<p>An Indian national was arrested last night by Sri Lanka's narcotics police officers, at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).&nbsp;</p> <p>The 30-year-old man, believed to be from Bangalore, was reportedly in possession of 1.2kg of cannabis resin (hash), worth Rs 2 million.&nbsp;</p> <p>The man is due to be produced before Negombo Magistrate's Court.&nbsp;</p> <p>The arrest comes at a time when Sri Lanka's president is campaigning in support of the death penalty for drug traffickers.&nbsp;</p>

More than 120,000 people have been affected by the recent floods that have struck across the Vanni, according to data released by the Sri Lankan government’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

The data comes as reports emerge the flooding was caused by the negligence of officials who allowed Iranamadu tank was allowed to overfill followed by the simultaneous opening of all the sluice gates. 

An overwhelming response in donations from Tamil diaspora worldwide has been distributed across the Vanni via local civil society groups, student organisations and charities. 

<p>The Sri Lankan government has announced that a committee has been formed to investigate reported incidents of vanadalism of Buddha statues in Mawanella in the Kegalle district.</p> <p>Sajith Premadasa, the current minister of housing, construction and cultural affairs appointed the committee, which is set to include officials from the cultural affairs and archaeology departments. The committee comes even though the government has admitted that initial investigations have shown the statues had no archaeological value.</p> <p>The ministry has also reported that funds would be made available for the reconstruction of the statues by next week.</p>

<p>Sri Lankan police in Jaffna have been accused of torturing two Tamil men, driving one to attempt suicide in custody.</p> <p>Koppay police arrested two young Tamil men on December 24 purportedly in connection with a robbery in the area.</p> <p>The two were tortured during 72 hours of detention, despite arrest laws stating that suspects should be produced before a court within 24 hours of arrest.</p> <p>When they were finally produced in court on Thursday, December 27, one of the detained youths testified to the court that he had been tortured and beaten so badly that he attempted suicide on Wednesday night.</p>

<p>The Sri Lankan government has pledged compensation for farmers who had their paddy fields ruined by extreme flooding this month, Colombo Page reports.&nbsp;</p> <p>The minister of agriculture made the order to provide the compensation via the Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board of Sri Lanka.&nbsp;</p> <p>Rs 100,000 per hectare or Rs. 40,000 per acre of damaged paddy field land has been pledged.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has struck out at the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for their support of the current government, as he reiterated his opposition to the devolution of power to the North-East.</p> <p>Rajapaksa, who led a military offensive that killed tens of thousands of Tamils in 2009, spoke out against a new constitution for the island, that the TNA had pledged would see a devolution of power to the Tamil North-East.</p> <p>“They should not be allowed to achieve through Constitution what they could not achieve through war,” he told a crowd at Nochchiyagama on Sunday.</p>

<p>Reports that the devastating flooding in Kilinochchi was due to negligence are to be investigated by a three member committee, following complaints from residents that Iranamadu tank was allowed to overfill before the all sluice gates were opened at once.&nbsp;</p> <p>Locals had criticised government officials for allowing such a situation, pointing out that the damage was caused by the large body of water had been allowed out at one time, and that residents were not warned the gates were to be opened.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena has retained the police department, the armed forces and the government printing department, under the Defence Ministry, which remains with the president.&nbsp;</p> <p>All state media institutions have meanwhile been allocated to the ministry of finance and media, headed by the UNP minister, Mangala Samaraweera.&nbsp;</p> <p>The gazette notification, published December 24 and released yesterday, lists Rupavahini television, ITN television and Lake House.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for Batticaloa was subjected to over three hours of questioning by Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over Maaveerar Naal and the killings of two police officers in the district.</p> <p>Former MP and ITAK organiser P. Ariyanenthiran was questioned on December 22 about his involvement in Maaveerar Naal commemorations in Batticaloa, particularly those that took place at the destroyed LTTE cemetery in Mavadi Munmari.</p>

<p>The European Union has banned imports of Sri Lankan curry leaves due to 'citrus greening' bacterium.&nbsp;</p> <p>Highlighting the large revenue Sri Lanka earned from curry leaves exports, Dr Wickramaarachchi, from Sri Lanka's National Plant Quarantine Service, said, "Based on journal reports the EU amended its rules and came up with new regulations in 2014 with regards to the potential biodiversity threats which can have an effect on other countries. Before its 2014 update was finalised, the EU found this bacterium infection among plants of the citrus family.</p> <p>The ban was imposed for the protection of biodiversity in those countries."&nbsp;</p>