The Sri Lankan Minister for Media, deemed Tamil media and journalists were a "threat" to Sri Lankan national security and the country's "integrity", Global Tamil News reported.

The Sri Lankan government was forced to offer an  "unqualified apology" to the Indian Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, over a derogatory op-ed article that was posted on the Defense Ministry website this week.

See full text of the MoD's article here and accompanying illustration below:

11:19 BST

Photograph Tamil Guardian

Journalists protested today in Jaffna, against the ongoing media repression of press in the island's North. 

Carrying placards calling for an end on the war against the media, Tamil journalists together with locals and Tamil politicians, staged a protest by the main bus stand in Jaffna at 12pm local time.

Photograph Tamil Guardian

The protest was organised by the Jaffna Press Club (JPC), and endorsed by journalists from the South.

"Even after the armed conflict in the North has ceased, as the intimidation of journalists has increased, many journalists are fleeing the country having received death threats. Meanwhile, those journalists who continue to work on the ground, continue to have death threats sent to them. In these circumstances, the media community is gripped with fear over the dangers that journalism is going to face in coming days," said the JPC said in a statement published shortly after the protest.

The leader of the United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka’s opposition, Wednesday, urged the abolition of the executive presidency and proposed that the Sri Lankan government look to setup up a committee to address and monitor ‘threats’ faced by the Buddha Sasana, reports DailyMirror.lk.

“We have already suggested the setting up of a parliamentary committee to monitor the development of various important sectors and it would be possible to set up such a monitoring system to look into the threats faced by the Buddha Sasana,” said Ranil Wickremesinghe during a public consultation on the need to protecting the Buddhist Sasana.

Tamil Nadu state government is to issue biometric identity cards to Eelam Tamil refugees living within camps, the Hindu reports.

According to officials the new system, due to start in September, is to ensure cash hand outs are given to the correct individual.

The cards will contain biometric information such as the fingerprints of the individual. All adults in the refugee camps will also have an account registered with the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the paper reported.