Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that the Prevention for Terrorism Act would not be repealed due to a changing global environment, adding that only amendments would be made.

Speaking to press Mr Rajapakshe said the situation in the country was different to when the discussions on repealing the PTA started. Stating that the countries that had started calls for repealing the PTA were tightening their own anti-terror legislation, he said,

Sri Lanka’s Minister of National Co-existence told Australian media that it was safe for people seeking asylum in other countries to return to Sri Lanka.

Speaking to the SBS Australian media outlet during a visit to the Australia, Mr Manoharan Ganeshan said “If anyone has broken any law, they may be questioned about it. But, they will not be taken to torture camps.”

Displaced people of Sampur told the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission that the Sri Lankan Navy’s ‘Vidura’ camp should be removed so that they can be resettled in their own lands.

A team from the commission led by Ambika Satkunananthan visited Trincomalee on the 15th and 16th June, holding discussions with civil society and political representatives and visiting the occupied lands in Sampur.

Women’s organisations in Trincomalee were joined on Tuesday by colleagues and supporters across the island in a protest condemning the vandalism and burglary of the Trincomalee Women’s Network office.

A group of asylum seekers have been deported from Australia to Colombo aboard a government-chartered flight on Monday, fuelling speculation that a boat was intercepted by Australian forces last week as it fled from Sri Lanka.

The Australian reports that the early morning flight saw approximately 20 people – thought to be asylum seekers – boarding the flight with guards accompanying them on to the plane.

Sri Lanka will shut several diplomatic postings abroad including a series of missions in Europe announced Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday morning, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ravi Karunanayake said, "we will have to close down some missions as those have found to be of no use lately."

Muslims across the North-East celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr on Sunday, marking the end of a month of fasting from dawn to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Mannar Catholic community has condemned police threats made against the parish priest of Iranai Matha Church for joining and supporting the land-return protests of Iranaithivu villagers.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered the state to pay RS 1 million to the parents of two men who disappeared whilst being held in custody of Batticaloa police in October 2008.

The court further ordered the Officer-in-(OIC) of the Batticaloa police station, to pay the families Rs 50,000 for failing “to provide equal protection of law to their missing sons who were subject to torture.”

The British General Election of 2017 has thrown up some surprising results.

When the election was first called, few could have predicted the outcome. The ruling Conservative Party lost their majority in parliament and the Labour Party clawed back a massive deficit in the polls. The pundits were amiss with their predictions and many, including Prime Minister Theresa May, were left wrong footed by the results.

Analysts from across the political spectrum have begun examining the vote and revisiting their engagement with the electorate, with questions being asked of how the Conservatives lost such a comfortable majority. Amongst the key demographics whose voting intentions will be closely scrutinised in the weeks to come, will be Britain’s ethnic minority groups. With many constituencies across the country having been heavily contested and hanging in the balance between the country's major parties, their role was crucial. British Tamils, who have a considerable presence in many of these constituencies, particularly in London, are one such influential group.

Tamil schools in Denmark celebrated their students’ sporting achievements with their annual sports festival last week.

Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera has been excluded from the government body tasked with implementing the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on promoting accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

A Cabinet Memorandum obtained by Colombo Telegraph, indicates that Sri Lanka’s prime minister proposed the following ministers to form the committee under his leadership:

Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe accused the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers of violating “the country’s sovereignty.”

Rejecting the findings of the Rapporteurs report, Mr Rajapakshe said, “we are surprised by the allegations made by her who was in Sri Lanka for only seven days."

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi's Northern Provincial Council members took back the letter of no-confidence against Chief Minister Wigneswaran from Governor Reginald Cooray today.