Students of the Eastern University in Batticaloa protested on Tuesday in solidarity with Tamil political prisoners currently hunger striking for their release.

Sri Lanka’s forest department has appropriated 100 acres of cultivation land belonging to around 50 families in Mullaitivu. The department appropriated the land in Puliyamunai, a village in Semmalai East, designating it as protected conservation land.

The affected landowners said they rely on agriculture for livelihood and that the land-grab has thrown their lives into disarray.

Granting permission for Buddhist monks to carry out ‘research’ on a Mullaitivu mountain was an abuse of power by the Sri Lankan archaeology department, the Mullaitivu court has warned. The court also said that devotees were free to access the mountain to worship at the existing Hindu temple.

A Tamil woman was arrested for possession of cannabis in Vavuniya according to police.

Vavuniya said the 25-year-old was found to have 650g of cannabis in her possession during a random search operation at Vavuniya railway station on Monday night.

Families of the disappeared demonstrated in Batticaloa on Monday to mark International Children’s Day.

A Tamil man was arrested in Valvettithurai accused of being in possession of cannabis.

Valvettithurai police said the 27-year-old was arrested after a random stop-and-search in which they discovered 5g of cannabis on his person.

Protests in solidarity with hunger striking Tamil political prisoners have continued across the Tamil homeland.

Ships from the Japanese navy arrived in Colombo this weekend as part of a goodwill visit to the island.

The ships, ‘Kaga’ and ‘Inazuma’, docked on Sunday and will stay for 5 days, as Japanese troops “take part in a wide range of sporting and several other programmes,” reportedly organised by the Sri Lanka navy.

The Sri Lankan military announced it had held an art competition for Tamil schoolchildren in Mullaitivu this weekend, as its militarisation of the region persists.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena met with both the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres and Commonwealth Secretary General, Patricia Scotland whilst in New York last week, where they discussed “reconciliation” on the island.

The Sri Lankan president’s official media outlet claimed both Guterres and Scotland “praised Sri Lanka” for “progress”, though there have been no press releases from the UN Secretary General’s office or the Commonwealth on the meetings.

Three Tamil youths have been arrested in Jaffna in connection with gang violence, Koppay police have announced.

Police said dangerous weapons which the youths were in possession of were also seized.

The three were all around 23-years-old and were from the Vannarpannai, Chavakachcheri and Jaffna Town areas.

Police said they are now in search of a gang leader using the statements given by the arrested youths.

Tamils across the North-East have begun clearing Maaveerar thuyilum illams (LTTE martyr cemeteries) in preparation for Maveerar Naal, or Heroes Day, in November.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned that the island’s economy faced “double trouble” as US sanctions against Iran look to come into effect later this year.

Sri Lanka’s finance minister Mangala Samaraweera claimed his government was able to halt a United Nations investigation into human rights violations committed by the military and saved former president Mahinda Rajapaksa from facing trial at an international tribunal.

“Our country was marked as a blood stain on the world map,” said Samaraweera. “We were accused of violating human rights in the war. An international investigation was to be held even without our involvement."