<p>Eight Tamil Nadu fishermen, arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on December 17, were released on Thursday with a severe caution.&nbsp;</p> <p>The hearing took place at Kayts court, with Justice A Judson presiding.&nbsp;</p> <p>The lawyer for the fishermen argued that they were forced to cross the border due to rough seas.&nbsp;</p> <p>The latest incident is part of a long history of animosity towards Indian fishermen from the Sri Lankan navy, which has occasionally led to violent attacks and the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen.</p>

<p>Sri Lanka's president on Friday said he would be expediting a forensic audit into the Central Bank bond scam.</p> <p>At a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat, Sirisena discussed the reasons why the bond scam investigation was being delayed.&nbsp;</p> <p>“No charge sheet had been submitted against the suspects who had been remanded over the scam. When relevant Acts were being reformed to finalise legal action within a fixed time frame, the sectoral committee in parliament had obstructed the move," a statement from the Presidential Media Division said.&nbsp;</p>

Hundreds have been affected by flooding in Kilinochchi following heavy rains overnight. 

Lakes in the region have burst their banks, flooding streets and making them impassable. 

Military personnel were deployed to assist locals. 

<p>The Sri Lankan army has been telling Tamil farmers in Batticaloa district to register their details with the army camp, creating fears among locals that the army is trying to revive the war-time ‘pass system’.</p> <p>Farmers from the grazing land areas Mylathamadu and Periya Mathavanai in Koralaipattu South (Kiran) division who breed livestock were told by soldiers at the Mazhaimandi camp to submit their names and details to the Tharavai camp.</p> <p>The army claimed they were instating this system to prevent illegal activities such as sand mining, timber smuggling and cattle theft in the area.</p>

<p>United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the “resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka through peaceful, constitutional means” his spokesperson said on Thursday.</p> <p><a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-12-20/statement-attr…">The statement</a> from the Secretary-General, added that he “applauds the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions”.</p> <p>“The Secretary-General calls on all political actors to seize the opportunity of the appointment of the new cabinet to resolve outstanding political differences in the same spirit of respect for democracy and in the interest of the people of Sri Lanka,” it continued.</p>

<p>Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran has called on the speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament not to recognise Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Leader of the Opposition, in a letter that was also sent to the European Union, the Commonwealth, the UN Secretary-General and the heads of Foreign Missions in Colombo.</p> <p>Sumanthiran stated that the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) “cannot be considered as a party in Opposition since the Leader of the UPFA is the Head of Government and the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers”.</p>

The Sri Lankan army constructed yet another building in Jaffna earlier this month, as the military continues to consolidate its presence in the region.

A court in Melbourne has rejected the asylum appeal of a Tamil family of four, including two young children, ruling that they will be deported to Sri Lanka in 2019.

Justice John Middleton dismissed the family’s appeal on Friday, but said he would delay their deportation “having regard to the time of year”.

More than 147,000 Australians have signed a petition calling on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to halt the deportation, stating that “the life awaiting this family in Sri Lanka is uncertain”.

<p>Tamil employees of the Civil Security Department (CSD) in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu have accused department officials of corruption to the scale of 500 million Rupees (2.7million USD).</p> <p>An employee at the CSD made the accusations at a press conference in Kilinochchi, claiming they had made complaints to several relevant authorities to no avail and were no going public with their complaints.</p> <p>The employee also said that at CSD farms, employees were vulnerable to exploitation, as the majority were former LTTE cadres or disabled war victims.</p>

The commander of the Sri Lankan army in the East and other senior military officials attended a pre-school concert in Trincomalee earlier this month, as the military continued to exercise its involvement in civilian activities in the North-East.