^{Image Credit: @JDSLanka on Twitter}

Pottuvil Magistrate Court accepted two cases, against 32 individuals, including journalists, activists, politicians, and members of the Families of the Disappeared, who attended the Pottuvil to Polikandy (P2P) protests, following a request from the Sri Lankan security forces.

Consumers in Sri Lanka are being forced to eat less as food costs continue to spiral, with warnings from nutrition specialists of malnutrition striking the island soon.

The prices of some staple goods have soared in the midst of an economic crisis gripping the island, with even basic foods such as beans or carrots doubling or tripling in price respectively.

“In the past, I have never reduced the food in the house,” Anura Fernando from Kadawatha told the Sunday Times. “But now I am compelled to do that because I cannot manage to buy provisions for my house as all the things are very expensive.”

A Tamil fisherman who was assaulted by Sri Lankan security officers has been admitted into Kilinochchi General Hospital with his injuries.

34-year-old Gnanapragash Rajkumar says his hands and feet were tied and he was beaten with cricket stumps by men who claimed to be Sri Lankan military intelligence officers.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has entered in collaboration with The University of Jaffna, to launch 'The Project for Research and Education Capacity improvement in Dry Zone Agriculture at University of Jaffna’.

The Sri Lankan government has decided to pay USD $6.7 million to the Chinese fertiliser company Seawin Biotech Group in a bid to settle the fertiliser dispute. 

Agricultural Minister Mahindananda Aluthhamage, announced on the 14 December that the payment would be made, the vast majority of it is made up of a USD $5 million cash deposit placed by the company.

Following a historic visit to Jaffna Library, Nallur Kandaswamy Temple, and meeting fishermen in Mannar, China's ambassador to Sri Lanka met with the leader of Sri Lanka's opposition Sajith Premadasa and donated 8 kidney dialysis machines worth an estimated Rs. 20 million to hospitals across the North-East provinces.

_{Sri Lankan Military administers vaccines in Mannar}

Starting 1 January, Sri Lankan authorities will require the public to show COVID-19 vaccination certificates if they wish to enter public places.

Tourism minister Prasanna Ranatunga announced Sri Lanka’s sudden switch from gradually opening up the country to now re-imposing mandates. 

The Australian government has come under criticism after the launch of a website that includes video games and a film competition, supposedly to deter asylum seekers from Sri Lanka fleeing the island.

The website – www.zerochance.lk – includes a Pacman-style video game where the player attempts to reach Australia by boat and is “caught by border patrol”, has their boat hit by a storm, or a number of other tragic endings.

Shritharan Sivagnanam, a parliamentarian of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), denounced the growing presence of China in the Tamil homeland in light of the recent visit made by the Chinese Ambassador to Jaffna and Mannar. 

This week marked 21 years since the Mirusuvil massacre, where Sri Lankan soldiers murdered eight Tamil civilians in Jaffna, including three children, before dumping their bodies in a mass grave.

Earlier this month, the US State Department announced that Sunil Rathnayake, one of the soldiers involved in the massacre, would be barred from entry to the United States over his role in the killings.