International journalists attempting to travel to Sri Lanka and cover the upcoming presidential elections have faced visa delays or even outright refusals in recent weeks, as tension continues to build on the island ahead of the polls.

The People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) released a new legal briefing paper this week that states out and proves that the Sri Lankan government and military committed genocide against the Tamil people in 2009.

The repor, released to coincide with UN Human Rights Council’s 57th session, comes to the legal conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to prove genocidal intent by the Government of Sri Lanka against the Tamil people from January through May 18, 2009.

Sri Lankan police in Puthukkudiyiruppu, Mullaitivu, blocked Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren as he and his team campaigned for a boycott of the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections. 

This marks the third time in less than three weeks that the Sri Lankan police have made a concentrated effort to block the TNPF from campaigning in the North-East.

Relatives and civil society activists have called on the Sri Lankan government to release Tamil political prisoners, some of whom have been held long after completing their sentences. They claim that the continued detention in squalid conditions is a deliberate act by Sri Lankan authorities to suppress Tamils and deny them the right to live in dignity.

The British government continues to deem Sri Lanka a “human rights priority country” said Catherine West, the UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific, as she was questioned on the need to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on Sri Lankan officials accused of war crimes.

More than 2,500 plantation workers in Nuwara Eliya held a demonstration last Thursday, calling on Sri Lanka's presidential candidates to establish rural development societies, improve hill country schools, upgrade government estate hospitals and resolve ongoing labour issues.

As part of the ongoing militarisation of the Tamil homeland, the Sri Lankan Army conducted a “beauty culture workshop” in Kilinochchi last week, in what they claimed was to “introduce the best practices in beauty culture for young ladies,” according to the Security Forces Headquarters in Jaffna

Due to increased demand, the passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai (KKS) in Tamil Eelam will now operate four times a week starting from September 21, 2024.

The Sri Lankan government has lodged a protest with the UK Home Office after British Tamils demonstrated against the Sri Lankan cricket team in London this week, demanding a sporting boycott over the genocide of Tamils.

Sri Lanka is pressing ahead to send nearly 2,252 agricultural workers to Israel, to make up for vacancies that were previously occupied by Palestinians, after Israel enforced sweeping revocation of Palestinian worker permits in several sectors.

The decision comes after more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a war against Gaza in October 2023.