A Tamil family’s house burned to ashes in a housefire earlier today in the Kaiveli resettlement area in Mullaitivu.

The young family and their infants had been living in the home since 2018. 

Speaking to the media, Senior DIG Attorney Ajith Rohana admitted that “under no circumstances” would they separate a married couple in cases of domestic abuse.

When questioned if the police would take a different approach if there were continuous complaints, Rohana claimed the police would take action but not in cases of “slight abuse” or “abuse and threats”.

Sri Lankan Public Security Minister, Sarath Weerasekara, has instructed the police to remain calm when dealing with protesters.

The instruction comes as Sri Lanka’s police have arrested several leading student activists who were protesting the controversial KNDU bill as well as 38 teachers who have also been on strike. Weerasekara has claimed that a policeman lost two fingers whilst dealing with protesting teachers.

Sri Lankan police have arrested five student activists including the Convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation Wasantha Mudalige and President of the Jayewardenepura University Students’ Union Amila Sandeepa following protests against the controversial Kotelawala National Defence University (or KDU) Bill.

Responding to concerns raised by the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz, CHEC Port City Colombo has decried her statement as “misleading” and maintained that neither itself nor its parent company China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) are listed under United States sanctions.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) drew attention to rising police brutality, custodial and extra-judicial killings in Sri Lanka in a report released on Friday. “Sri Lanka’s police are increasingly killing and abusing people under cover of the Covid-19 pandemic measures and an anti-drug campaign,” it said. 

^{File photo: Basil Rajapaksa - Minister of Finance}

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa issued a gazette notification re-authorising the import of several types of fertilisers, but the President’s office maintained that it was not taking a U-turn on a previous policy and insisted it was only enabling the importation of “specialised fertilisers”.

Health workers gathered in front of the Northern Provincial Council office to demand the Sri Lankan government to improve working conditions, including higher allowances.

Workers have been engaged in a series of continuous protests for the past 155 days. The demonstrations prompted Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage to visit the Jaffna district and meet with the protesters and arranged for them to meet the President in Colombo.

Amnesty International has slammed Sri Lankan Attorney General's decision not to proceed with charges against Navy commander Wasantha Karannagoda in connection with the torture, extortion, abduction and conspiracy to murder 11 youths in 2008-2009.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered for prison authorities to permit lawyers access to jailed Muslim poet, Ahnaf Jazeem, who remains detained at Colombo Remand Prison under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.