^{Photograph @UKMissionGeneva}

Meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Tuesday, the UK FCO Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad reiterated the UK's commitment to working with Mr Zeid's office, the OHCHR. 

The UK Mission in Geneva tweeted: 

"Lord @tariqahmadbt meets @UNHumanRights High Commissioner #Zeid to discuss a range of topics related to @UN_HRC. The UK remains firmly committed to #OHCHR, and the #HumanRights rules-based international system."

Members of the Northern Provincial Council on Tuesday commemorated the first anniversary of the death of the Tamil Nadu chief minister, J Jayalalithaa. 

A jobs fair for 15 Chinese enterprises, organised by the Chinese chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka together with the ministry of skills development and vocational training, will be held in Colombo on Friday, Xinhua reported. 

The fair would aim to provide over 400 job opportunities within the 15 Chinese enterprises, the Director of Teaching Affairs at the vocational training centre, Gao Bin told the state owned news agency. 

"Ties between China and Sri Lanka have strengthened over the years and as many Chinese companies are now present here. There is an opportunity for locals to find employment in these companies," Mr Gao said. 

Hundreds of residents of a coastal Mannar village gathered outside a Sri Lankan Navy camp to protest the arrest of 25 Tamil fishermen on Monday.

The Navy arrested 25 fishermen on 5 boats in the sea off Thalvupadu and detained them in the navy camp.

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena refused the budgetary proposal to reduce the tax on beer, saying it was contrary to the policy of his government.

Speaking in parliament , Mr Sirisena said,

“No one can agree with the granting of tax concessions to any type of liquor because the policy of this government is to minimise the consumption of liquor and minimise the smoking habit.”

See more here. 

Despite ongoing calls for the harassment of media workers to end and for those responsible to be brought to justice, Sri Lanka's prime minister claimed on Monday there were no crimes committed against journalists on the island under the current regime. 

Speaking at a UNESCO seminar on ‘Reinforcing Regional Cooperation to Promote Freedom of Expression and the Rule of Law in Asia through Ending Impunity for Crimes Against the Journalists’, Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by Ada Derana as saying there had been no cases of intimidation, attacks, abductions or murders. 

The Asian Development Bank has approved a further $120 million  loan to develop drinking water within the Jaffna peninsula. 

In 2010, the bank approved $90 million of the first stage of assistance towards a water supply project in Jaffna and Kilinochchi. The full project is expected by be completed by 2025 and is expected to cost £266 million. 

Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe this weekend sought to assure voters that local government polls would be held by early February 2018 at the latest. 

The exact date is yet to be determined, with the election commission having the final say. However, local papers have cited February 10th as the confirmed date. 

"The next local government election will be actually a trial to test the effectiveness of the new mixed electoral system introduced recently and if it is a success it will be used for the Parliamentary polls as well," Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying at an event on Saturday. 

A Tamil journalist was attacked in a suburb of Jaffna on Saturday evening.

44-year-old Shanmuganathan Manoharan, an anchor for the radio Yaarl FM, was driving home in Chavakachcheri on Saturday when his car was obstructed by a three-wheeler.

Mr Manoharan and another person were beaten by three men who alighted from the three-wheeler.

The attackers escaped as soon as onlookers began to gather.

A complaint was filed at Chavakachcheri police, following which the department said they had arrested the driver of the three-wheeler.

Unemployment continues to affects Jaffna residents, with over 33,000 residents filing a complaint with the District Employment Bureau. 

A total of 33204 residents with qualifications including Bachelor degrees, A levels and O levels, filed the complaint, Adaderana reported. 

See more here. 

Recent years have seen a number of protests across the North-East by unemployed graduates, who have repeated called on local provincial councils and the government to take action.