Civil society organisations have denounced a proposed amendment to Sri Lanka’s Penal Code which will see a reduction in the age of consent from 16 years to 14 years of age, stating that the amendment must be withdrawn immediately.

The letter, signed by 150 individuals and 55 civil society organisations states that child abuse is rife in Sri Lanka, and it is reprehensible that this Bill is being presented as an amendment to the Penal Code.

With Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe to visit Jaffna, Tamil activists have denounced his history of broken pledges and vowed to continue protests.

M Komagan, an activist with the Voice of the Voiceless Organisation told reporters that Tamils in the homeland will continue to call out Wickremesinghe on the hollow promises he made during his last visit to Jaffna, which also saw widespread Tamil protests.

Students attached to the Jaffna University filed a formal complaint at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) office in Jaffna over the conduct of Sri Lanka police during the Shivarathri observances at the Vedukkunaari Temple in Vavuniya. 

The students who filed the complaint were also present on the day the prayers were held and offered their testimony to the incidents that transpired that evening. 

The chief priest of the Vedukkunaari Adi Shiva Temple who was among the devotees released from Vavuniya prison earlier this week has been admitted to the Mullaitivu District General Hospital due to an illness he had developed while in prison. 

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, MK Stalin, alongside a number of other chief ministers, including West Bengal, has vowed that he will not allow for the implementation of Indian Citizen Amendment Act which specifically excludes Muslims and Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka from being granted citizenship.

"The rules notified for the Act by the Union government not only go against the basic structure of the Constitution but are also against the welfare of Indian people, the multi-dimensional character of India and its secular character," Stalin told the Indian Assembly.

Sri Lanka’s Vavuniya remand prison holds three times its capacity and is “worse than a concentration camp”, one of the eight Tamil detainees who was arrested during the Shivarathri prayers at the Vedukkunaari earlier this month, told reporters after their release. 

Human Rights Watch has called on the Sri Lanka to order its archaeological department to end its “discriminatory interference” in Hindu sites and protect their rights as well as other minority communities.

The Sri Lanka government opened a new consulate and engaged in expanded trade talks with Israel this week, despite purportedly calling for a ceasefire to its offensive in Gaza in which tens of thousands have been killed.

Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Eran Wickramaratne resigned from his position on the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) stating that members to the committee must not be associated with allegations or convictions or corruption, and the appointment of a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) member as chairman failed to meet those checks and balances.

The UNDP in Sri Lanka released its Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) in Sri Lanka which shows a large percentage of individuals in North-East live below the poverty line and have several vulnerabilities, with some of the districts being the worst affected on the whole island.

Overall, the Northern and Eastern Provinces had the highest incidence of multidimensional vulnerability by province, according to data gathered by the UNDP.