Sri Lanka’s COVID death toll hit a grisly new figure earlier today, as more than 9,000 deaths were reported in total, making it one of Asia’s hardest-hit regions by the pandemic.

Secretary of the Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, met with Sri Lanka’s Defence Minister, Kamala Gunarnte, in Moscow and pledged to enhance security ties between the two countries.

Marking International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the UN has released a statement maintaining the need for “a fully independent and effective” Office of Missing Persons.

Responding to the skyrocketing food prices, Sri Lankan Trade Minister, Bandula Gunawardena, is set to propose a rationing system for sugar and essential items sold via Lanka Sathosa outlets, the largest retail chain in the country.

Over 70 individuals and organisations, including prominent religious leaders and human rights advocates in Sri Lanka, have demanded the immediate release of Hejaaz Hizbullah who has been detained under the country’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act for over 500 days.

Responding to the announcement of welfare benefits for Eelam Tamil refugees by Tamil Nadu’s chief minister M.K. Stalin, Sri Lankan minister Namal Rajapaksa claimed that the Rajapaksa administration welcomed back Tamil refugees whilst omitting ongoing accounts of torture.

Those who have returned and who require assistance have been provided with houses & livelihoods. Pres @GotabayaR & PM @PresRajapaksa will ensure all refugees who return back are safe in their homeland & can restart their lives. 2/2

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin unveiled a host of welfare benefits for Eelam Tamil refugees in a speech delivered to the legislative assembly on Friday. The measures range from establishing new settlements and upgrading existing dwellings to scholarships for students of Eelam Tamil origin. 

In advance of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a statement slamming the Sri Lankan government for denying preventing the “families of the disappeared from learning the truth about their loved ones” and for protecting the perpetrators from accountability.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have called on Sri Lankan police to stop harassing Batticaloa journalist Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran and "let him work without interference." 

Sasikaran, a Tamil journalist and treasurer of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association Union, was interrogated by Sri Lanka's Special Crime Prevention Unit earlier this week. 

Australia’s High Commissioner to Colombo, David Holly, met with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister G.L. Peris on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations despite concerns over Sri Lanka’s dire human rights record.

On Twitter, the High Commissioner stated: