The Chinese President has offered Sri Lanka a new grant worth $295 million USD, reports Reuters.

Sri Lanka’s President, Maithripala Sirisena, made the announcement on Saturday at a ceremony inaugurating construction of a Chinese-funded hospital in Polonnaruwa, saying, “when the Chinese ambassador visited my house to fix the date for this ceremony, he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping sent me another gift.”

A young protester from the Vavuniya families of the disappeared protest has died from ill health.

24-year-old Nila Rasanayagam who has been searching for her disappeared brother passed away on Saturday.

Her brother Rasanayagam Jenisraj disappeared in Colombo in 2009. His family had not received any information about his fate since.

Ms Rasanayagam has become the eighth protester to die since protests started.

A documentary filmed and produced by British Tamil students highlighting the struggle of Tamil families of the disappeared protesting across the North-East has been released online today.

The documentary, entitled ‘Sri Lanka’s Disappeared’, was made freely available online after a series of screenings worldwide over the last year.

The TNA spokesperson M A Sumanthiran said he could see the mental agony of the families of the disappeared who protested against the hearings of the Office on Missing Persons in Jaffna and Kilinochchi this month, however he said the party's view was that the OMP was the way forward. 

"We see the mental anguish of those who protest. However, in a situation like this, in order to handle this, a mechanism such as the Office on Missing Persons is very good. It is because of this that it has been created," Mr Sumanthiran said at a press briefing, when asked for his view on the recent OMP protests."

The Sri Lankan navy announced that it had arrested a four year old child and a 28 year old man, claiming that the two had attempted to illegally enter the island from India.

Grammy and Oscar-nominated musician M.I.A. released a trailer for an upcoming documentary on her childhood earlier this week, reflecting on key events that have shaped her life including the genocide of Tamils.

Senior DUP members met on Saturday to discuss the future of the MP, Ian Paisley Jr following his suspension from parliament for 'paid advocacy' for the Sri Lankan government.

Mr Paisley Jr was found to have not declared trips to Sri Lanka worth up to £100,000, whilst supporting the then Rajapaksa government in an attempt to defeat a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for accountability. 

The DUP has not disclosed the meeting's outcome, however the party is understood to be considering releasing a statement next week. 

A 'China-Sri Lanka friendship hospital' was launched in Polonnaruwa on Saturday at a ceremony attended by the Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan and the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena.

The hospital, which will become a nephrology centre, "is being constructed following a request by President Sirisena to the Chinese government", China's state news agency, Xinhua reported. 

Japan and Sri Lanka this week held discussions on increasing military ties and maritime safety during the third Sri Lanka –Japan Dialogue on Maritime Security, Safety and Oceanic Issues, which took place in Colombo on July 19. 

“Sri Lanka expressed appreciation for the extensive support extended by Japan to improve the maritime safety capabilities of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard including through the provision of two patrol vessels and numerous training opportunities,” Sri Lanka's foreign affiars ministry said in a statement. 

A Sri Lankan parliamentarian claimed that the former regime in Colombo bribed at least five more British MPs today, after the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards suspended British parliamentarian Ian Paisley Jr for not declaring trips worth up to £100,000.

"There are at least five other British MP’s who similarly were bribed by the Rajapaksa regime to make statements supportive of it," claimed UNP MP Mujibar Rahuman. “We though these British MPs in tie and coat were honest respectable people, but they are worse."