The Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations signed a 5 year UN Sustainable Development Framework agreement (UNSDF) worth US $300 million on Thursday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Dr Harsha De Silva said, “We are extremely pleased that the UN will be investing over US £300 million for the development of Sri Lanka over the next 5 years. The 4 strategic areas of the framework; improved data, innovative public institutions, social security and resilience to climate change and disaster and especially evidence based policy planning are extremely important for the development of Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Commander of the Army, Mahesh Senanayake, payed homage to the 'highest Buddhist seats in Sri Lanka'  at the Temple of Tooth in Kandy on Friday.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake  "committed the age old tradition of paying obeisance to the highest Buddhist seats in Sri Lanka" and received blessings from chief prelates of the Asgiriya and Malwatte chapters according to the army website.

Families of Tamil youth that were arrested over recent weeks in relation to attacks against Sri Lankan police officers in Jaffna have accused the police of torturing two young boys and forcing them to sign statements.

In a complaint to Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission the families further accused the police of threatening to put a detention order on the arrested youth under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. 

The families maintain that they have evidence that their children were not present in areas the police claim they were during the incidents of violence.

On August 4th 2006, the Sri Lankan military lined up and summarily executed 17 aid workers with the French NGO Action Contre la Faim (ACF) in Muttur. The aid workers were mostly Tamil. Eleven years on, no one has been held to account for this crime. 

Marking 11 years since the massacre, ACF said,

“The Sri Lankan government has failed in its duty to uphold international humanitarian law and to protect civilians and aid workers, and it has failed in its duty to deliver justice for the perpetrators of the massacre of these 17 humanitarians,”

Condemning the massacre as a war crime, ACF said in 2007: 

“The Muttur slaughter can't be considered only as a "collateral damage" during the Muttur battle: our team has been specifically and deliberately targeted, their death has been organised execution style with bullets shot in their head. Everything was consciously and brutally planned: the victims were kneeling, unarmed and defenceless. The culprits of this massacre are the ones who were carrying the arms. We can assert that this massacre is a war crime in violation of the Geneva Conventions."

Thirteen Tamil youths have been arrested in the Vadamaradchi North area as of Wednesday, citing various violent infractions following tensions between locals and police.

The arrests follow the Sri Lankan Inspector General of Police's declaration that the police and armed forces would be joining forces to crackdown on violence in the Jaffna district.

Two Tamils were arrested in Nelliady for attacking a police inspector’s house.

A further eleven were arrested in Point Pedro for violent disorder, throwing stones at a police jeep and burning tyres on Point Pedro Road.

India's premier, Narendra Modi has taken up the fishermen issue with Sri Lanka, the external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. 

“The government regularly takes up the matter of early release and repatriation of Indian fishermen with the government of Sri Lanka. Our High Commission in Colombo provides humanitarian and legal assistance to the apprehended fishermen," Ms Swaraj was quoted by The Hindu as saying in response to a question by the CPI MP D Raja. 

A further two men were arrested on Thursday in connection with an attack on police officers in Kopay last month. 

Two police officers of Koppay police station were reportedly attacked around 1.30pm on July 30 by over ten men on four motorcycles while walking down Nanthavil Amman Kovil road.

Yogarasa Sajith, known as Muttu and Arul Seelan Patrick Dinesh were arrested by officers in Jaffna today. Both are 18 years old. 

Earlier this week, Jaffna and Kopay police arrested 20 year old Thavarasa Madushan and 23 year old Vijayarathnam Sivaraj.

Experts from China are to inspect the Norochcholai power plant in Puttalam which has had operational difficulties over many years. 

“Out of the three electricity generation units operated at the power plant, the third unit which would generate 3,000 MW had failed,” Sulakshana Jayawardena of the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. 

Protests will not change China’s friendship with Sri Lanka said China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Yi Xianliang on Thursday.

Acknowledging that he faced criticisms by some people within Sri Lanka and outside, he said he would continue to discuss further assistance from Beijing to Sri Lanka. 

Speaking on improving economic ties between the two nations at an event in the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, Mr Xianliang, said,

A no-confidence motion signed by 32 Joint Opposition MPs against Foreign Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake was handed over to the General Secretary of Parliament this afternoon.

Sri Lanka’s generally parliament prioritises no-confidence motions over other procedures and a vote on the motion is likely to be arranged in the near future, reports Dailymirror.lk.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Corruption is currently investigation Ravi Karunanayake for the illicit use of government bonds.