Vijayakala Maheswaran, a Tamil parliamentarian with the UNP, has been arrested by Sri Lankan police this morning over a speech she gave earlier this year which faced criticism from cross-party Sinhala politicians for calling for a resurgence of the LTTE in order to curb crime rates in North-East.

Maheswaran has since been released on a Rs 500,000 bail, after being produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate.

Four Tamil political prisoners hunger-striking in Colombo’s Magazine prison have been admitted to hospital.

The four - Seethagopal Arumugam, Rasathurai Jeyanthan, Thevasahayam Uthayakumar and Joseph Sebastian - were admitted following a decline in their health, four days after starting the hunger strike.

Gunshots were fired at a tractor carrying sand, in Jaffna on Saturday according to local reports.

The incident took place around 6pm on Saturday in Maniyanthoddam where illegal sand mining has become an issue locally.

The driver of the tractor said two unknown men tried to stop the vehicle. The driver did not stop but drove away faster, to which one of the men shot at the vehicle with a pistol.

Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) announced that yet another Sri Lankan navy chief was involved in the abduction and murder of Tamil youths in 2008, and is actively supressing evidence and ‘keeping tabs’ on key witnesses involved in the case.

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa met with current president and former political rival Maithripala Sirisena earlier this week, as reports over a possible coalition between the two continue.

A revamped Counter Terrorism Bill will be presented in Sri Lanka’s parliament this week, reports the Sunday Times.

The bill has reportedly been approved by Sri Lanka’s cabinet and would criminalise acts that will cause “harm to the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Sri Lanka”.

A group of unknown men broke into a home in Kokkuvil and vandalised the property on Friday.

Residents of a village in Pottuvil, Amparai, are still protesting for the return of their lands, 55 days on.

Sri Lankan military forces occupying Palaly had a post office to meet their needs opened in the area on Saturday.

Families of Maaveerar (fallen LTTE cadres) buried in the destroyed Kanchikudicharu thuyilum illam, in Amparai, cleared the cemetery on Friday, in preparation for Maaveerar Naal.

Protests calling for the release of Tamil political prisoners have continued daily in towns across the North-East.

The director of the organisation Roots of the Nation has been investigated by the Terrorism Investigation Division.

Director Ganeshan Pirapakaran attended questioning on Thursday in Colombo.

Pirabakaran said he was kept from 9 in the morning until 7 in the evening, and was questioned about the organisations activities and memorial events.

The TID warned him that they could call him for investigation again in the future.

Twelve senior LTTE members including Lt Col Kumarappa and Lt Col Pulenthiran were remembered in Valvettithurai on the 31st anniversary of their deaths.

Almost 5000 acres of privately-owned land in Mullaitivu still remains occupied by Sri Lankan military forces, the district secretariat has revealed.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan president has reportedly issued a deadline to release all privately-owned lands in the North-East by December 31.