Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the contribution made by British Tamils to life in the UK, stating that their “fantastic contribution makes a real difference” in a Thai Pongal message released this morning.  

“Tradiationally this day of worship celebrates the arrival of the harvest,” said Johnson. “But I also want to celebrate the contribution of Tamils in the UK.”

He went on to add,

The leader of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn thanked the British Tamil community and commemorated “sacrifices made by the Tamil people for their human rights, for peace and for justice in Sri Lanka” in a message to mark Thai Pongal this morning.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Tamil community in the UK for the many important contributions it’s made and continues to make all over the country,” said the video messaged released by the Labour leader.

The United National Party (UNP) has suspended the membership of parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake for statements “made against Buddhism and Buddhist monks,” reportedly on the orders of former Prime Minister and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The General Secretary of the UNP, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told reporters that the party would inquire into Ramanayake’s time as State Ministers during which he reportedly publicised “critical videos of Buddhist monks”. 

See more from Colombo Page here.

The US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs met with Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo earlier today and pledged stronger ties between the two governments, despite the Sri Lankan leaders being accused of overseeing war crimes.

China’s foreign minister said Beijing “will not allow any outside influences to interfere with matters that are essentially internal concerns of Sri Lanka,” after meeting with Sri Lanka’s president in Colombo earlier today.

"As Sri Lanka's strategic partner, China will continue to stand by Sri Lanka's interests," said Foreign Minister of the Peoples’ Republic of China Wang Yi.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is set to visit India next month, after foreign minister Dinesh Gunawardena visited Delhi and held talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on the relationship between the two governments.

The two officials reportedly held wide ranging talks, touching on “a range of substantive bilateral issues and regional concerns,” tweeted Jaishankar.

A Sri Lankan navy pick-up truck collided with another vehicle on the A9 highway near Panikankulam on Sunday night leaving a victim in a serious condition at Maankulam Hospital. 

A three-wheeler heading in the direction of Maankulam on the A9 was hit by the navy pick-up truck heading towards Kilinochchi, just as the driver turned into a street in Panikankulam. The auto-rickshaw was flung into a tree and is also severely damaged as a result.

Sri Lankan counter terrorism officers arrested two Tamil men yesterday in Udaiyarkaddu, Mullaitivu, accusing them of having links to a former LTTE cadre who they claimed to have found in the possession of explosives.

The officers from Puthukkudiyiruppu Police Station in Mullaitivu were reportedly instructed to arrest the two men by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID).

Sri Lankan police are reportedly carrying out further investigations.

The latest arrest comes as several Tamils, including former LTTE cadres, have been arrested across the North-East in recent months.

The All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) has warned that any constitutional amendments demanded by Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government to weaken parties that represent the various ethnic groups of the island will have “dangerous outcomes” for ethnic harmony on the island.

Rishad Bathiudeen, ACMC party leader and MP for the Vanni District told Sri Lanka’s parliament that the “President’s intention, to amend the constitution appears to be aimed at reducing the power of minority political parties among others”.

A joint search operation; involving army, special task force (STF) and police officers, was carried out in Kurunagar, Jaffna between 5:30 am and 6:00 am today, as military surveilance in the North continues. 

The police ordered an unexpected round-up of the local residents, in which no suspects were arrested and no suspicious items were recovered. Police officials insisted that these operations were carried out for the sake of national security.