An attempt by a Sri Lankan government body to install a statue of a Buddhist historical figure in Jaffna town failed after local residents and council members opposed the unveiling.

Sri Lankan police threatened residents of a Mannar village including the local priest when they protested against Sinhalese people illegally extracting sand from the village.

Residents of Thottaveli have for several years complained of illegal sand mining causing environmental damage to the area and leaving villages prone to flooding and soil erosion.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that a United Nations resolution mandating a hybrid accountability mechanism “cannot be entertained” in a meeting with journalists this week. 

Speaking on the resolution, Rajapaksa reportedly said that “it is not possible for the Government to act against its own country”.

According to the President’s Media Division, he was also quoted as saying it “is not possible to allow any harm to the soldiers or the independence of the country”.

The rating agency Fitch has downgraded the Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Sri Lanka from Stable to Negative directly citing new Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s actions.

An IDR refers to a country’s likelihood to default. In Sri Lanka’s example, the island in the next 3 years owes $19 billion in contrast to a reserve of foreign currency totalling only $7.5 billion, leading to growing nervousness amongst lenders and rating agencies. Rajapaksa's actions since coming to office have added to Sri Lanka’s inability to repay its debt.

A Tamil man who had been reported as missing by his family in Mannar last week, has been found dead on Friday morning.

Thirty-year-old Antonis Nimal who is employed as an outreach officer at the Nanattan divisional council was last seen leaving for work on Saturday morning. His wife reported him missing to Murungan police on Saturday night as he had not returned home that evening.

A 47-year-old Tamil man has been arrested in Omanthai yesterday, on charges that he allegedly was in possession of a T-56 assault rifle and ammunition.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was arrested after Sri Lankan police raided a house in Konthakankulam area in Omanthai. Police stated they had received a confidential tip-off with regards to the rifle.

They allege to have found the rifle with 189 pieces of ammunition.

Sri Lankan police report more investigations are underway.

The Swiss government announced it was sending “experienced diplomat” Jörg Frieden to Sri Lanka, amidst raised tensions between the two governments after claims that a Swiss embassy employee was abducted, molested and threatened at gunpoint in Colombo last month.

A Tamil man who has been imprisoned for 14 years over a reported assassination attempt on Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2006, has now been acquitted of all charges. 

Chandrabose Selvachandran had been jailed by Sri Lankan authorities, after being held on suspicion of the attack. Selvachandran is currently suffering from cancer and was receiving treatment whilst imprisoned.

The only evidence against him was a reported confession, that had already been rejected in the voir dire inquiry. There was no other evidence of his involvement.

The Sri Lankan government confirmed it was “currently reviewing” action to be taken at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), including starting “top-level engagements” at withdrawing from a resolution on accountability for violations of international law. 

Sri Lankan Minister Dinesh Gunawardane said Colombo had “started work” on reviewing a UN resolution that the previous government has co-sponsored. The resolution mandated an accountability mechanism with foreign judges and lawyers to prosecute those accused of committing human rights violations. 

A mural painted on a wall of a supermarket in Pitakotte has sparked controversy, after its depiction of a dragon-like creature emerging from an American flag coming towards Sri Lanka.

Republic Next reports that the mural may be a possible nod to the widespread opposition in the south to the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant.