The UK government funded culture and education body, the British Council, concluded a program of teaching English to Sri Lankan troops stationed in the Vanni.

“The aim of the course was to improve the speaking, writing, listening and reading capacity” of troops, declared an official Sri Lankan military website.

Sri Lanka's cabinet on Tuesday increased tax on foreign commercials, films and TV dramas. 

The move follows the proposal outlined in the 2018 budget by the finance ministry. 

According to new rules, a foreign film or TV drama will have to pay Rs 160,000 per slot, compared with Rs 90,000 previously.

See here for more. 

The British High Commission in Sri Lanka distanced itself from statements made by MP Lord Naseby in parliament, reports island.lk.

Responding to a query made by the island.lk, the high commission said,

Two Sri Lankan police officials charged with the shooting and killing of a Tamil man in Vadamarachchi have been granted bail by the Jaffna High Court.

On July 9, police opened fire on a hunter vehicle in Thunnalai, killing 24-year-old Yogarasa Thinesh.

The killing sparked protests in the Vadamarachchi region, with locals venting their anger on police vehicles and buildings.

Months of police crackdowns followed and relations between Vadamarachchi residents and security forces remain tense.

Sub-inspector Sivarasa Sanjeev and constable Muttalib Mohammed Mubarak were both arrested on the same day of the shooting and have been kept in remand since.

Human Rights Watch this week called on the Sri Lankan government to take firm steps towards tacking sexual and gender identity biases. 

Highlighting the Sri Lanka's contradictory public statements, HRW wrote: 

Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal on Wednesday extended the injunction preventing any legal action against the former defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID). 

The Court had previously issued a stay order preventing action under the Public Property Act until December 6. 

The order has now been extended until December 15. 

A Sri Lankan government body has rejected a Right to Information request questioning why a news website was blocked in Sri Lanka.

Access to London-based news website lankaenews.com, which had been critical of the Sri Lankan government, was blocked from Sri Lanka last month.

Tamil-language media organisation Maattram submitted a Right to Information request asking whether the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka had indeed blocked access to the website and if so, why it had been blocked.

The regulatory commission responded this week with a denial of the request, saying the questions could not be answered for national security reasons.

Military-run preschools in the Vanni should be brought under the control of the Northern Provincial Council, council members have said.

Sri Lankan military forces continue to interfere in Tamil civilian life through the Civil Security Department, Emmanuel Arnold, NPC member for Kilinochchi said.

Teachers at CSD preschools are forced to undergo military training, Mr Arnold said, perpetuating the militarisation of the Tamil homeland.

NPC members criticised the encroachment of the CSD in areas of the council's authority and said that all educational establishments should fall under NPC administration.

Only two Tamil nurses were appointed to serve the Northern Province in the latest batch of appointments.

Out of 110 nurses appointed to the Northern Province by the Sri Lankan government, 108 were Sinhalese nurses.

When questioned about the hugely disproportionate rates of Sinhalese nurses being appointed to serve a Tamil province, the Northern Province health minister said that there were not enough trained Tamil nurses to appoint.

Photograph: Sunday Times

A Sri Lankan court in Puttalam has remanded a group of asylum seekers who attempted to flee the island last month.