More than 150 relatives of men, women and children who have been forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan state came to Colombo today, where they demonstrated outside the United Nations office in the capital and continued to call for justice.

Over a dozen protesters have been detained by heavily armed Sri Lanka police as they demonstrated against a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) rally featuring disgraced former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Despite the unrest earlier, the former prime minister reassured the crowd of his confidence that his party could win a general election.

With staggering levels of inflation, shortages of basic necessities, and record levels of people living below the poverty line, Sri Lankan bakers have called on the government for a reprieve through price controls on wheat flour.

As Sri Lanka continues discussions with the International Monetary Fund and its creditors, Sri Lankan opposition MP Patali Champika Ranawaka has warned of social unrest in response to proposed tax increases.

Colombo’s Chief Magistrate Court has issued an arrest warrant for former convict and extremist monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara after he ignored a court summon over charges of hate speech he directed towards Muslims.

During a visit to Vadamarachi, Jaffna, the bodyguard of former convict turned Sri Lankan state minister Lohan Ratwatte, turned his pistol on a barking pet dog that approached the minister.

Last September, Ratwatte reportedly forced Tamil inmates detained in the Anuradhapura prison to kneel down at gunpoint on Sunday, sources revealed. Ratwatte was allegedly under the influence of alcohol when he entered the premises and demanded Tamil prisoners to perform the humiliating act. 

On Friday, China’s ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong visited disgraced former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

As Britain’s fourth Chancellor in as many months takes up office this week, there will be plenty on his plate. A falling sterling, rising interest rates and a spiralling cost of living crisis will leave Jeremy Hunt facing a difficult task. On his first day on the job, he told reporters of how wide spending cuts will be vital in reeling back government spending and repairing Britain’s economy. One area that will need urgent review is the UK multimillion-pound funding of Sri Lanka.

The former Norwegian peace envoy to Sri Lanka Erik Solheim met Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians M A Sumanthiran and R Shanakiyan in Colombo yesterday.

A 24-year-old Eelam Tamil man who was shot at by the Sri Lankan navy, swam across the Palk Strait and arrived in India last week, as he becomes the latest Tamil to flee the island.

The youth, named as Hassan Khan alias Ajay alias Khan of Mannar, was reportedly part of another Eelam Tamil family of five, including three children, who described the encounter with the Sri Lankan navy last week.

As the navy fired at the boat, Khan however dived into the water. He then swam seven nautical miles across the Palk Strait to India.