Today marks 37 years since the death of Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE who fasted to death, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people.

Today marks 37 years since the death of Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE who fasted to death, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people.

Tamil families of the disappeared commemorated Lt Col Thileepan in Vavuniya to mark 37 years since he fasted unto death.

Tamil families of the disappeared commemorated Lt Col Thileepan in Vavuniya to mark 37 years since he fasted unto death.

Sri Lanka's recently elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has dissolved parliament and called for a general election to take place on November 14. 

Durig his presidential campaign, Dissanyake vowed to dissolve parliament immediately if he was elected and expressed confidence that the National People's Party (NPP) alliance would gain a significant majority.  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has written to Sri Lanka’s new president, stating it looked forward to working with Anura Dissanayake “towards building on the hard-won gains that have helped put Sri Lanka on a path to economic recovery."

The letter from the global body comes as Dissanayake pledged to “renegotiate” a US $3 billion bailout loan that Sri Lanka heavily relies on in the wake of a devastating economic crisis.

Sri Lanka's newly appointed president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), spends the majority of his first day in office receiving various religious blessings including visiting monks and worshipping at a Buddhist temple.

 

Sri Lanka's new president has appointed Dr Harini Amarasuriya, a parliamentarian with his National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, as the new prime minister. We look back on Amarasuriya’s previous remarks on Eelam Tamils, racism in Sri Lanka and on devolution of powers through the 13th Amendment.

Days after Basil Rajapaksa, founder of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), left for the United States on election day, former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has also departed the country, heading to Bhutan.

It is being widely reported that Sri Lanka’s parliament would be dissolved today with snap parliamentary elections scheduled for as early as December. The move comes following the victory of Anura Kumara Dissanayake as Sri Lanka’s 9th Executive President. Despite his victory, Dissanayake lacked the majority in parliament that would help him govern the country for the next five years.