The World Bank has approved $70 million worth of credit to support “local economic activities and livelihoods” of those living in the North-East and Uva Provinces in Sri Lanka. 

The project is to support local economic activity, sanitation and infrastructure within these poorer provinces, through establishment and renovations of “roads, drains, water supply, minor irrigation, IT connectivity, and rural electrification”. 

British parliamentarians reiterated their commitment to working towards justice for the genocide committed against the Tamil people, at an event in parliament last week.

A Sri Lankan police station has begun attempts to permanently seize privately-owned land which it occupies in Jaffna.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has called for further testing of bone samples from a mass grave site in Mannar, where the remains of over 320 people, including children, have been found so far.

<p>A Sinhalese man was arrested in possession of cannabis in Vavuniya on Friday.</p> <p>The 54-year-old from Ja-Ela was found in possession of 9kg of cannabis when the Colombo-bound bus he was on was searched by police in Puliyankulam.</p> <p>Police said he would be produced before court following investigations.</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) has slammed the current government for reportedly agreeing to a UN resolution at the Human Rights Council, calling it the “worst form of treachery”.</p> <p>"It is absolutely shocking that the Sri Lanka government is not prepared to amend this "bogus" Resolution,” &nbsp;LSSP leader, Tissa Vitarana, said in a statement. “It is the worst form of treachery and no member of Parliament should condone this.”&nbsp;</p>

Australia is set to launch a set of military exercises from Sri Lanka next week as part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 (IPE-19) - Australia’s largest ever defence engagement.

A Sri Lankan parliamentarian who will be a member of a delegation to be sent to the UN Human Rights Council next week, has slammed the UN human rights chief’s report on the island, calling it "an atrocious piece of writing containing lies, half lies and highly contestable statements”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister declared his government has “never done anything detrimental” to the country’s military, claiming an upcoming United Nations resolution is simply an extension of one previously passed two years ago, in an effort to allay Sinhala nationalist fears this week.

The Sri Lankan army continued with its militarisation of Tamil children in the North-East, with yet another event at a preschool in Mullaitivu this week.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has called on the UN Human Rights Council to ensure that Sri Lanka is given “a deadline for delivery” to implement commitments laid out in a resolution which mandates a hybrid accountability mechanism. 

Sri Lanka is one of the worst countries in the world for female participation in politics, according to data released by the United Nations and Inter-Parliamentary Union this week.

Data compiled by the organisations, which presents global rankings for women in the executive and parliamentary government, showed Sri Lanka ranking lower than countries such as Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Somalia, Afghanistan and the Congo, amongst others.

Overall Sri Lanka ranked 183rd out of 191.

Local government officials in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu are trying to exploit property issues to pressure struggling Tamils into obtaining death certificates for their forcibly disappeared family members, former Northern Provincial Council member and minister Ananthy Sasitharan has said.

<p>A Sinhalese youth has been arrested for growing cannabis in a house in Vavuniya.</p> <p>Special drug eradication officers operating under Vanni police said they had recovered three cannabis plants from a house in Mamadu.</p> <p>A Sinhalese youth was arrested under suspicion of having grown the plants, police said.</p>