The Sri Lankan army announced that it had helped repair the roof of a Tamil primary school in Mullaitivu, as criticism over its involvement in civilian activities continues. 

The Sri Lankan government is to call for fresh bids to explore Mannar and Cauvery basin, the government spokesperson was quoted by EconomyNext as saying today. 

The announcement comes following a Cabinet meeting this week where the proposal, by Arjuna Ranatunga, was approved. 

Indian and Singaporean companies had previously expressed an interest in exploring oil in the Mannar basin. 

Cairn India stopped natural gas exploration in Mannar in 2015 after the petroleum price dropped internationally. 

Sahathevan Nilakshan, the up and coming Tamil journalist who was shot and killed by suspected Sri Lankan military intelligence personnel on August 1st, 2007 was remembered today eleven years on by fellow media workers and his family. 

Nilakshan was 22 years old when he was gunned down outside his home in Jaffna. 

The Sri Lankan government today raised import tax on small hybrid cars by over 50% in an effort to raise revenue for the state. 

“The government needs to find extra money for the additional expenditure incurred because of the recent salary hikes to doctors and railway employees,” the Director of Information at the Ministry of Finance, M.Ali Hassen was quoted by Reuters as saying. 

The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland arrived in Sri Lanka today as part of a four day official visit of the island. 

Ms Scotland, who met with the Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Tilak Marapana today, is expected to meet with the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R Sampanthan tomorrow. 

A Sri Lankan police inspector and the country’s former Commissioner of Prisons who were both arrested over the killing of 27, mostly Sinhalese, inmates of Welikada Prison have had their remand extended.

IP Neyomal Rangajeewa and former commissioner Emil Ranjan Lamahewa have been remanded until August 7th, in connection with the killings during the Welikada Prison riots of 2012.

The arrest warrant of former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the USA, Jaliya Wickremasuriya, was extended on Tuesday by the Colombo Fort Magistrate judge.

Jaliya Wickramasuriya served as Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Washington from July 2008 to May 2014 and is wanted by Sri Lanka’s Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) over the alleged misuse of government spending. It is alleged that there were irregularities in the purchase of a building to house the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC.

He is also accused of accepting a US$ 332,000 “commission” during his tenure as ambassador, a transaction that US officials also spoke to him about.

An attempt by Sinhalese to colonise hundreds of acres of Tamil-owned land was stopped by local residents in Mullaitivu on Monday.

Sri Lankan police have arrested two Tamil youths in Jaffna, accusing them of involvement in sword attacks.

The two were held over suspicion of involvement in an attack on the Vannar Pannai North East Grama Sevakar office and an attack on 3 houses in Kokkuvil.

Both youth were produced before the Jaffna Magistrate court.

The court ordered the two to be remanded until 3rd August, after the Sri Lankan police assured the court that they will be able produce CCTV footage of their involvement in the attacks.

Excavations of a mass grave in Mannar continued today, with the body of a child being unearthed reports JDS Lanka.

So far, the excavation has identified 60 bodies, with at least 5 belonging to children.

Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Saminda Rajapaksa told JDS that the decision to send samples from the mass grave to a laboratory in Florida for carbon dating lies with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Justice.