Singapore’s Minister for communications and information launched a new book describing how there has been a thriving Tamil community within Singapore dating back more than 2000 years, at an event celebrating Tamil history on Saturday.

The book entitled ‘From Sojourners to Settlers – Tamils in Southeast Asia and Singapore', explains the significance of the Tamil population in shaping Singapore's identity and many of its successes.

<p>Sri Lanka’s judiciary has ordered the embassy employee to undergo a medical examination as part of their investigation into the employee’s abduction and assault on November 25.&nbsp;</p>

The Sri Lankan government announced a controversial new law prohibiting women from wearing a ‘pottu’ - a coloured dot worn by many Tamil women on the centre of the forehead - from all official passport photographs.

According to the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the ban has been implemented to abide by the international practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) where photos must match an individual’s natural look.

Many Tamil women across South Asia, as well as many diaspora Tamil, have been wearing a ‘pottu’ on their forehead as per their religious and cultural practises for centuries.  

Sri Lanka’s defence secretary has accused the Tamil diaspora of forcing the Swiss embassy into acting after one if its embassy staff was abducted, and claimed the diaspora influenced British politicians into ensuring a Sri Lankan soldier was found guilty by a British court of violating the Public Order Act last week.

<p>Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has decided to postpone a decision on the use of the death penalty to execute four drug offenders until 20 March 2020.</p> <p>This decision was reached today after the court heard a petition from NGOs, human rights groups, and Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission who are challenging the demands of the former President Maithripala Sirisena.&nbsp;</p> <p>Sirisena has previously vowed to implement the death penalty to execute&nbsp;drug offenders before he left the office and has consistently called for the use of the death penalty despite human rights concerns.</p>

Illegal sand miners have fled from sites in Vadamarachchi, Jaffna, after three days of unauthorised sand mining operations, due to deep concern and protests from local residents. 

The sand racket was first carried out in the eastern area of Vadamarachchi, Kudarappu, on Friday by sand miners equipped with hundreds of tillers and bulldozer vehicles. The illegal operation was met with huge discontentment from both locals residents and officials. 

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary, Ravinatha Aryasinha, has warned the Swiss Embassy employee who was abducted, that her status as a Sri Lankan citizen means she is liable to face legal action if found in breach of law.  

<p>Kamal Gunaratne, Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, has been appointed chairman of Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commissions (TRC).&nbsp;</p> <p>The TRC is now under the direction of the Defence Ministry. They claim to be working to improve infrastructure and follow the vision of Gotabaya Rajapaksa by developing 5G technology nationwide.</p> <p>Kamal&nbsp; Gunaratne is accused of overseeing war crimes during his role as&nbsp;&nbsp;Sri Lankan military commander.</p>

<p>Swiss embassy officials and lawyers accompanied an&nbsp;embassy employee who was abducted on November 25, as she gave a statement&nbsp;to Sri Lanka's&nbsp;Criminal Investigations Department earlier today, the <a href="http://www.dailymirror.lk/top_story/Swiss-local-staffer-gives-a-stateme…"><em>Daily</em> <em>Mirror </em></a>reported.</p> <p>The employee arrived at the CID with her lawyers, after Sri Lankan authorities had demanded she be interviewed by the Sri Lankan police.</p>

A Sri Lankan government minister has slammed “Western countries” and “British imperialists”, commenting on a Swiss embassy employee being abducted in Colombo and the UK Conservative Party’s manifesto pledges on Sri Lanka.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Observer published today, Wimal Weerawansa said that the abduction of the Swiss embassy employee was a “diabolical lie” and also rejected devolving land and police powers to provinces as per Sri Lanka’s 13th Amendment.