A member of parliament from the main opposition UNP has spoken out against the proposed ban on the import of wheat.

Harsha de Silva said the government’s plan would mostly affect Tamils, as they were the highest consumers of wheat products on the island.

"The statement by the Prime Minister that wheat flour imports should be banned is an irresponsible statement and must be retracted," de Silva said.

"While it may be his choice to consume only rice, or he wishes more people in this country ate rice, he must be made aware that some people in Sri Lanka are totally dependent on wheat flour."

"Even though price of wheat flour doubled since then to close to Rs 85 a kilogram currently, the HIES for the year 2010 found that estate Tamil households consumption only fell marginally to 15.4 kilograms per month," de Silva said.

"The 2010 data, which covers the entire island, also show that the household wheat flour consumption in the Jaffna district was 19.3 kilograms per month while in Vavuniya it was 18.1 kilograms per month."

Responding to calls for the LLRC report to be made public, Sri Lankan government spokesperson, Keheliya Rambukwella criticised such calls as an "indecent hurry" and asserted that the report would be presented in parliament at the "appropriate time".

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D.M. Jayaratne has called for a total ban of wheat flour imports, the Daily Mirror reports.

Jayaratne said the price of wheat products, including bread, should be increased until it is unaffordable for most people.

A secret video, taken by undercover reporters at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, reveals senior executives at Bell Pottinger boasting of their influence and access to senior members of the UK government, including the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and the Prime Minister, David Cameron.

The Free Media Movement, a local organisation campaigning for press freedom, has filed a court case against the government’s ban on websites that carried material that was deemed insulting to the government.

A fundamental rights application was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday, saying the blockade breaches people’s rights to information and freedom of expression.

Photograph Tamilnet

Tamils from Maathakal, a coastal village in Jaffna, protested on Monday, against the Sri Lankan Navy occupation of their land, reports Tamilnet.

Protesters descended upon the civic body headquarters in Manipay, despite attempts by the Sri Lankan military and police to hinder their journey.

Despite being surrounded by army officers, protesters remained unperturbed and called for the TNA to intervene.

Having confiscated the Tamil villagers' lands, Sri Lankan armed forces have built an extensive naval base in Maathakal and begun issuing written notice of the transfer of land to the navy.

Photograph Tamilnet

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Further Tamil protests were reported to have taken place in Colombo on Tuesday according to the Tamil language newspaper, the Virakesari.

The Terrorist Investigation Division of Sri Lanka is to investigate the victims of an attack by prison guards in Anuradhapura prison, for what the Daily Mirror described as “ an attempt by LTTE cadres in detention to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka internationally.”

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapakse has revealed the government approved the setting up of 25 five star hotels across the island.

Rajapakse told media on Sunday, the government is to invite international hotel chains to invest and build the hotels on designated sites.

The Sri Lankan Government has confirmed that internally displaced people from Sampur will not be allowed to return to their homes, BBC Sandeshaya reports.

Trincomalle Government Agent Major General TTR de Silva told journalists on Sunday, that the Tamil inhabitants of the town cannot go back to the city, which is the site of a planned thermal plant.

According to the UK newspaper, Independent, Bell Pottinger wrote Mahinda Rajapaksa's key address to the UN in 2010, after the original draft, written by Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry was ditched. 

Speaking to undercover reporters, chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Relations, David Wilson, said,

"We had a team working in the President's office."

"We wrote the President's speech to the UN last year which was very well received... it went a long way to taking the country where it needed to go."

The Independent reports that part of Bell Pottinger's remit was to specifically "influence the foreign media in favour of the Sri Lankan government".

During the speech to the UN, Rajapaksa described the military's treatment of the captured LTTE cadres as a "humanitarian" operation and promoted the LLRC as an enquiry where the "full expression to the principles of accountability" had been given.

Wilson however, allegedly criticised the LLRC when speaking to the undercover reporters, arguing that the LLRC had a "fundamental flaw in its remit in investigating what has gone on in the past, to try to bury the past".

The head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has said he will boycott all government functions over the Christmas period, in protest over the arrest of a nun over child trafficking allegations.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said last week’s police raid on a children’s home, founded by Mother Theresa, was carried out without proof.