<p>The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern about threats to press freedom and journalist safety in Sri Lanka as a result of the ongoing political crisis.</p> <p>Responding especially to the attempted transfer of a senior police official who was responsible for investigating the assassination of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, as well as the high profile cases surrounding the targeting of other journalists, IFJ endorsed a statement by its Sri Lankan affiliate SLWJA who said:</p>

Tamils are likely to become the worst victims in Sri Lanka’s political crisis, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan said today.

Speaking to media after a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in Colombo, the party leader said “the country’s minorities, especially Tamils, may become the victims,” according to The Hindu.

The father of the LTTE's political head for the Trincomalee district, Sasitharan (alias Elilan), died yesterday yearning for his disappeared son. 

Elilan was handed over to the Sri Lankan army by members of his family during the end of the armed conflict in 2009. 

His father has been searching for his son since then along with Elilan's wife, Ananthy Sasitharan. 

Moody's Investors Service announced that it has downgraded Sri Lanka’s senior unsecured ratings to B2 from B1, amidst a deepening political and economic crisis on the island, despite calls from the government to block the move.

The move, which is a significant blow to the Sri Lankan government’s economic policy, comes as both former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe claim to be Sri Lanka’s prime minister in a political crisis that has endured for several weeks.

“This is the first massive blow to the economy as a result of irresponsible #CoupLK by @MaithripalaS and Rajapaksa clan,” said the UNP’s Harsha de Silva on Twitter.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena met with extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks who had been calling for the release of the jailed Bodu Bala Sena leader on Monday, and pledged “immediate action to conduct an inquiry” after police launched tear gas at their demonstration.

Sirisena’s office stated that he had “expressed apology over the inconvenience caused to the Buddhist monks” and that he had “instructed to take immediate action to conduct an inquiry on this matter”.

<p>The planned transfer of a CID official responsible for several high profile crime cases involving former government or armed force figures has been cancelled by the police commission according to Daily FT.</p> <p>Nishantha Silva, officer in charge of the organised crimes division at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was given a transfer order to ordinary duties in Negombo, reportedly on the orders of the Sri Lankan president.</p>

Amnesty International urged Sri Lankan authorities not to impede ongoing investigations following the transfer of Nishantha Silva, the Officer-in-Charge at the Criminal Investigations Department who had been responsible for the investigation of the abduction and murder of 11 Tamil youths by Sri Lankan navy personnel. 

Silva was given a transfer order to ordinary duties in Negombo, reportedly on the orders of the Sri Lankan president. 

The United National Party, together with its coalition partners within the UNF alliance submitted a motion today to suspend Mahinda Rajapaksa's expenditures. 

The motion would see staff salaries and other costs taken away from his budget. 

The motion is expected to be debated on November 29. 

The TNA spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the JVP leader and Chief Opposition Whip, have said they will support the motion. 

Sri Lanka has been in turmoil for weeks after Rajapaksa was appointed as prime minister by President Sirisena following the shock sacking of the premier Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

Sri Lanka's Speaker today ordered authorities to investigate and present a report on last week's violent scenes in parliament, the Daily Mirror reported. 

Video footage from parliamentary sittings showed fist-fights, objects being thrown at fellow MPs and police officers, including chilli water, as well as an MP wielding a knife and another slapping a police officer. 

The Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya told MPs that "it was the duty of all MPs to avoid the repetition of such ugly scenes in the future."

Violence broke out after Mahinda Rajapaksa rejected the no-confidence motion levelled against him and assumed the bench of the Prime Minister in parliament.

The head of Myanmar’s navy paid a trip Kandy last month, where he met with a senior Sri Lankan military commander and visited the Temple of the Tooth.

Admiral Tin Aung San, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s Navy led a delegation to meet Major General T J Nanayakkara, before both parties visited the “inner chamber for veneration,” according to an official military website.