Sri Lanka's finance minister on Thursday announced he would be introducing tax cuts and subsidies for loans to small businesses as a result of the droughts and flooding. 

"Our measures today will increase economic growth and make this country an entrepreneurs' paradise," Mangala Samaraweera was quoted by AFP as saying. 

Tamil mothers of the disappeared who have been protesting for months across the North-East stated that they were still waiting on the Sri Lankan president to fulfil promises he made to them earlier this year.

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, the mothers stated that one of their demands was a list of all those who surrendered to Sri Lankan security forces before and after the armed conflict.

Sri Lanka’s Police Chief Pujith Jayasundare is considering legal action against a news website which published a video of him assaulting two junior members of staff at the police headquarters for not obeying the police department's rules on morning meditation for Buddhists, said a spokesperson this morning.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara stated that “there are 17 lawyers among police officers and they are reviewing this ugly episode and will take appropriate legal action”.

Officials at Eastern University announced that the Vantharumoolai and Batticaloa campuses would be closed “Indefinitely” as tensions continue to be rasied, after an attack on security staff by Sinhala students last week.

All students have been ordered to vacate their rooms and hand over their keys by noon tomorrow, reports Daily Mirror.

The Sri Lanka Campaign (SLC) has called on the Sri Lankan government to release a list of all those who surrendered or were detained by the security forces during and after the war, in a new initiative launched this week.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called for foreign intervention in Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process in a letter to diplomatic missions and the UN reports Colombo Gazette.

The US-based advocacy group PEARL has strongly condemned the assault on Mullaitivu disappearances activist Mariyasuresh Easwary and called for an immediate independent investigation into the crime.

The 683 Bridgade of the Sri Lankan army celebrated 8 years since its founding with a Buddhist ceremony in Mullaitivu last month.

The Sri Lankan government has continued to build Buddhist statues in non-Buddhist areas in the North-East, despite objections from locals and leaving civil society with the perception of “Buddhist Sinhalese religious and cultural imperialism,” said the US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report for 2016.

The Sri Lankan navy has arrested nine locals off the coast of Point Pedro accusing them of illegal fishing practices which destroy the fishing grounds. 

The men were arrested on Tuesday. Four fibre glass dinghies were also confiscated. 

A video has emerged of Sri Lanka's police chief, Pujith Jayasundara assaulting two junior members of staff at the police headquarters. 

The footage, which was published Lanka-E-News, was captured on CCTV and shows Mr Jayasundara manhandling and making threatening gestures to the two men. The incident is believed to have taken place in April this year. 

Sri Lanka's army commander, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has dismissed claims by the Inspector General Police that former LTTE cadres are responsible for the recent violent incidents in the North-East and asserted national security was not at risk.

A woman at the forefront of the Mullaitivu families of the disappeared protest was assaulted by two men who also threatened her with death if she did not stop protesting, reports JDSLanka.

A Tamil youth was arrested by Special Task Force troops in Jaffna for alleged links with the "Aava" criminal gang.

STF troops surrounded the home of the 21-year-old in Kokkuvil, arresting him in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The youth has been handed over to Jaffna police for further investigation.