The Sri Lankan cabinet approved the awarding of the contract to construct grid substations in Colombo to a South Korean company, Hyosung Corporation. 

The contract, which is worth Rs 1.2 billion, comes under the government's Green Power Development and Energy Efficiency Improvement Investment Programme. 

The proposal was put forward by Sri Lanka's minister of power and renewable energy, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. 

Sri Lanka is a key part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese ambassador, Cheng Xueyuan was quoted by Xinhua as saying in an article released by the embassy in Colombo on Friday. 

"The Belt and Road Initiative was a major initiative proposed by the Chinese government and it was aimed at upholding the global free trade system and an open world economy," he said. 

Two Tamil refugees who had previously fled Sri Lanka, were arrested in Rameswaram on Saturday, ANI reported. 

Sayinson, 26, and Jayakumar, 27 were arrested by coastal security near Pamdan. 

The men were accused of attempting to travel to Sri Lanka on an illegal boat. 

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached out to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu,as the veteran party leader M Karunanidhi was admitted to hospital with deteriorating health.

The Sri Lankan government claimed that it was “not concerned” over the possible loss of GSP-Plus trade concessions from the European Union over plans to reinstate the death penalty on the island.

Human skeletons found at a mass grave in Mannar have “deep and unusual” lacerations on their bones, an archaeologist at the site told Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka.

“Up to date we have unearthed 58 individual human skeletons here,” said archaeologist Raj Somadeva. “There are so many bones scattered all over the excavation pit.”

“5 skeletons belong to children,” he added

He went on to describe cuts on the bones as “unusual”.

Residents in Mullaitivu are in a state of fear as Sri Lankan army soldiers collected information about households and businesses in the area this week. 

Soldiers, from the 57th Division, were seen visiting houses in Udayarkaddu, Suthanthirapuram, Kaiveli, Redbaana and Maanikkapuram, and collection information about the number of people in each households and their personal details. 

The Intelligence Unit at Welikada Prison was disbanded by the Sri Lankan Justice Minister on Thursday.

The decision was taken following an investigation into corruption and irregularities reported in the Prisons Department, the ministry said.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister has claimed that people on the island, especially children, should learn Sinhala, Tamil and English to bring about reconciliation.

The Jaffna Fort should not be handed over to the Sri Lankan army, and all currently occupying troops of the area should be removed, the District Coordinating Committee for Jaffna said last week.

The decisions were made at a meeting convened by the chairs for the committee, Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran, ITAK leader Mavai Senathirajah, and UNP MP Vijayakala Maheswaran.

A Sri Lankan parliamentarian has called for the arrest of the former state minister and Tamil UNP MP Vijayakala Maheswaran, following a speech she made in Jaffna earlier this year.

Udaya Gammanpila, a parliamentarian representing the Colombo district, said that he was going to “issue a writ against the Attorney General to immediately arrest” Ms Maheswaran.

Shares in Sri Lanka fell for a fourth straight session, as foreign investors continue to sell blue chip stocks, reports Reuters.

The Colombo stock index dropped 0.47 percent this week, with year to date losses of 3.4 percent.

Sri Lanka's law and order minister said yesterday he would be sending a list of wanted criminals to India as many of them were hiding in India. 

Speaking to the Daily Mirror Mr Ranjith Bandara said, “I had talks with the Indian High Commissioner here. We will prepare the details to be submitted to them."

A Tamil asylum seeker, whose father was shot dead and his mother and sister were disappeared this year has been deported to Sri Lanka from Australia, The Guardian reports. 

The man, known only as 'Kavi', had been detained in an immigration camp for the past four months after his bridging visa expired. 

He fled to Australia 6 years ago after the end of the armed conflict in 2009.

In a statement to Australia's home affairs minister, Kavi wrote: