The chief minister of the Northern Province, C V Wigneswaran on Sunday met with families in Valikaamam North who had returned to their homes that had until recently been occupied by the Sri Lankan military. 

The families from Myliddy, Thaiyiddy, Kadduvan and Mayilani spoke of the many problems they were facing following their prolonged displacement as well as having to rebuild their lives despite the military's ongoing presence nearby. 

Sri Lankan police officers attempted to stop families of the disappeared protesting today against the Sri Lankan president's May Day event in Batticaloa.

Continuing their protest undeterred, families condemned the government's failure to provide answers for the tens of thousands who remaing unaccounted for and criticised the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) as a mechanism of provide accountability. 

The Matara chief magistrate on Friday released nine suspects on bail who had been arrested for attempting to sexually assault a Dutch and British tourist at Mirissa beach in Weligama. 

The incident took place on April 8. 

The suspects were released on two personal sureties of Rs 200,000 each, the Colombo Page reported. 

The case will be heard again on October 8. 

The former army commander, Sarath Fonseka said it was a mistake to field Maithripala Sirisena, the current president, as the common candidate in 2015. 

"I told Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to contest the last presidential election but the party supported a common candidate instead. This was a blunder," Mr Fonseka told a May Day rally, the Daily Mirror reported. 

The chief minister of the Northern Province, C V Wigneswaran condemned the Sri Lankan military's ongoing occupation and civilian activites, warning that it would only take 10 years of occupation to make the Northern province into the East.

"Everyone needs to know about the military's activities which are taking place around us," Mr Wigneswaran wrote in article published on May 4. 

Tamil National Alliance MPs and NPC members met with families protesting against the navy's occupation of their lands in Iranaitivu on Saturday. 

MPs S Sritharan and Mavai Senathirajah as well as the NPC member, Kurukularajah were present, expressing their support to the protesters. 

A Sri Lankan police officer was injured in a sword attack in Kayts yesterday. 

The officer, who has not been identified, was attacked on his way to work. 

The attack is believed to be involved in criminal activity, the police told reporters, adding that an investigation into the incident had been launched. 
 

Deepening the military's involvement in civilian activities, particularly within the school environment, the Sri Lankan army presented bicycles and funds to school children in Jaffna district today. 

More than 70 youth from Kilinochchi participated in a judo workshop organized by Security Forces Headquarters - Kilinochchi. 

Sinhala officials from the Wildlife Conservation Department attacked and burnt the huts of cattle herders in Mathavanai, Batticaloa. 

On the evening of April 20, five officials arrived in a vehicle and entered the homes of the cattle herders, villagers said, describing the officials as drunk. 

President Sirisena’s Chief of Staff, I.H.K. Mahanama, was arrested for taking a bribe from an Indian investor. 

Sri Lanka’s Embassy in the US filed a letter of objection to a Congressional Caucus on Religious and Ethnic Freedom in Sri Lanka which saw discussion on the link between Sinhala Buddhism and extremist violence.

Commenting on the event invitation, Sri Lanka’s Charge d’affaires to the US Priyanga Wickramasinghe said,

Sri Lanka's CID on Thursday re-issued a photograph of the navy lieutenant commander who is wanted in relation to his suspected involvement in the disappearance of 11 Tamil youths between 2008 - 2009. 

The police have issued an open arrest warrant for the officer, Hettiarachchi Mudiyanselage Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi alias Navy Sampath. 

Sri Lanka's senior Buddhist clergy, the Maha Sangha, on Thursday urged the president and prime minister not to push through with the proposed 20th amendment to the constitution which would abolish the executive presidency, arguing it was a move to divide the country.