Following a recent meeting of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), attended by Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary and State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya, the Secretary of the JAAF claimed that progress was being made and expressed optimism over the continuation over the GSP+ trading arrangement.

Speaking in Parliament, former Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe admitted that the Government of India had alerted Sri Lanka’s Police intelligence service of the Easter Sunday attacks hours prior to the incident however the police failed to act.

Over 270 people lost their lives during the attack and a further 500 were injured.

Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU)’s secretary, Joseph Stalin and 15 other union members who were arrested and kept at the Keppapulavu Air Force camp, were released on Friday morning following mounting condemnation of their detention.

Sri Lankan President, and accused war criminal, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed convicted Murder and former MP Duminda Silva as the chairman of the National Housing Development Authority.

Earlier this week, Britain’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sarah Hulton, meet with Sri Lanka’s Minister for Youth and Sports, Namal Rajapaksa, where they reportedly discussed “online harms facing women, girls and vulnerable groups, human rights issues, and youth and sport opportunities”.

Aadi Pirappu was celebrated on Saturday 17th July across the North-East. 

Vavuniya 

Special Aadi Pirappu celebrations were organised by the Vavuniya Municipal Council, near the statue of Navaliyoor Somasundara Pulavar in Vavuniya.

Attendees paid floral tributes at the statue of the Tamil poet.

The event was attended by many including the Municipal Secretary, Municipal Councillors, Pradeshiya Sabha members, public bodies and students. 

Qatari authorities deported a Tamil man to Sri Lanka this week despite the threats of torture; where the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) arrested him for allegedly “promoting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)”. 

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has confiscated 300 kilograms of banned sea cucumbers that were to be smuggled to Sri Lanka. They have also arrested and jailed seven persons involved in the smuggling incident and seized over 24 boats worth over 2 million rupees used for smuggling. 

Due to the proximity of Rameswaram to Sri Lanka, a large number of banned sea cucumbers, including sea lizards and dolphin paddles have been smuggled across the Gulf of Mannar in recent times.

Following the appointment of Basil Rajapaksa to the position of Finance Minister, Germany’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Holger Seubert, meet with the Finance Minister despite ongoing human rights violations.

Earlier this year, Germany voted in favour of the UN resolution mandating the collection of evidence that could be used in a future war crimes trial. The resolution highlighted the deterioration of human rights in Sri Lanka and follows a scathing UN report which detailed the ongoing abuses in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan Minister of Public Security, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, has called for mandatory military training for those above the age of 18, despite increasing concerns over the intensifying militarisation of the state.