Thirty-one complaints of torture have been registered against police in Jaffna this year, the Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) regional official T Kanagaraj said last week.

The number of claims of torture by police had gone up compared to last year, Kanagaraj said.

The commission had also received 13 complaints of unlawful detention he said.

While the commission’s numbers covered the period up until November 2018, more than two instances of torture carried out by police departments in Jaffna have been reported in December.

<p>Responding to Rajapaksa's resignation as Sri Lanka's prime minister and Ranil Wickremesinghe's re-appointment to the post, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it "welcomes the resolution of the political situation in Sri Lanka".&nbsp;</p> <p>The re-appointment of Wickremesinghe comes after almost two months of political turmoil which saw the dissolution of parliament, widespread reports of bribery and parliamentary violence.&nbsp;</p> <p>The crisis resulted in a declining rupee, downgrading of the country's sovereign by credit agencies and a suspension of international funds.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sri Lanka's Election Commission said according to their assessment a presidential election should be held before December 9, 2019 and a general election by October 2020.&nbsp;</p> <p>The EC chairman said this week they would be seeking a Supreme Court judgement on the holding of Provincial Council elections.&nbsp;</p> <p>Rejecting assertions that the EC was responsible for delaying the polls, the chairman, Mahinda Deshapriya, was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying, they were not responsible for the delay.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sri Lanka's former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa warned the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) "holds the remote control in parliament", adding that the United National Party "has been taken hostage by the TNA".&nbsp;</p> <p>"If they do not adhere to the diktat of the TNA, the UNP minority can lose their parliamentary majority at any moment," Rajapaksa wrote in his resignation letter, as he stepped down from his disputed appointment as prime minister.&nbsp;</p>

Following almost two months of political turmoil, the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was today sworn back in as Sri Lanka's prime minister at the Presidential Secretariat. 

Wickremesinghe was sacked by President Sirisena on October 26, who appointed the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa to replace him. Rajapaksa yesterday said he would be resigning as prime minister following the Supreme Court's ruling that Sirisena's action were illegal. 

Muslims in the Thoppoor area of Puliyankulam, Trincomalee have condemned what they said was the Sinhala occupation of 125 acres of land. 

The Muslim residents said the occupation and the cultivation of agricultural land was taking place despite the fact that land ownership documents proved they were the rightful owners. 

British High Commission officials met with members of the former LTTE cadre political party, Crusaders For Democracy in Trincomalee on Thursday. 

CFD members told reporters that the officials, Paul Green and Bob Last discussed the UK's work in Geneva on Sri Lanka and of the UK's future initiatives towards accountability for those forcibly disappeared. 

The difficulties faced by former LTTE cadre was also discussed. 

The Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) have summoned Kanesalingam Santhiralingam, the spokesperson of Crusaders for Democracy, a political party of former LTTE cadre. 

Santhiralingam, also known as K. Thulasi, has been ordered to attend the TID's Colombo second floor office on December 19 to give a statement regarding an investigation. 

However, the summons, which was delivered to his wife at home by a Sri Lankan intelligence officer, does not provide details of the investigation. 

<p>The Washington based organisation, PEARL, on Monday called for justice for Sri Lanka's genocide against Tamils.</p> <p>"When states fail to punish genocidaires, they ignore the object and purpose of the Genocide Convention. Punishment of genocide is necessary to guarantee non-recurrence and end impunity," PEARL stressed in its statement, which was issued the day after the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.</p> <p>"As a first step, PEARL calls on states to officially recognize the mass atrocities of Black July and 2009 as “genocide.” We further urge states to impose sanctions on Sri Lanka until it establishes a special judicial mechanism with foreign judges, prosecutors, and lawyers to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes, including genocide, since the start of Black July."</p>

<p>The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader, R Sampanthan yesterday rejected reports that a document had been signed with the United National Party (UNP).&nbsp;</p> <p>In a written statement Sampanthan said such reports were "deliberately false".&nbsp;</p> <p>"It is reported that a document signed by Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe Leader of the UNP and myself as the Leader of the ITAK/ TNA is being widely circulated. I state that I have signed no such document with the Leader of the UNP and the said document is deliberately false."</p>