The first-ever British Tamil community hustings is set to take place in London tomorrow, with senior figures from the UK’s major political parties set to speak directly to British Tamils on the issues that matter to them most, ahead of next month’s general election.

Representatives from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and Green Party are scheduled to speak and answer questions on Thursday 20 June at 6.30PM, at The Abbey Centre in Westminster, London.

More US Congress members have signed up to back a landmark resolution, calling on the United States to work towards an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils and recognize the genocide committed against them by the Sri Lankan state.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron said his party’s commitment to British Tamils was “unwavering”, as he praised the community for their “invaluable contribution to the life of our country" and pledged to “support truth, justice and accountability for all”.

“Britain's Tamil community is a huge success story,” said Cameron, in a video message released just weeks before the UK General Election.

The International Monetary Fund has approved Sri Lanka’s program review allowing the disbursement of 330 million US dollars, while cautioning that Sri Lanka’s path to debt sustainability remains ‘knife-edged.’

Despite pre-election bluster and high hopes, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered a resounding defeat in Tamil Nadu, failing to gain a single seat. Even constituencies such as Coimbatore and Dharmapuri, where the party’s state leader, K. Annamalai was confident of a victory, was swept by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Sarath Weerasekara, the Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Natural Security has warned that the war crimes evidence gathering mechanism created by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) poses a "dangerous situation" for Sri Lankan military officers who stand accused of war crimes. 

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) for potential lapses in acting on intelligence received from other law enforcement agencies, despite the fact that it has been five years since the Easter Sunday bombings.

Two fundamental rights petitions have been filed in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court challenging the Adani Green Energy Wind power project proposed for Mannar. This is the third such petition to be filed against the project in less than a month. 

Tamil freelance journalist Pradeepan Thambithurai was attacked by masked assailants at his home in Achchuveli, Jaffna, earlier this week. The assailants, arriving on motorbikes, vandalised his property, including setting fire to his motorbike and damaging his three-wheeler. Leaflets were left at the scene with a message about transgender representation.

Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division has summoned at least seven Tamil political activists in the North-East for questioning in the last three months, as the state’s intimidation of activists and rights defenders continues.