Headline

Dengue cases surge in Sri Lanka, with Western Province the worst-affected. Authorities are planning on rolling out new prevention methods like virus-resistant mosquitoes. The Qdenga dengue vaccine, registered in several Asian countries, is yet to be approved in Sri Lanka.

Suresh Sallay continues his hunger strike on saline, demanding his investigation be moved away from Shani Abeysakara’s purview. With two probes into these claims underway, opposition politicians temporarily halted their satyagraha.

The Malwatta chapter isn’t inquiring into one of their top monks, arrested on suspicion of child rape. They’re waiting for the courts to determine his culpability. Though the sangha has often called for the disrobing of errant monks in the past, they’re adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ approach now.

A fortnight ago, the rupee suddenly fell steeply, driven by higher fuel imports. The government and IMF stepped-in and the rupee recovered. But a cautious Central Bank jacked-up interest rates, and now the Public Debt Management Office is in the firing line.

The police irregularly transferred an investigation into allegations that Anuradhapura’s top monk raped a child. They didn’t arrest the monk for nearly a month and didn’t inform the child protection authority.

The police have arrested Chinese scammers for over a decade. But as South-East Asian governments crackdown, Sri Lanka is an increasingly popular destination for scam operations. Human trafficking risks follow.

Vijay’s two-year-old political party has redrawn the Tamil Nadu electoral map. Though he echoed the long-standing consensus on Sri Lankan issues, this fresh chapter in Tamil Nadu politics may be an opportunity to ‘reset’ Lanka-Tamil Nadu relations.

In B reports obtained by The Examiner, the CID establishes a link between Suresh Sallay and an ISIS suspect. Other intelligence officers are also implicated. Sallay’s court submission calls the investigation a witch hunt.

Customs seized a consignment of four books written by a Tamil writer. Writers and activists condemned the government. The culture ministry reviewed the books but recommended releasing only two, intensifying criticism.

The no-confidence motion against the energy minister cites negligence in procuring coal, and corruption from a stint at a state company. The motion is unlikely to pass but will publicly test the government’s commitment to anti-corruption. Government members disagree on how to handle the allegations.