US troops are to begin “combined humanitarian assistance and disaster relief” with the Sri Lankan military next week, as part of an annual joint exercise.

‘Pacific Angel 2018’ is scheduled to take place in and around Anuradhapura from August 13^th – 18^th, reports the US Indo-Pacific Command website.

Sri Lanka’s ‘Joint Opposition’ (JO) has vowed to continue its fight to oust the TNA leader from the post of Leader of the Opposition, Daily Mirror reports.

Commenting on Parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s announcement that the TNA and ITAK leader R. Sampanthan would remain in the post, JO parliamentarian Bandula Gunawardene said the “speaker’s ruling is not a defeat and it has not ended our struggle.”

Jaffna-based journalist Uthayarasa Shalin has been summoned to Colombo by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) along with five other residents of a Jaffna suburb.

Locals in Eravur, Batticaloa protested on Thursday against the a bottle water factory being built in Periyapullumalai.

Protesters expressed concern that the company would take excessive amounts of water from Batticaloa's local water supplies. 

The Sri Lankan police have arrested at least four more people in the middle of the night, who were involved in the ongoing protest against illegal fishing by Sinhala fishermen in Mullaitivu. 

The Karaithuraipattu Divisional Council (Prathesa Sabai) member Mariyanayagam Thommaipillai, as well as three protesters, Vincent D Paul Arulnathan, Gerrard Rayan and Thileepan have been arrested. 

The Bodu Bala Sena has requested the Sri Lanka president, Maithripala Sirisena to pardon the group's leader Galagodaaththe Gnanasara, who was sentenced this week to 19 years rigorous imprisonment to be served in six years for contempt of court. 

Speaking at a press briefing in Colombo On Thursday, the BBS general secretary, Sihala Ravaya Magalkandey Sudatta said Mr Gnanasara should be released due to his 'ill health'. 

Twenty-seven Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Thursday, the PTI reports. 

The fishermen, from Nagapattinam, Thondi and Pudukottai were arrested for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters. 

The Sri Lankan navy has impounded four fishing boats, Pudukottai Assistant Director of Fisheries Kumaresen said. 

India's Central Government has rejected a proposal by Tamil Nadu for the release of seven people convicted over the assassination of the then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi. 

In a letter that was formally accepted by the Supreme Court on Friday, the Centre said the case "an unparalleled act in the annals of crimes committed in this country". 

Sri Lanka's Joint Opposition said it would be filing legal action against the country's Free Trade Agreement with Singapore, arguing that it was illegal. 

The United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education that will see US Peace Corps come and teach English on the island.

Sri Lanka’s parliament's High Post Committee has approved Dayan Jayatilleke to be appointed as the government’s ambassador to Russia, despite opposition from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

Mr Jayatilleke previously acted as Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva between June 2007 and October 2009. It was during that time that Sri Lanka launched a massive military offensive, killing tens of thousands of Tamil civilians. Mr Jayatilleke led the Sri Lankan government delegation that lobbied against calls for an international investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Northern Provincial Council member, T. Ravikaran, has been arrested by Mullaitivu police this evening.

Police said he was arrested in connection with vandalism of government property, referring to a protest by Tamil fishermen outside the district’s office of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

During the protest on August 2nd, protestors demanded that officials come out and listen to their demands. When none came out, protestors broke a police barricade and entered the building.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan will remain the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker announced on Friday, reports Colombo Page.

The announcement comes following a consultation with the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), currently officially a constituent of the Sri Lankan government, on whether it wanted to take up the Opposition post.

Sri Lanka’s Organised Crime Prevention Division (OCPD) announced that it had taken 59 statements from various individuals with regards to a speech made by United National Party parliamentarian Vijayakala Maheswaran.

Ms Maheswaran was forced to resign her ministerial post after she faced a backlash from Sinhala politicians including from within her own party, for reportedly calling for a resurgence of the LTTE to tackle the rising gang violence in the North-East.