The Sri Lankan government's newly declared high-security zones across several areas in Colombo are "a new form of illegal repression against the people", said Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa, reports DailyFT.

Today marks 35 years since the death of Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE who fasted to death, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people.

Thileepan began his fast on the September 15, 1987, with 100,000 people gathered around the historic Nallur Kandwaswamy Temple in Jaffna.

On September 13, 1987, Thileepan put forward five demands  to the Indian government following the signing of the Indo-Lanka accord in July 1987: 

Stores in Puthukkudiyiruppu are closed today to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Lt. Col. Thileepan's hunger strike.

Today marks the last day of his fast and of commemoration events, marking his 11 day hunger strike until death, 35 years ago.

A vehicle convoy commenced this morning from Jaffna University, whilst in Mullaitivu under the arrangement of Puthukkudiyiruppu Trade Association, all the shops are closed.

Ahead of the debut release of Ponniyin Selvan, the film has garnered controversy over its description of the island of Lanka, with the Hindi translation referring to the land as a Sinhala country.

The Sri Lankan government has written to a US judge, requesting the dismissal of a case filed by the Hamilton Reserve Bank against Sri Lanka for defaulting on its debts.

The Sri Lankan government described the case as an “apparent attempt to gain leverage over a nation in crisis and jump ahead of other foreign creditors”.

Sri Lanka was due to pay 5.875% interest on its international sovereign bond on July 25, 2022 but failed to meet these payments due to its ongoing financial crisis.

Following a staff-level agreement between Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF),  Japanese ambassador, Hideaki Mizukoshi, affirmed that his country would support Sri Lanka in debt restructuring negotiations with its creditors.

Leader of Tamil Progressive Alliance and Sri Lankan lawmaker Mano Ganesan slammed Ranil Wickremesinghe over his failure to release Tamil political prisoners and his apparent request to the Tamil diaspora to provide a list of those still imprisoned.

In a tweet sent earlier today, Ganesa stated that WIckremesinghe "makes comedy out of tragedy!".

Several protestors were injured and nearly 90 people have been arrested in Colombo yesterday, as anti-government protests flared in the Sri Lankan capital.

The protest, organised by the Socialist Youth Union, was held to demonstrate against the government's continued use of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Sri Lankan police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protestors.

Parents of children killed in the 1995 Nagarkovil massacre shed tears, as they laid flowers to commemorate their loved ones at an event to mark the 27^th anniversary of the killings this week.

In Jaffna, parents and relatives of those killed laid flowers on a monument at the site of the attack, as they remembered the lives lost in the massacre.

Sri Lanka’s much criticised president Ranil Wickremesinghe took jabs at current British Prime Minister Liz Truss and her predecessor Boris Johnson in an address to parliament earlier today.

Paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth, Wickremesinghe told lawmakers that “two days before her death we saw Her Majesty on television with the outgoing prime minister and incoming prime minister”.