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.

The Union Minister of State for Transport, Pon Radhakrishnan, said India’s government is considering a proposal to establish a rail link between Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar, in the Tamil-dominated North-East of the island.

The minister, speaking to reporters in Chennai, said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government is considering a proposal to establish a bridge to connect the two countries.

In June India’s road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, said that a proposal for bridging the divide across the Palk Strait had been submitted to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for a pre-feasibility study and subsequent financing, however the Sri Lankan government said it has not held any discussions with India on this issue.

Sri Lanka’s former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapksa says he has applied to have his US citizenship cancelled.

Speaking to Ada Derana in response to conflicting reports regarding the forthcoming elections, the former president’s brother said he will not contest the polls in August, but that this decision was unrelated to the issue of his dual citizenship.

“This has nothing to do with my citizenship issue,” he said, adding that he has already taken measures to cancel his dual citizenship. “I’ve already handed over the relevant documents to the US embassy, in this regard.”

There have been repeated demands that the former defence secretary is prosecuted by US authorities, as he is a citizen of the country.

In March Mr Rajapaksa said that if he was to move to the USA, he would be prosecuted and sentenced to death by electric chair.

The Sri Lanka Press institute (SLPI) “vehemently” condemned the reactivation of the Sri Lanka Press Council by Maithripala Sirisena.