The Tamil National Alliance, leader R. Sampanthan, implored southern political actors to refrain from maliciously criticising the TNA’s, recently released, electoral statement.

 Sampanthan reiterated that the TNA did not have any intention to harm the integrity of the country, stating,

The British based NGO Freedom from Torture has revealed that Sri Lanka was the top country of origin for those referred to the organisation for clinical services.

In a statement on its website, the group said that its annual review showed that out of 1,301 people, 228 were from Sri Lanka, with the vast majority being Tamil. The individuals were referred to the group by concerned GPs or solicitors dealing with their asylum applications.

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The spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo, Father Benedict Joseph has said that Pope Francis will visit Sri Lanka.

State radio SLBC claimed that the dates will be announced soon.

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse extended an invitation to Pope Francis last month.

A UN spokesperson has stressed that the work done by Navi Pillay while she was in Sri Lanka has the full support of the United Nations.

Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, was responding to a question about the intimidation of witnesses that spoke to the UN Human Rights Commissioner, during a press briefing.

A 34 year old Eelam Tamil man, residing in Switzerland, self-immolated outside the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The man is believed to be Senthilkumaran Ratnasingham, a father of 3 children, who is said to have been living there since the age of 14.

According to reports, he was taken to hospital, but died of his burned shortly afterwards.

The Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry has released a statement expressing concern over the “alleged use of chemical weapons” in Syria.

The statement calls for an “impartial and professional investigation” into the allegations and says the Sri Lankan government “abhors the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons”.

See full statement below:

National Freedom Front spokesperson Mohammed Muzammil warned that UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay would “compile a false report” that would be “detrimental” to Sri Lanka, reports the Daily Mirror.

Complaining about Pillay’s refusal to accept an army investigation as independent, Muzammil said: