Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena announced that all Sri Lankan soldiers who took part in the armed conflict are to receive government allowances for life, reports Daily News.

Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith P Perera claimed that it was the government’s improvement in human rights that led the United States to restore the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits programme.

Mr Perera told reporters in Colombo that the programme has been signed by US President Barack Obama and “would bring in billions of dollars to the country annually".

He went on to claim that it was due to the government’s human rights record and “stability in the North and East” that the concessions were renewed.

Mr Perera also said that discussions were underway with the European Union to restore the GSP+ programme, which was withdrawn due to the government’s human rights record in 2010.

A silent protest, condemning sexual harassment and violence against women and children was held in Jaffna on Tuesday.

The protest, part of an island-wide campaign to end violence against women and children called Journey Towards Justice, was held at Vembadi Junction.

Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran warned that Tamils in the North-East remain disempowered and urged the US to play a supporting and guiding role in bringing true peace and stability to the island.

Writing in The Hill, a Washington-based newspaper, Mr Wigneswaran said the political will shown by the US to support justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, make the next few months “crucial” to pursue “true reform”.

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The chief minister highlighted the grievances of the Tamil people in the North-East, criticising the Sirisena-led government for its lack of progress.

He said despite the armed conflict ending over 6 years ago, “the Sri Lankan military continues to dominate the landscape in the North and East.”

Recently released emails from Hillary Clinton's time during her first year as US Secretary of State contain several messages on Sri Lanka which were sent during the last months of the armed conflict.

An email sent on May 4, 2009 seemed to suggest that the International Monetary Fund was unhappy with Ms Clinton "ordering/telling" the IMF to suspend the funding of the government of Sri Lanka.

Burns Strider, a political consultant and former senior advisor to the then-secretary of state, said he felt "people on the ground", from both the World Bank and the IMF, believed that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam needed to be "completely defeated" and that "collateral damage inflicted on private people" by the actions of the Sri Lankan government were "ok", in their eyes.

The IMF is said to have asked for and held a meeting with Timothy Geithner, who was US Secretary of the Treasury at the time, where they told him Ms Clinton was "intruding into his domain".

Youth and activists in Tamil Nadu marked Karumpuli Naal – Black Tigers day – on Monday, holding a seminar and remembrance ceremony in Chennai.

Over 200 people participated in the event, which was addressed by Eelam Tamil poet Kasi Anandan, Madras University Professor Ramu Manivannan and numerous other youth activists including Ilayaraja from the Tamil Nadu Student Movement, Panneer from the Balachandran Student Movement.

The release of a United Nations report on mass atrocities committed by Sri Lankan troops influenced the decision by the Sri Lankan government to hold parliamentary elections in August, reports Reuters quoting government sources.

The UN report, widely expected to details massacres of Tamil civilians by Sri Lankan soldiers during the final phase of the armed conflict, is due to be released in September. With the possibility of a late August leak, incumbent Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena announced elections for August 17, well before any release is expected.

In doing so Mr Sirisena is attempting to stop an expected rise in popularity for former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was in power during the final massacres. A report that criticises Sri Lankan troops is believed to strengthen his popularity, reports Reuters.