Sri Lanka has been added to a “human rights watch list” by CIVICUS, a global alliance of over 10,000 civil society organisations, which highlighted the violent crackdown on anti-government protests and attacks on journalists.

Flights from Jaffna’s Palaly airport to Chennai are set to be resumed next month said Sri Lanka’s prime minister, as reports of restarting a ferry service from the North-East to India also emerged, drawing together closer links between the two Tamil regions.

Sri Lanka’s former Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera reportedly warned the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) “not to test the patience of Buddhists” earlier today, in a chilling address in Sri Lanka’s parliament.

Speaking to ABC Australia, UNICEF spokesman Bismarck Swangin issued an urgent appeal warning that families in Sri Lanka are being pushed to the brink by the current crisis.

Following reports of the Sri Lankan army opening fire on those queuing for petrol, US Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, has urged for an investigation into the excessive use of force tweeting:

On Sunday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, met with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs minister, Professor G.L. Peiris, whilst Tamil families of the disappeared and civil society actors burned effigies of the minister and called on the UN for international justice.

The Prime minister has noted that the food crisis could directly affect four to five million people in the near future.

After Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Department harassed the family of the Tamil National People’s Front’s spokesperson, he posted a public message on social media stating it was “unacceptable” and vowed to continue with his political activism.

^{File photo: Australian authorities stop a boat of asylum seekers.}

Australia’s newly elected prime minister doubled-down on an asylum policy of not allowing any arrivals by boat to settle in the country, as authorities intercepted a third boat of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka since his election last month.

Sri Lankan security forces arrested at least 21 anti-government protesters today, as officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held key talks with senior government officials in the southern capital Colombo.

Dozens of exacerbated locals staged an impromptu protest in Vavuniya on Sunday, with the Sri Lankan army deployed as tempers flared amidst a worsening fuel shortage and economic crisis on the island.

Amnesty International has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that human rights are “central to any future economic reform program” negotiated between the organisation and the Sri Lankan government. 

A Tamil political prisoner who has been imprisoned for over 26 years was allowed to briefly attend the funeral of his mother who had passed away after campaigning tirelessly for his release, before being escorted back into Sri Lankan detention.

Mallavi police summoned Tamil journalist Shanmugam Thavaseelan who was assaulted earlier this week for an inquiry but failed to arrest the assailant.