British MP for Harrow West, Gareth Thomas, has continued his calls for Magntisky style sanctions on Sri Lankan army commander and accused war criminal, Shavendra Silva.

On Twitter Thomas asked:

(1/2) Why is General Shavendra Silva not subject to travel restrictions and assets freezes given his complicity in ‘gross violations of human rights abuses’ in the final months of 2008/9 in Sri Lanka? pic.twitter.com/c51gUkCM6M

A Chinese fertiliser company, Seawin Biotech, has launched a legal case against Sri Lanka for turning away scheduled exports of fertilisers worth 49.7 million US dollars, the Global Times reported.  

A ship loaded with 20,000 tons of fertilisers was heading to Sri Lanka, but it would now go to Singapore instead because Colombo has expressed concerns regarding the quality of the product. 

Sondra Anton, student attorney at the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, addressed the United States House of Representatives Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights yesterday, as it held a hearing on 'Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka'.

See the full text of her address and video footage of the event below.

Former Sri Lankan Navy Commander, Wasantha Karannagoda who has been investigated as a suspect in the case of the disappearance of 11 victims, has been appointed as the new Governor of the North-Western province today. 

Karannagoda served as Sri Lanka's Navy Commander from 2005 to 2009, during the armed conflict which saw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils. In 2019, Karannagoda was named as the 14th suspect in the case of the abduction and forced disappearance of 11 people, who were predominantly Tamil. 

Pakistan's Defence Minister Pervez Khattak is facing a backlash after he claimed “murders take place” when young people get emotional following the lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager in Pakistan by a mob last week.

The mob reportedly accused the Sri Lankan of blasphemy for tearing down a poster with Islamic holy verses. 

_{Image Credit: Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs}

Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikalai Barysevich met with Sri Lankan Ambassador J. A. Liyanage on Tuesday during a meeting in which she expressed a desire to enhance the bilateral relations despite ongoing concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

Police have launched investigations after six unidentified bodies had washed ashore in Jaffna within six days, last week.

Two bodies had washed ashore on the Point Pedro and Chundikkulam coast while the others were discovered on beaches in, Vadamarachchi, Valvettithurai, Neduntheevu and Maruthankerny.

The incident has raised doubts if there was a fishing accident or a boat carrying migrants attempting to enter Jaffna may have capsized at sea.
 

_{Image Credit: @TomObokata on Twitter}

As the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery concluded his visit of Sri Lanka, he told journalists that “Sri Lanka must become more inclusive and embrace all sectors of society” to end the contemporary forms of slavery that persist in the country.

A 25-year-old Tamil youth has been killed and a 13-year-old injured after a disused mortar shell reportedly exploded in Kilinochchi on Sunday.

The explosion, in the town of Umayalpuram, reportedly was due to an old, unexploded mortar shell that had been accidentally triggered.

John Sifton, the Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch, addressed the United States House of Representatives Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights today, which is currently holding a hearing on 'Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka'.

See the full text of his address and video footage of the event below.