Under the code name 'SLINEX', the Indian and Sri Lankan Navy will continue to hold joint exercises, but do so away from India's four southern states, reports the Press Trust of India.

Speaking to PTI, an Indian Navy official reportedly said: "The Defence Ministry has advised us to hold the SLINEX-series exercises with our Sri Lankan counterparts away from the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka."

The Sri Lankan government has announced that its annual Independence Day celebrations will be held in Tamil-dominated Trincomalee next year, reported the Defence Ministry’s website.

It said the decision was made “under the direction” of the president, Mahinda Rajapakse.

The UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee has released a report calling on the British government to do more to assess the risk of asylum seekers who are removed from the UK, particularly highlighting removals to Sri Lanka.

The report examined a case covered by the Guardian earlier this year which followed a deported Tamil asylum seeker (see here).

It also noted the UN Committee Against Torture’s report which detailed “allegations of widespread torture, secret detention centres, enforced disappearances and deaths in detention in Sri Lanka”, and Human Rights Watch’s comments to the committee that they had "documented many cases of torture and ill-treatment (including rape) of failed asylum-seekers at the hands of security forces".

The report stated that,

“In addition, the Government failed to give a direct answer to our request for an assurance that it was content that its policy on deportation of Sri Lankans was not putting people at risk of torture.”

“We find it unsatisfactory that the Government has not been more forthcoming to Parliament about its efforts—in general and in specific cases—to assess the level of risk to the safety of those who are removed from the UK.”

“However, the routine air of the FCO's initial responses to our questions has not given us particular confidence that the FCO is being as energetic as it might in impressing upon the UK Border Agency the degree of risk.”

“We encourage the FCO to be energetic in evaluating reports by non-governmental organisations and media sources of torture of deportees from the UK, including in Sri Lanka, and in spelling out the risk to the UK Border Agency.

Despite the army barracks, checkpoints and ever increasing numbers of security forces in the North-East, gold theft is rising. 

The Superintendent of Police in Jaffna, Erik Perera, instructed Tamil girls in Jaffna walking alone to avoid wearing gold, reported Uthayan.

The former LTTE member, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, alias KP, is now "free", reports the BBC.

Speaking to the BBC the head of the Media Centre for National Security, Lakshman Hulugalle, said there was "no case" against Pathmanathan at present, and that "practically, there is no detention now".

Pathmanathan's release was explained by Hulugalle, who remarked:

Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the United Nations has urged that the Israel-Palestine conflict must be resolved “urgently”.

Palitha Kohona addressed an open meeting of the Security Council in New York and unashamedly criticised the building of settlements and demolishing of Palestinian homes, saying it “fuels resentment”, ignoring his own country’s activities of land-grabbing and the demolition of Tamil homes, religious buildings and war cemeteries.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has said that it has not reached an agreement on resuming political talks with the Sri Lankan government.

TNA legislator, Suresh Premachandran told Xinhua that there are still pending issues which must be addressed before any talks can resume with the Sri Lankan government.

The people of Mathakal, Jaffna have filed a High Court petition against several high profile state officials claiming a breach of fundamental rights, reports Uthayan.

Offenders specified in the petition included Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, Military Commander Jagath Jayasuriya, Jaffna Security Forces’ Chief Mahinda Hathurusinghe and the Attorney General.

A British Eelam Tamil was detained and tortured by the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department (CID) when he visited the island earlier this month.

Sivasubramaniam Jeevan, who lives in Scotland, was interrogated about diaspora activities while being beaten, electrocuted and threatened.

He told TamilNet that he is undergoing psychiatric treatment due to the trauma he sustained during his detention and that he was only released after bribing Sri Lankan officials.