Court stays arrest of Vijay Babu till June 2

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the police and immigration department not to arrest Malayalam movie producer and actor Vijay Babu, accused in a rape case, when he arrives in Kochi on June 1. The high court, while granting the interim protection from arrest to Babu, directed him to appear before the investigating officer of the case on June 2. The directions were issued during the hearing of Babu’s plea for anticipatory bail, where he has alleged that the rape case has been filed against him to blackmail him. He has been accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a female actor and disclosing the actor’s identity on a Facebook live. Babu has also alleged that there is a “trend” of making sexual allegations to tarnish the image of a person for publicity.

Sri Lanka wants farmers to plant more rice as part of plans to avert a severe food shortage, a top official said on Tuesday, as experts warned of a 50% drop in production that would worsen the impact of its already-severe financial crisis. Sri Lanka is in the throes of its worst such crisis in more than seven decades. The island of 22 million people has run out of foreign exchange reserves and is unable to pay for critical imports including fuel, food and medicine. “It is clear the food situation is becoming worse. We request all farmers to step into their fields in the next five to ten days and cultivate paddy,” Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told a press conference on Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s new prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned of a severe food shortage by August and estimates $600 million will be needed to import fertiliser, which the country is struggling to raise.