Sri Lanka’s cabinet has reportedly approved new counter terrorism legislation, criminalising acts that will cause “harm to the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Sri Lanka”.

The proposed legislation would also criminalise “joining, becoming a member of, supporting or representing a proscribed terrorist organization for the purpose of aiding and abetting the commission of an offence under this Act”.

As of 2016, under Sri Lankan law, several Tamil diaspora groups, including the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) remain proscribed as “terrorist organisations”.

The AIADMK has called out the DMK for colluding with war criminals in Sri Lanka and allowing tens of thousands of Tamils to be massacred, stating that the Tamil Nadu party and the Congress party should be tried as "international war criminals".

"We will hold protest rallies at all district headquarters on Sept.25 condemning the DMK and Congress over the killings of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka,” said AIADMK co-convener and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at a district secretaries’ meeting in Chennai this week. “We will highlight the 'deceit' enacted by these two parties on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue."

Sri Lanka’s former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranatunge has been awarded France’s highest national, despite her tenure in office marred by the bombing of churches, schools and refugees camps, killing tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

The Sri Lankan government has “fallen far short” on transitional justice efforts, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch has said, criticising the government’s lack of progress on accountability and security sector reform, including the failure to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

More than double the number of foreign direct investment (FDI) firms exited Sri Lanka after the end the war than entered, a study by the Institute of Policy Studies found.

The study found that 410 firms exited Sri Lanka between 2009 and 2016 and only 202 had entered in the same period. Across a longer period from 2002, 666 firms had exited while 469 had entered.

"Notably, there appear to be few entrants into the manufacturing sector since 2009, a time period during which Sri Lanka was expected to benefit from a peace dividend and attract higher rates of private investment," the IPS report said.

Ian Paisley Jr, the British MP suspended from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for accepting and failing to disclose luxury holidays to Sri Lanka and carrying out "paid advocacy" for the Sri Lankan government, has avoided a by-election as a recall petition in his constituency gained only 7,099 signatures, falling just 444 short of the required number to force a by-election.

The recall procedure in Paisley’s constituency of North Antrim, by which a by-election could be called if 10 per cent of constituents signed a petition, was automatically opened when the MP was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 sitting days.

The mother of a Tamil political prisoner wept as she told a news conference of her son's plight and how the family continue to be harassed by military intelligence officers who arrive at their home. 

The mother of S Jeyachandran spoke at the Jaffna Press Club today and explained how her son, who is currently one of the political prisoners hunger strike in protest against their ongoing detention, was re-arrested despite being 'rehabilitated'. 

Speaking to journalists Jeyachandran's mother explained how her son was detained and released from 'rehabilitation' on April 5, 2010. However on September 20 later that year, state security officers arrested him again and took him to the Terrorism Investigation Division's fourth floor office in Colombo. 

Marking the fifth day of Lt. Col. Thileepan's hunger strike 31 years ago today, remembrance events were held in Jaffna and Batticaloa. 

A genocide awareness event was held in Vakaneri, Batticaloa, following on from yesterday's event in Kiraan. 

Residents condemned the genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan state. 

The Northern Provincial Council member was denied a visa to India this month. 

M K Shivajilingam had applied for a visa to travel to Hyderabad to participate in a workshop organised by Asia Foundation, as part of an NPC delegation. 

He applied for a visa via the Indian High Commision in Jaffna on September 4. However, on September 14 the embassy said his visa application was refused. 

A Tamil youth was killed today following a collision with a Sri Lankan Transport Board bus. 

The 23-year-old youth was identified as Navaneetharaja Varan from Chavakachcheri. 

Varan was riding a motorbike at the time.