Sri Lanka's parliament yesterday passed an extension of the state of emergency currently in place since the Easter Sunday bombings. 

China was today the first country to relax its travel advisory to Sri Lanka, just over a month since the Easter Sunday bombings. 

“We are happy announce that the travel ban on visiting Sri Lanka implemented by China has now been toned down to ‘be cautious’ while travelling to Sri Lanka from ‘Do not travel to Sri Lanka’,” Sri Lanka's Tourism Development Authority said. 

Yesterday Sri Lanka's prime minister appealed to the international community to relax the travel warnings issued after the bombings, stating that the security situation was safe.

The former vice chancellor of Jaffna University has brought a High Court case against his dismissal by the Sri Lankan president.

Professor Ratnam Vigneswaran was told in writing on May 5 that he was being suspended with immediate effect by the president, who was exercising powers granted to him by the emergency regulations put in place following the Easter Sunday bombings.

A popular vice chancellor among staff and students, Professor Vigneswaran was not given any reason for his dismissal.

His lawyers filed a Fundamental Rights petition at the High Court on May 15.

The people of Mullikulam who resettled in their land after months of protest continue to suffer without basic facilities, two years after resettling.

Mullikulam residents expressed anger at their complete neglect by the Sri Lankan government, stating they did not even have proper shelter and were at the mercy of wild elephant attacks.

They said  they have also not been provided electricity or drinking water and that especially women were affected by the lack of sanitation.

Marking ten years since the end of the armed conflict, in which Sri Lankan troops stand accused of violating international law, Sri Lanka’s leaders including the president, prime minister and leader of the opposition, paid tribute to the military this week.

Canadian parliamentarians from across the political spectrum debated a bill that would proclaim the week ending May 18th as Tamil Genocide Education Week, unanimously voting in favour of it.

The bill, put forward by MPP Vijay Thanigasalam, was voted for by 59 parliamentarians with none opposing and has been sent to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.

The United States ambassador said there was no plan to establish a permanent US military base in Sri Lanka. 

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting with senior Buddhist clergy, Alaina Teplitz said, "We have an agreement with Sri Lanka to conduct combined security operations. We have entered into such agreements with the past government also. However, we have not decided to establish a permanent American base in Sri Lanka."

The international community continues to fail the Tamil people, ten years on from the Mullivaikkal genocide, by rewarding Sri Lanka’s lack of progress with increased engagement and bilateral support, the Washington-based advocacy group PEARL has said.

“Ten years later, the Sri Lankan government has taken limited action to address Tamil grievances, including demands for accountability,” the organisation said in a statement on May 18.

As part of a series marking the atrocities of Mullivaikkal, land protestors from Keppapilavu shared their reflections on their experiences and the struggles they continue to face a decade on.