Whilst millions across the island are forced to queue hours in the face of crippling fuel shortages, Sri Lanka’s navy has been getting a steady supply of fuel through a secret deal forged with Australia.

According to a report in The Australian, Sri Lankan navy patrol boats are regularly being refuelled in India at Canberra’s expense.

United Nations (UN) human rights experts have condemned Sri Lanka's "extensive, prolonged and repeated use of state of emergency measures" to repress the voices of peaceful protesters. 

In a statement, the experts highlighted that Sri Lankan authorities have clamped down on activists and protesters in recent weeks in response to the ongoing political and social unrest on the island. 

Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has insisted that his brother, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, did not flee the island but instead left for a medical appointment.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s strenuous denials follow similar claims by cabinet spokesman, Bandula Gunawardena, who insisted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was “not in hiding”.

Sri Lanka’s former President and Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Maithripala Sirisena defended his record claiming that if he had prior warnings of the Easter Sunday bombings he “would not let the attacks happen”.

“These terrorists have launched attacks in more than 50 countries. Even USA could not prevent the attacks in 2001” he told an assembly organised by member of the Colombo Municipal Council, M.N. Manzil.

Image courtesy of JDS 

Mangala Maddumage, a national organiser of the Revolutionary Students Union was reportedly abducted by unidentified men in a three wheeler in Colombo, as the crackdown on anti-government protesters continues across the South. 

An Australian vessel docked in Colombo last week, as it forcibly sent back 46 asylum seekers who were looking to flee Sri Lanka after it intercepted their vessel on 21 July 2022 at the Australia’s maritime border.

The move reportedly marks the first time that asylum seekers fleeing Sri Lanka are forcibly brought to the island on board an Australian Border Force ship.

Tamil families of the disappeared denounced the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for engaging in discussion with Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe over a “national all-party programme,” stating that only an international accountability mechanism will see justice served.

In a press release and remarks to reporters last week, members of the Organisation of Relatives of Enforced Disappeared Eelam Tamils criticised the talks as “whitewashing” the Sri Lankan state’s crimes.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) has refused to engage in talks with Sri Lanka’s newly appointed president Rani Wickremesinghe, until the state releases all the southern protestors who have been detained in a crackdown across the south in recent weeks.

Speaking at press conference, TNPF lawmakers Selvarajah Kajendran and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam denounced Sri Lanka’s arrest of activists and protest leaders, calling for their release.

Following the announcement that a Chinese military vessel would no longer be able to dock in Hambantota port, Chinese officials have sought an urgent meeting with senior Sri Lankan authorities.

The Daily Mirror notes that whilst some outlets have reported closed-door meetings between Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the president’s office have denied this reporting.