Sri Lanka’s Election Commission announced that Local Government elections across the island will be held on February 10^th, 2018.

Chairman of the Commission Mahinda Deshapriya announced that the date would be the same for all 341 councils across the island at a media briefing on Monday.

Whilst nominations have closed for 93 local government bodies, a further are accepting nominations until 21 December. Amended elections laws mean that the number of local government bodies increased from 336 to 341 while the number of councilors will increase from 4,486 to 8,356. At least 24 percent of all fielded candidates by a political party or group must also be female.

A widely criticised Sri Lankan army food festival failed to draw local crowds in Jaffna.

The Sri Lankan navy concluded a military exercise in Trincomalee this week, held in order to “improve preparedness for an array of terrorist attacks”.

British parliamentarians have called on Sri Lanka to release a list of all those who surrendered or were detained by the security forces during and after the armed conflict, in a message of support with families of the disappeared, as their protest passes 300 days.

The international community should demand Sri Lanka to investigate enforced disappearances and prosecute those responsible writes journalist J S Tissainayagam in a piece for Asian Correspondent.

“Sri Lanka’s responses to questions on accountability for rights violations at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November were evasive and packed with clichés,” said Mr Tissainayagam.

The Sri Lankan state’s failure to release coastal land in Trincomalee has meant that many of the district’s fishing communities remain displaced and struggle to carry out their livelihood.

Representatives of Tamil fishing communities across the district met to discuss the ongoing challenges at a meeting of the Trincomalee District Fishing Association on Saturday.

Residents of several villages stated that their homes and livelihood lands remained occupied by the state, including Soodaikuda, Ilankanthai, Veeramanagar, 10th Kurichi and Thirukadalur.

Three Sri Lankan fishing trawlers were released by Indian authorities on Saturday, the navy media unit reported. 

The release of the trawlers, which were confiscated for allegedly crossing into Indian waters, comes amid ongoing tensions between the two states over the issue of fishermen straying across the Interational Maritime Boundary Line. 

On Friday, Sri Lankan authorities released 16 Tamil Nadu fishermen who had been detained for two months for allegedly poaching.  

Sri Lankan ministers are to submit a renewed proposal on Tuesday for construct two power plants in Trincomalee and Norochcholai, Puttalam. 

A Joint Cabinet Memorandum was submitted by minister of special assignments, Sarath Amunugama and the minister of power and renewable energies, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

According to the proposal the plants are to be "clean coal" power plants with "minimal environmental damage", the Sunday Times reported.  

See here for more. 

Russia has suspended tea imports from Sri Lanka from December 18 onwards, after Khapra beetles were found in a consignment.  

The ban has prompted three ministers, the minister of plantations, Navin Dissanayake, the industry and commerce minister, Rishad Bathiudeen and the minister of science, technology and research, Susil Premajayantha, to visit Moscow urgently in order to seek a removal of the ban. 

The Australian government confirmed it had excluded offshore detention facilities in the islands of Manus and Nauru in its obligation to prevent the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of people in detention, following the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) this week. 

The move has been widely criticised by human rights groups who have long cited ongoing allegations of torture of asylum seekers detained within the facilities, which include a number of Tamils who have fled Sri Lanka.