A 47-year-old Tamil man has been arrested in Omanthai yesterday, on charges that he allegedly was in possession of a T-56 assault rifle and ammunition.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was arrested after Sri Lankan police raided a house in Konthakankulam area in Omanthai. Police stated they had received a confidential tip-off with regards to the rifle.

They allege to have found the rifle with 189 pieces of ammunition.

Sri Lankan police report more investigations are underway.

The Swiss government announced it was sending “experienced diplomat” Jörg Frieden to Sri Lanka, amidst raised tensions between the two governments after claims that a Swiss embassy employee was abducted, molested and threatened at gunpoint in Colombo last month.

A Tamil man who has been imprisoned for 14 years over a reported assassination attempt on Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2006, has now been acquitted of all charges. 

Chandrabose Selvachandran had been jailed by Sri Lankan authorities, after being held on suspicion of the attack. Selvachandran is currently suffering from cancer and was receiving treatment whilst imprisoned.

The only evidence against him was a reported confession, that had already been rejected in the voir dire inquiry. There was no other evidence of his involvement.

The Sri Lankan government confirmed it was “currently reviewing” action to be taken at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), including starting “top-level engagements” at withdrawing from a resolution on accountability for violations of international law. 

Sri Lankan Minister Dinesh Gunawardane said Colombo had “started work” on reviewing a UN resolution that the previous government has co-sponsored. The resolution mandated an accountability mechanism with foreign judges and lawyers to prosecute those accused of committing human rights violations. 

A mural painted on a wall of a supermarket in Pitakotte has sparked controversy, after its depiction of a dragon-like creature emerging from an American flag coming towards Sri Lanka.

Republic Next reports that the mural may be a possible nod to the widespread opposition in the south to the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran has reiterated his call for federalism, despite the new Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa repeatedly stating his opposition to devolving powers.

The Australian government has been found to have created fake horoscopes, as part of an advertising campaign to discourage those fleeing Sri Lanka from coming to the country.

Various star signs cite specific reasons for not seeking asylum with one describing how such journeys would lead to “debt forever”. "If you illegally travel to Australia by boat you will be returned. Everything you risked to get there will be in vain and you will end up owing everyone," says the Sagittarius horoscope.

One warns of the “humiliation of failure in your community”, whilst another says those who travel may "will lose your wife's jewellery”.

The General Secretary of the Sinhala nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) has been arrested by Sri Lankan police, after they decided to reopen a criminal case into a 2016 road traffic accident.

Champika Ranawaka, a former Sri Lankan government minister who defected from the previous Rajapaksa regime to back the United National Party, was remanded by the Colombo Magistrate.

Footage shows the nationalist politician being led away in handcuffs by Sri Lankan police, whilst his supporters had gathered outside the court complex.

Ranawaka is known for his history of hardline Sinhala nationalist stances.

A vigil was held in Amparai on Tuesday, honouring the mothers and fathers of disappeared Tamils who have died whilst campaigning to find the whereabouts of their children.

The candlelit vigil at Thambiluvil was attended by more than 100 people. They marched through the streets with a banner bearing the portraits of at least 58 activists who have passed away.