President of the Congress party Sonia Gandhi has slammed Sri Lanka’s “unspeakable atrocities” against Tamils and called for an demand an independent and credible inquiry into human rights violations on the island.

Speaking to Congress MPs hours before the DMK announced they were withdrawing from government, Gandhi reportedly said,

The Sinhala Buddhist organisation, Bodu Bala Sena, has announced that their fight against halal products is now over as they had “won”.

National organiser Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera said to a huge rally in Kandy that concerned firms would remove halal certificated products by Sinhala New Year in mid-April.

The monk pledged that their new target would be the removal of a mosque in Kuragala, which was allegedly built on an ancient Buddhist site.

What began as an indefinite hunger strike by students at Loyola College on 8th March, has sparked protests that are taking Tamil Nadu by storm.

The Tamil Nadu Film Director's Association (TNFDA) announced on Sunday that it would be holding a hunder strike on Tuesday to protest against the genocide of Eelam Tamils.

In a statement that TNFDA Secretary and filmaker, Ammer Sultan, said:

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has called upon the Indian government to not only support the upcoming resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC, but to strengthen it and call for an international independent investigation into war crimes.

In a letter addressed to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Jayalalithaa stated,

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner for India, Prasada Kariyawasam, said that the protests by Tamil Nadu students were a 'form of terrorism'.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, Kariyawasam said:

"Resolution on Sri Lanka in UN is uncalled for. We don't think there is a need for international community to get involved in Sri Lanka at this point."

A senior military commander of the Sri Lankan Army has claimed that not a single person was in their custody.

"As a high-ranking officer of the army, I can say with authority that the persons claimed to be missing are not in the army camps,” Vanni Security Force Commander, Major General Boniface Perera said, according to the DailyMirror.

“There are no unaccounted persons at all,” he told media at Camp Joseph in the Vanni.

“I don’t think a solution could be found by staging demonstrations, carrying banners and blaming the army and the govt. They just need to come to the nearby camps and find out for themselves.

See here for the Financial Times' comment on the opening of Hambantota airport and Sri Lanka's China links.

See also US believed China bribed way to Hambantota contract (Aug 2011)

The new Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured President Rajapakse that his country would continue to support efforts to protect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, reported the DailyMirror.

During a phone call on Saturday, Rajapakse congratulated President Xi and thanked him for China’s assistance in rebuilding the country.

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Sri Lanka has rejected a request by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression to visit the island, reported ColomboPage.