Sri Lanka announced that it would be contesting the British Foreign Commonwealth Office's updated travel advice, warning Britons of an upsurge in nationalism, sexual offences and anti-western rhetoric.

With the burning of Union Jacks and the barracading of UN offices all but a distant memory, the Secretary of External Affairs Ministry Karunathilaka Amunugama was shocked by the updated advice.

The Tamil Nadu government asserted that there had been 167 attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy from 1991 - 2011, and those included attacks within Indian territorial waters.

The attacks had resulted in the deaths of 65 Tamil Nadu fishermen, with 180 injured.

See here and here.

The state government's Advocate General Navaneethakrishnan made the submission before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court which included Justice PPS Janarthana Raja and Justice M Vijayaraghavan on Friday.

According to The Hindu, the Centre's advocate, Additional Solicitor General M Ravindran, argued that there was 'no chance of the Sri Lankan Navy having entered the Indian waters as such movement by the warships would amount to waging a war.'

Sri Lanka is ready to host this years annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) next month, said the current chairman and Sri Lanka's speaker - Chamal Rajapaksa.

The conference takes placed on 7th- 15th September in Colombo. Over 600 delegates from 54 countries are expected to take part.

A case of demand … and supply.

The head of Sri Lanka’s market regulator resigned Friday, saying he come under pressure at the behest of powerful stock market players being investigated for stock manipulation. (See Reuters’ report)

Securities and Exchange Commission chief Tilak Karunaratne had been pushing for investigations into stock market malpractice, including so-called pump-and-dump deals in which investors are lured into apparently cut-price equities.

"I don't even call them investors. They are crooks. The pressure from those crooks goes elsewhere and then in turn that party is exerting pressure on me," Karunaratne told Reuters.

Although he did not elaborate, he didn’t need to.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, urged Sri Lanka to allow the displaced Tamils to be allowed to return to their homes.

In her Independence Day address, Jayalalithaa said,

The Tangalle Magistrate’s Court has released a politician of the ruling UPFA and 9 others who were accused of raping a child, on bail.

ColomboPage reported on Friday that Tangalle District Magistrate Yuresha de Silva released the suspects, including Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Anjana Liyanage, on a Rs 25,000 cash bail.

21 suspects were arrested over the rape of a 13-year old girl in a hotel, where she was abused over a period of 6 days.