In Sri Lanka, police had to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse a group of people protesting the launch of Southern Development Project in Hambantota today.<br/><br/>Protesters, including Buddhist monks and opposition MPs pelted stones and chanted slogans as Prime minister Ranil Wickremsinghe laid the foundation stone for the Hambantota Industrial Zone.<br/><br/>On friday, the Hambantota Magistrate's Court on a request made by the police issued a restraining order against 27 parties banning protests for the next 14 days in the area near the southern port.<br/><br/>The government also has agreed to lease another 15,000 acres for the industrial zone and the protesters are against the government's decision claiming that the government is planning to take over private land. The government says, the framework agreement for a 99-year lease of the Hambantota port with a Chinese company was necessary to make the project viable.