, in a wide-ranging op-ed published in The Economist, 'Grassroots leaders provide the best hope to a troubled world'. 

Likening the conditions experienced by displaced Tamils to camps in IDP camps in Libya, Mr Zeid wrote: "The apparent powerlessness of those who suffer was also brought home to me in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, where Tamil communities dispossessed of their land by the military decades ago still live in the most basic and deplorable conditions. Even when the government is committed to the release of their lands and properties, the military refuses to obey, so the innocent and displaced continue to suffer terribly."

"I saw similar conditions in Libya when visiting a camp hosting a displaced Touareg community. The general insecurity around Tripoli, particularly at night, with abductions and shootings commonplace, meant their situation was precarious (though that could be said of all the countries I visited where local armed conflict was prevalent, such as the Central African Republic, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo)."

Hundreds of locals took to the streets of Kilinochchi today to protest against the murder of a pregnant Tamil woman.