The UNP’s sole member, MP Vajira Abeywardene, expressed gratitude to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party of the Rajapaksas, for not bowing to international pressure.

On this day 18 years ago, five Tamil students were summarily executed by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force, whilst they spent an afternoon on the beach in Trincomalee.

To date no one has been held accountable for the murder.

Batticaloa District Court has ordered for the continued detention of 9 Eelam Tamils detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), who were arrested for commemorating Maaveerar Naal.

Responding to these arrests, Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning the continued crackdown on Tamil memorials.

“The Sri Lankan authorities’ use of a counterterrorism law against Tamils commemorating those who died in the civil war is cruelly abusive and further marginalises a community that already faces persistent government discrimination,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

She added:

Sri Lanka's police announced the arrests of nearly 15,000 people during a week-long military-backed anti-narcotics drive, a crackdown denounced by rights activists.

Police said their operation, code-named "Yukthiya" or "Justice", led to the seizure of almost 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of narcotics, including 272 kg of cannabis, 35 kg of hashish and nine kilograms of heroin.

Authorities believe the Indian Ocean island is being used as a drug trafficking transit point.

Former Northern Province Chief Minister and Leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) party, C.V. Wigneswaran, has publicly announced his intention to contest the upcoming Presidential election. 

During the press conference, he emphasised that his candidacy hinged upon the unity and agreement of all Tamil political parties.

"I believe I am the best candidate if a common Tamil candidate is to be put forward," he asserted, highlighting the need for timely representation.

The assassinated Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham was remembered in Batticaloa this week, to mark the 18th anniversary of his killing.

Pararajasingham, who was a senior Tamil National Alliance (TNA) figure, and the MP for Batticaloa district, was shot and killed by two armed paramilitary men, whilst he was attending Christmas Eve midnight mass in 2005, at the St Mary's church in Batticaloa town. 

His wife, Sugunam Pararajasingham was seriously wounded in the gunfire.

Malayaga Tamil activist, Jeewaratnam Suresh, faces continued threats and intimidation after successful appeal to Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court to improve the housing rights of Malayaga Tamils, who have faced historic oppression.

Former Sri Lankan President, and accused war criminal, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been accused of blocking investigations into the Easter Sunday bombings, which claimed the lives of 269 people.

In a landmark documentary, Channel 4 interviews a whistle-blower who alleges that the plan was orchestrated to enable Rajapaksa to seize upon the instability and secure the presidency in the 2019 elections.

Thousands of applications for agricultural and construction work in Israel have been filed in Sri Lanka, as Israel struggles with labour shortages following mass deportations of Palestinians. 

Around 82,000 Palestinians worked in the country’s construction industry accounting for a third of the sector’s workforce but were subsequently deported or stripped of work permits following the beginning of the war.