The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has officially issued a Telecommunications Service Provider License to Starlink Lanka (Private) Limited, according to an announcement by the President’s Media Division (PMD) on August 13.

Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken control of the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs, and Constitutional Reforms, following the resignation of Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who stepped down from his ministerial role to run in the upcoming Presidential election.

Despite the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the end of the armed conflict, Tamils arriving in Sri Lanka from abroad continue to face harassment by authorities who claim there are links to the LTTE.

A group of Sri Lankan public officials faced strong resistance from Tamil residents as they attempted to illegally occupy hundreds of acres of coastal land for mineral sand mining, threatening the livelihoods of fishermen in the war-affected North-East.

The legal battle involving Mullaitivu Media Association President and Mullaitivu District Journalist Shanmugam Thavaseelan continues in Sri Lankan courts, with the next hearing scheduled for October this year. During today’s court session, the Sri Lankan naval officer who accused Thavaseelan of assault was cross-examined, but no verdict was reached, and the case was postponed.

Tamil families of the Disappeared held protests across the North-East today to mark the International Day of the Disappeared. The families called for an internationally led investigation into enforced disappearances, emphasizing that successive governments have failed the Tamil people.

The Sri Lankan government is continuing to persecute Tamil families of the disappeared, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a release this morning.

Tamil Fest, an annual street festival organised by the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) to celebrate Tamil culture and identity, was marred by controversy, after protests demanded the organisation apologise for meeting with accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka last year.

^{(Image courtesy: Rajeevkanth Facebook Post)}