Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera claimed his regime saved current prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa from the “electric chair” and “saved” Sri Lankan soldiers from international prosecution, as he addressed parliament last week.

News First reported Samaraweera telling parliament that the former regime’s decision to co-sponsor a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council “saved Mahinda Rajapaksa from the electric chair”.

Economy Next reported that the former foreign minister added co-sponsorship “stopped international investigations against the brave soldiers who fought the war and their leaders”.

Sri Lankan security forces have released 41 Tamil youths without any charges, after they were arrested during a raid on a hotel in Maruthanarmadam in Jaffna on Monday evening.

A Sri Lankan army officer confirmed that the raid was carried out yesterday evening, with armed Special Task Force (STF) officers, following a tip off that security forces had received.

A former Sri Lankan navy commander has been re-issued court summons for the fourth time in connection with the abduction and murder of 11, mostly Tamil, youths from Colombo between 2008 and 2009.

Sri Lankan security forces launched a raid on a hotel in Maruthanarmadam in Jaffna, where they reportedly arrested at least forty-one Tamil youth.

The arrested Tamils have since been taken to Chunnakam police station for further questioning.

Sri Lanka’s diplomat in Geneva met with the president of the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, where Colombo formally informed her of its intention to withdraw its co-sponsorship of a resolution that mandated a hybrid accountability mechanism to prosecute those accused of committing mass atrocities.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is exploring forming an alliance with the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) for the upcoming Sri Lankan general elections, according to SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem.

Charges against twelve Malaysian Tamils accused of being involved with former LTTE members have been dropped. The twelve men were arrested under the Security Offences Special Measures Act (SOSMA) last October for allegedly supporting former LTTE leaders.

In anticipation of Sinamkol’s extended release, director Ranjith Joseph spoke with the Tamil Guardian to provide an insight into how he created Sinamkol, the first film to be directed from a post-war Tamil Eelam perspective.

‘I met fighters and learnt about their pain, and the war’.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet approved the decision to withdraw from co-sponsoring UN Resolutions 30/1 and 40/1, News First reported.

The proposal to withdraw from the resolutions was presented by Minister of Foreign Relations, Dinesh Gunawardene and was approved unanimously by the Cabinet.

The Sectoral Oversight Committee has proposed to immediately ban all kinds of face veils and face covers in public places, including the burqa, in a special report submitted to the Sri Lanka parliament.

Police arrested an army soldier for the possession of cannabis in Kanakarayankulam, Vavuniya on Tuesday (Feb 18).

Police authorities stated he was caught with 500 milligrams of ‘Kerala Ganja’ at the military checkpoint set up at the Kanakarayankulam border. The 38-year-old army soldier, who is stationed at the Jaffna army camp, was caught whilst he was travelling towards his hometown district of Anuradhapuram from Jaffna. 

Sri Lankan police have repeatedly targeted the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) over its initiatives to provide financial assistance to deprived communities in Mullaitivu.

The home of a student suspended for offences of 'ragging' other students was vandalised and his belongings were trashed by four men, last week.