Officials from the Jaffna District Office have collected details of households over the last weekend, reported the Uthayan.

Residents were asked by regional secretaries to list individuals in each household, and details were collected about empty houses, rented houses and the homeless.

No explanation was given to the local population.

Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in a message on his Twitter account.

The tweet said that the president ordered the release of the fishermen in Sri Lankan custody “on the occasion of India’s Independence Day", coming up later this week.

93 fishermen, arrested for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters, are currently in prisons on the island, according to Colombo Page.

Meanwhile the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka expressed his gratitude to the government for enabling the smooth implementation of Indian projects on the island and said India remained committed to assist Sri Lanka in its endeavours of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation.

The Bodu Bala Sena attempted to disrupt a pro-Palestinian protest, organised by Thowheed Jamath, in a Muslim-majority area of Colombo, reported Colombo Page.

Colombo Magistrate Court obtained an injunction to prevent protests by the Thowheed Jamath, BBS and Sinhala Ravaya in Colombo Fort and Pettah, after the BBS strongly condemned the initial permission to protest given to the Muslim group.

"Fundamentally, this is a breach of the principle of no forced returns. That's a clear violation of international law."

“As Sri Lanka strives towards a peaceful future, the Government and the people of India remain committed to assist Sri Lanka in its endeavours of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation.”

Sri Lanka’s police have claimed that the injuries a Tamil student received in an attack at Sabaragamuwa University were self inflicted and said they would take action against him for making a false complaint, reported the Daily Mirror.

Santhirakumar Sutharshan, who originally hails from Muhamalai in the northeast of the island, was attacked earlier this month by masked men, leaving him with injuries requiring hospital treatment.

He was arrested on his return from hospital last week by Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division. According to the police the student admitted that the injuries were self-inflicted.