Congratulating President Rajapaksa on Sri Lanka winning the T20 World Cup, a visiting Pakistani official, stressed the country's 'continous and unflinching support to Sri Lanka at all forums', reported Daily Mirror.

President Rajapaksa reciprocated by thanking General Rashad Mahmood, Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC), for Pakistan's support at the UN Human Rights Council last month, whilst he visited Temple Trees on Monday.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament on Tuesday that he had “encouraged” Sri Lanka to take part in a summit on sexual violence in June, as it would be “highly appropriate” for the country attend, given events in recent decades.

Responding to a question by MP Stella Creasy, Hague said that Sri Lanka has been invited to the event, but that he cannot force any country to attend.

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire also spoke on Sri Lanka, saying it was important for the country to listen to what was said at the UN Human Rights Council and allow an investigation through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

TNA MP Selvam Adaikalanathan has called for a removal of the Sri Lankan military from the Tamil region of the island, saying that a “frightening situation” had developed, reported the Uthayan.

Adaikalanathan said that arrests were widespread and that there was an increase in the number of security forces on the streets, with sudden round-ups common.

He questioned how Tamils can confidently get involved in talks about a political solution when such a “burden” was on the daily life of Tamil people, adding that an environment to foster mutual trust needs to be established and signals of goodwill need to be sent before any discussion on power sharing.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Co-operative and Internal Trade has announced it will set the price of rice from midnight today, reported Ceylon Today.

The rice harvest is expected to be hit hard by the current drought and farmers have been asked to refrain from growing the water-intensive crop, said LBO.

"The drought is worrying us to some extent," Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.

"In the agricultural side we have to make sure that there is no unnecessary spike in prices. At the same time we can have an impact where generation of electricity generation is concerned."

The Sri Lankan government is arresting and mistreating innocent female relatives of men who it suspects are attempting to revive the LTTE, according to a rights group based on the island.

The Women’s Action Network has detailed the cases of six women who were arrested from the Northeast in a statement, adding that the Criminal Investigations Department is keeping the women in inhumane conditions denying them medical care, reported the Associated Press.

The rights group said five of the women were arrested for links to “Gopi”, who the government claims to be the “new leader” of the LTTE.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), CV Wigneswaran, yesterday declined a meeting invitation with the Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa, after expressing disappointment at the lack of progress made during earlier meetings with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The meeting was intended to discuss cooperation between the Northern Provincial Council and the Government, reports Colombo Gazette.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) has questioned Sri Lanka’s motives for its recent proscription of Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals based on information which the government claims to have procured from LTTE officials five years ago.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, President, Mr Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam stated that the TNPF condemned the extensive ban and believed that there was no evidence or justification to support it.

Explaining what the TNPF believed to be the main motives for the ban, Mr Ponnambalam said:

“After a resolution critical of Sri Lanka was passed in Geneva, the government now needs to save face in the south. This ban is the government’s way of protecting its Sinhala nationalist credentials.”

“Since the Rajapaksa government rests on the laurels of having defeated the LTTE, it needs to reiterate this to its voter base, to counter the increasing humiliation Sri Lanka has faced internationally.”