More than 140 organisations and individuals have jointly condemned the continuing surveillance, harassment and intimidation of Tamil photojournalist Kumanan Kanapathipillai, calling on the Sri Lankan government to end its campaign of persecution against him and other Tamil- journalists in the North-East.

Twenty-two countries have signed on as co-sponsors to a revised UN resolution that will be voted on this week, extending the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) mandate on in Sri Lanka for another two years.

The updated draft, which was tabled in Geneva on 1 October, will be taken up for consideration at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 6 October. The main sponsors of the resolution are the United Kingdom, Canada, Malawi, Montenegro and North Macedonia, with the majority of additional backers coming from European states.

A bulletproof vehicle provided to former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa by the state has been returned, his media spokesperson Manoj Gamage confirmed.

Issuing a statement, Attorney-at-Law Gamage said the vehicle had been handed back.

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance has announced it will receive a €8 million grant from the European Union to promote 'biodiversity' and 'sustainable land use' despite military-backed land grabs and deforestation. 

The grant agreement was signed by the Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma, and the European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Carmen Moreno.