A Tamil political detainee transferred to the Mahara prison after being attacked in Vavuniya has died this morning, reported Pathivu.

The 29-year-old, who died after medical treatment at the Ragama Hospital had proved unsuccessful, has been identified as Nimalaruban from Nelukulam, Vavuniya.

A Canadian court has found a former Sri Lankan naval officer not eligible for asylum because the Sri Lankan Navy was complicit in war crimes.

The claimant “had been complicit in the crimes against humanity because he had a long service with the navy, an organization that was known to regularly and systematically commit human rights abuses against the LTTE, the Tamil population and individuals suspected or perceived to be LTTE collaborators or sympathizers,” the Immigration Review Board found.

The Tamil Saiva priest of the Aathi Paraasakthi temple in Valveddithurai was attacked by Sri Lankan soldiers, reported TamilNet on Tuesday.

The brutal assault happened shortly after the priest had reminded a soldier who had entered the temple premises wearing boots, that this act is considered sacrilegious.

A total of 15,780 people were reported missing to the ICRC until the end of last year.

In its annual report, the ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger said that "thousands remained unaccounted for, leaving relatives without definitive information about their fate".

The missing individuals include 1494 children and 754 women.

Sri Lankan police have arrested 53 people for failing to clear stagnating water and other mosquito breeding grounds around their homes.

The United States has decided to not change the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits to Sri Lanka.

The GSP country practice review of Sri Lanka was closed based on the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to address worker rights issues over the past few years.

“The GSP country practice review on worker rights in Sri Lanka has closed without any change to Sri Lanka’s GSP trade benefits,” Ron Kirk, Trade representative for the US said.

Six Tamil political prisoners, who were transferred from Vavuniya prison to Anuradhapura prison in amidst of the recent attacks, have been attacked by prison officials, reported Uthayan on Saturday.

Families of the attacked prisoners told TNA MP P.Airyenthiran that four have been injured severely, with one in a very critical condition. Families state that the injured are yet to receive adequate medical attention.

The deputy leader of Sri Lanka’s main opposition party, Karu Jayasuriya of the United National Party, has called for an end to arbitrary rule stemming from the constitution.

Legal analysts say that the 1978 constitution, which made the president the sole appointing authority and disciplinarian, was a key factor in allowing the current arbitrary rule to exist.

The Heads of Mission of the European Union has expressed its concern over Friday’s raid on opposition websites.

“Freedom of the media is a vital element in democratic societies and journalists must be able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of harassment or intimidation.

"Any action intended to intimidate independent journalism and or limit freedom of expression is in contradiction to UN human rights standards," the EU said in a statement.

The US has called on Sri Lanka to end media harassment, after police shut down opposition websites on Friday.

In a press release, issued on Saturday, the US Embassy in Colombo said it is following the case closely.