An increasing number of soldiers who have deserted the Sri Lankan Army are going on to commit crimes according to the latest reported statistics, with tens of thousands of soldiers classed as deserters.

In a feature on Al Jazeera, Sri Lankan police statistics were reported as showing that the first four months of 2014 alone saw that 18 percent of reported crimes were committed by members of the armed forces. In 2013 that figure was 5 percent.

A total of 82 Indian fishermen were arrested and 18 of their trawlers have been seized by the Sri Lankan Navy, in another spate of arrests.

The latest clash comes just days after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa released 33 Indian fishermen from Sri Lanka custody, as a gesture of goodwill between the two countries. Previous releases have also been followed by further arrests, just days after.

A case filed against Balendran Jeyakumari and her daughter Vipoosika, for allegedly sheltering a member of the LTTE, has been postponed after the presiding judge failed to appear in court.

Disappearances campaigner Jeyakumari and her 13-year old daughter Vipoosika were both detained by the Sri Lankan security forces on the 13th of March 2014 at their home in Tharmapuram. Since then, Jeyakumari has been held at the infamous Boosa camp in the south of the island.

Despite protests calling for their release, the Sri Lankan government has refused.

See more from the Uthayan (in Tamil) here.

A Tamil  man was attacked by unidentified men today, leading to his admission into Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.

28-year-old Paalippodi Gunaseelan was returning to his home in Kanjiran'guda Panaiyaruppan village, in Batticaloa, to find a group of unidentified men questioning his wife. The men, wearing motorcycle helmets, then attacked the victim using logs. He is currently being treated in hospital.

Arrangements are underway to obtain over 1,400 acre of land in Kilinochchi, stated the government in Parliament on Thursday, as land grabbing by the state continues.

1,406.94 acres of land in Kilinochchi are to be seized, and distributed amongst 10 government organisations and to at least 3 private companies on long-term leases. The land to be given to the private companies has been evaluated at Rs. 17 million, stated the Land Development Ministry.

Sri Lankan Minister Mervyn Silva has called on the Sinhalese people to reproduce as much as possible, in order to increase population numbers.

Silva, Sri Lanka’s Public Relations Minister, was reportedly addressing a government function in Wattala, and stated,

"The Sinhala race is rapidly becoming a minority and my only only request to the Sinhalese is to produce children as much as possible to avoid extinction of their race".

The Sri Lankan government already offers cash incentives for the Sri Lankan Army, almost exclusively Sinhalese, to have extra children, having awarded over Rs. 700 million in payments so far.

See more here.

The Minister then went on to  offer his services to the Sinhala people, adding,

"There is no point in lamenting over this problem… If any woman has a problem in having children, I kindly request her to contact me for further assistance".