Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, says the Special Task Force (STF), a police unit accused of committing mass atrocities, has a greater responsibility in countering religious extremism and drug mafia.

This week has seen a series of political leaders congratulate Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, alleged war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa, for his 50 years in parliament. His political career is marked by the entrenchment of a corrupt military establishment; virulent Sinhala Buddhist nationalism; and a genocidal campaign against the Tamil people.

UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have issued a statement stressing that the UNP will extend full support to the Sri Lankan government during the coronavirus pandemic but will not join the government.

<p>“President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government appears headed for a constitutional crisis that could lastingly damage Sri Lanka’s political institutions and aggravate conflict risks,” writes Alan Keenan, a senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group.</p> <p>“The Sri Lankan government has declared its intention to rule without parliamentary oversight for the first time in the country’s modern history, potentially sparking a serious constitutional crisis. Elected in November and without a majority in parliament, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa seized his earliest opportunity to dissolve the legislature on 2 March and schedule a general election for 25 April. As the COVID-19 emergency grew serious in late March, the National Elections Commission (NEC) delayed the vote indefinitely.”</p> <p>“With the constitution stating that parliament can remain dissolved for only three months pending fresh elections, Sri Lanka will head into dangerously uncharted territory unless the president or courts take decisive action before the deadline expires on 2 June.”</p>

Tributes have poured from across the Tamil Canadian community for 52-year-old Surendran Thambirajah, who passed away earlier this month after he stopped to help another driver who had crashed their car in     Ontario.

A 27 year old man has been arrested by the Terrorism Prevention Unit in connection with an explosion in Vadamarachchi on May 27.

<p>Fitch Ratings has reported that has recalibrated Sri Lanka’s National Rating Scale following their earlier downgrading of the country’s sovereign rating has been downgraded from “B” to “B-” signalling a negative “Long-Term Issuer Default Rating”.</p> <p>Fitch Ratings are used to indicate the relative credit worth of sovereign nations and a negative rating spells further economic worries for Sri Lanka.</p>

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked the Indian government for what he called “generous assistance extended to Sri Lanka during the current difficult period,” as he met with India’s envoy in Colombo this morning.

The newly appointed Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay met with Rajapaksa, where they “reaffirmed two country’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations exploring new avenues of cooperation,” according to an official press release.

A Sri Lankan government minister said the state was facing its “biggest exchange crisis in history”, as the island’s economy continues to struggle in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are facing the worst foreign exchange crisis in history,” Sri Lankan Information Minister Bandula Gunewardene told reporters this week, as he attempted to explain why the cabinet had issued import restrictions.

Two boys were injured and admitted to Vavuniya Hospital from an accidental bomb explosion, on Wednesday.

Niyaz Sanaz, 12 and Muhammed Rasith, 16 were playing in a permitted area of Valavaithakulam village in Cheddikulam, Vavuniya, when they found an unidentified object.

<p>Sri Lankan Navy personnel and their families were transported from the South of the island to military-run quarantine centres in the North-East earlier this week.</p> <p>Over 500 individuals were brought in 17 buses to Pampaimadu Army camp in Vavuniya, Tamil Net <u><a href="https://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&amp;artid=39836">reported</a></u>.</p>

The head of the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) passed away this week, after a sudden illness just hours after meeting with the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka.

Arumugan Thondaman passed away on Tuesday night, aged 55-years-old.

Sri Lanka’s president hit back at a report in The Hindu last week, which covered a speech he gave declaring he would not permit investigations into war crimes committed by Sri Lankan armed forces, maintaining that human rights are not “clear-cut rules”.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a Gazette notice mandating that six institutions will under the control of the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry.