Despite protests from Washington and Delhi, Sri Lankan officials have u-turned on their decision to defer the docking of a Chinese military ship, Yuan Wang 5, and have instead welcomed the vessel.

Whilst the ship was initially scheduled to arrive at the Chinese-owned port on 11 August, following pressure from India, Sri Lanka officials had agreed to indefinitely defer the vessel, which Indian officials accused of being a “spy ship”.

Ahead of the 51^st UN Human Rights Council session, several Tamil political leaders have written to UN Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to take decisive action to deliver justice for Tamils and stop the continued atrocities.

On 12 August the Association for Relatives of Enforced Disappearances (ARED) released a statement calling for the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to acknowledge their demands ahead of the UNHRC session scheduled for September.

The massacre of 53 school girls by the Sri Lankan air force was commemorated today across the Tamil homeland on the 16th anniversary of the attack.

Today marks the 16th anniversary of the massacre of 53 school girls by the Sri Lankan Air Force. 

Tamil families of the disappeared rallied in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya yesterday to mark 2,000 days of continuous roadside protest as the search for their forcibly disappeared loved ones continues.

It's a terrible sign when the interval card rolls up and you let out a sign of exasperation, realising there’s another hour and fifteen minutes to sit through. The film opens with the usual cocktail for Tamil commercial ventures: the hero enters to an action block (in this instance, a wrestling match) followed by a song where his strength, bravura and good nature are praised, and soon after we are introduced to the romantic interest.

The EU delegation in Sri Lanka has met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe who they claim to have had a “constructive meeting” on human rights and freedom of expression.

As Tamil families gather across the North-East to demand an account for their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan military, US Ambassador, Julie Chung, met with Sri Lankan Minister for Tourism, Harin Fernando.

In a tweet the ambassador stated:

Tamil families of the disappeared marked 2,000 days of continuous roadside protest in Vavuniya today as their struggle to know the the fate of their forcibly disappeared loved ones goes on. 

Tamil families of the disappeared are rallying through Kilinochchi today as they mark 2,000 days of continuous protests in the search of their forcibly disappeared loved ones. 

After being denied asylum by several Middle Eastern countries, Sri Lanka's war crimes accused former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been welcomed by Thailand on "humanitarian grounds".

In Vavuniya, Tamil Families of the Disappeared are continuing their protests on the roadside to demand to know what happened to their loved ones.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has appealed for USD 10.7 million to aid the 2 million women and girls in Sri Lanka that have been affected by the country's economic crisis.