Media freedom in Sri Lanka remains in a “difficult situation” according to Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 World Press Freedom Index, with the island ranking 141^st in the world in their annual listing.

The ranking leaves Sri Lanka in the exact same position as last year, behind countries such as Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Also known as Reporters sans frontiers, the non-government organisation went on to note that attacks on journalists, such as that of Freddy Gamage in June 2016, 2016 “fuelled the doubts of both the public and media freedom defenders”.

Labour and civil society groups in Jaffna marked May Day with a rally outside the university today.

After ten years of displacement and over a month of protest, the people of Mullikulam in Mannar set foot again in their lands for the first time on Sunday.

The Sri Lankan military celebrated the refurbishment of a military base in Vanni this month, which includes the renovation of a badminton court at the 62 Division headquarters.

A bus carrying military personnel was targeted by unidentified individuals throwing rocks, causing damage to the vehicle.

Army Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said on Friday that the bus was travelling to Vavuniya via Mullaithivu on Thursday, during the North-East-wide shutdown, when it was targeted.

Mullaithivu police has launched an investigation to catch those responsible. No arrests have been made.

Today marks the twelfth anniversary since the abduction and murder of Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram.

Sivaram, popularly known under his nom-de-plume Taraki, was abducted in front of Bambalipitiya police station in Colombo on April 28 and was found dead several hours later in a high security zone in Sri Lanka's capital, which at the time had a heavy police and military presence due to the ongoing conflict. His killers, highly suspected to be linked to the government of then-president Chandrika Kumaratunga, were never caught.

Tamil journalists terrorised

The motion to deny Sri Lanka access to GSP+ on the grounds of delayed human rights reforms was quashed by a vote in Brussels – where 436 voted against the motion and 119 voted in favor.

An EU Parliamentary Group brought forward the motion due to concerns regarding the lack of progress in the context of transitional justice – citing recent UN Human Rights Council reports. Further, members of the European Parliament told Sri Lanka that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) must be replaced prior to granting GSP+ trade concessions.

President Sirisena requested former army commander Sarath Fonseka to leave his current ministerial position to take a top security post.

"The President said he [Fonseka] can be either the army chief or the chief of defence staff, or have some new position with overall powers over security to bring about discipline in the country," stated Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne.

Families of the disappeared in Kilinochchi who have been protesting for over two months blocked the A9 road on Thursday.

Tamil and Muslim groups in the North-East have staged a hartal, with the majority of businesses in towns of the region closed in protest at continuing grievances.