A Tamil couple seeking asylum for themselves and their two infant daughters in Australia are being held at a detention centre in Melbourne after Border Force officers stormed their home and gave them ten minutes to pack their belongings and leave.

The family who lived in a rural town in Queensland were detained a day after their visas has expired. 

A committee to probe the anti-Muslim violence in Kandy is to be appointed by the Sri Lankan president, the Presidential Secretary has said.

The committee will be made up of three retired judges, who will be appointed on President Sirisena’s return from foreign visits.

The announcement was met with derision in some areas, with critics pointing to Sri Lanka’s long history of appointing fruitless committees, commissions and task-forces.

The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena arrived in Japan on Monday as part of two day official visit. 

The visit is aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries, as well as improving trade relations. Mr Sirisena will participate in an investor and business conference. 

Mr Sirisena is expected to hold discussions with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. 

The former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on Sunday asserted that the main reason for Sri Lanka's issues was because the government was following the advice of NGOs rather than the advice of the Maha Sangha, 

The Indian government has announced concessional financing of 100 million USD to fund solar projects in Sri Lanka.

The announcement was made at the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi, to which Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena travelled this week.

Half of the amount has been tabled for setting up rooftop solar panels in government schools, colleges, hospitals and other government buildings on the island.

The United Nations Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman on Sunday expressed concern over the Sri Lankan government's failure to carry out pledged reforms. 

Germany’s head of state has postponed a planned trip to Sri Lanka after recent anti-Muslim violence led to the declaration of a state of emergency on the island.

The Federal President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, had planned to travel to India and Sri Lanka from the 21st - 28th March.

The Sri Lankan president held discussions with the Indian prime minister, Narenda Modi this weekend, during a visit to India. 

Discussions included enhancing cooperation between the two countries, Indian media outlets reported. 

Mr Sirisena's official visit was to participate at the International Solar Alliance (ISA) conference. 

Sri Lanka's media minister and former foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera defended the Sri Lankan president's decision to block access to social media, describing it as "appropriate and vital". 

The Sri Lankan government continued to block access to Facebook, Whats App and Viber despite the lifting of the curfew in villages affected by the anti Muslim violence. 

Social media websites were blocked by the government on March 7 following attacks against Muslims carried out by Sinhala Buddhist mobs. 

Sri Lanka's Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne this week condemned Sinhala people responsible for attacking Muslims in Kandy, saying they were traitors for attacking the Muslim community who helped the military in the fight against the LTTE. 

A former Tamil political prisoner was arrested at Colombo’s international airport on Friday, for the second time since his release in 2016.

Sri Lanka's state minister, Harsha De Silva on Friday urged the government to investigate what he described as 'communal clashes', calling for 'Muslim extremism' to be investigated too. 

"We need to expose the extremist groups behind these series of communal clashes. Muslim extremism should also be investigated," Mr Silva told parliament, calling for a presidential commission to be set up.