The Northern Provincial Council indicated that it will adopt the 75 children that lost their parents in the landslide disaster in the Upcountry region last week.

The decision came after the NPC expressed concerns that the orphans would lose their Tamil cultural and linguistic Tamil identity if adopted by the Sri Lankan government, reports Uthayan.

The wife of one of the five Tamil Nadu fisherman sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court this week has filed a motion at the Madras High Court, seeking the appointment of a counsel to appeal the sentence, reports PTI.

The Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the Sri Lankan military to take "full control" of the relief centres opened up for Upcountry Tamils displaced by the landslide which affected the Meeriyabedda estate in Badulla district on Wednesday.

The army will control the feeding, health and "entire management" of the displaced victims, reported Colombo Page.

The Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa said the armed forces, "equipped with weaponry and knowledge", served as a "bridge which builds the friendship between the ethnic groups", speaking at Temple Trees on Friday evening.

The UN Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Sri Lanka, released on Thursday,  outlined several concerns on the state of freedom of expression and participation in the political process, freedom of assembly and freedom of association, rights of persons belonging to minorities, torture, enforced disappearances and former combatants.

Highlighting the attacks on freedom of assembly and association of Tamils in the north-east, the report said,

“The committee is concerned at the disproportional and discriminatory restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly and association against Tamils, particularly in the North of the State party, including restrictions of religious and/or civil ceremonies commemorating the loss of loved ones during the armed conflict.”

Drawing upon concerns regarding the Rights of persons belonging to minorities, the report highlighted further concerns about, “ the restrictions and conditions placed on the enjoyment of cultural, linguistic and religious freedoms of minorities in the State party, such as the Muslim, Tamil and Christian communities, including refusal of school admission on grounds of religion, and harassment against minority religious groups which includes attacks on the places of worship of Hindu, Muslim, Evangelical Christian and Jehovah’s Witness communities.”

Protests erupted in Tamil Nadu on Friday against a Sri Lankan court’s sentencing of five Tamil Nadu fishermen to death for alleged drug trafficking.

Effigies of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa were and the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai was laid siege to, reports Deccan Chronicle. Over two hundred demonstrators were arrested said police.

In Rameswaram, the home of many Tamil Nadu fishermen who have faced arrest and detention by the Sri Lankan navy, local fishermen have launched an indefinite strike unless the Indian government appealed the death sentence in a higher court, the paper added. See more here

A Tamil youth was assaulted by a group of unidentified persons yielding belts and sticks at a bus stand near Jaffna Hindu College reports the Uthayan.

Police were called to the scene after the victim defended themselves form the group using a knife.

Though the group of attackers escaped, the victim was arrested for possessing a knife.

The Sri Lankan government accused the UN Human Rights Committee of bias, after the Committee raised concerns about the country's adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Speaking to media on Friday, government spokesperson and information minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the committee, which is made up of independent experts, had failed to look into acts carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, highlighting the killing of 700 policemen in the nineties, which the government blames on the LTTE.

In its final recommendations, the committee had raised concerns about the lack of progress on investigations into the killings of Tamils.

The Secretary General of the Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma called for a reduction of the Sri Lankan military;s role in the Northern Province, saying this was important to address Tamil people’s legitimate concerns.

Speaking at the conclusion of his visit to Jaffna, Sharma said there were concerns about the restriction and monitoring of locals and those visiting the province.

“The steps that needed to be taken to empower the people affected by the conflict include addressing legitimate concerns about restricted and monitored movement of both the citizens of the province and those visiting them for lawful purposes,” he said, according to The Hindu.

“A continued reduction of the military role in civilian life in the (northern) province was important to see legitimate concerns of Tamils being addressed,” he added.

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has confirmed that the visit of Pope Francis to the island wil go ahead as scheduled, despite the controversy regarding the presidential election, due to occur in the same time period.

“We wish to affirm that as it stands the visit of the Holy Father to Sri Lanka will take place as scheduled,” a statement issued by Church spokesperson Cyril Gamini said.

“We request the Catholic faithful of this country to pray that God will help all of us to make the Holy Father’s visit to the country a success,” he further said.

The Church previously said it would reconsider the visit in view of the poll, as it would be “inappropriate” for the pontiff to visit during the election period.