A number of factories in Sri Lanka have closed down after the withdrawal of the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+) mechanism, which made export to EU members cheaper for Sri Lanka.

The Organising Secretary of the Inter Company Employees Union B.I. Abdeen told the Daily Mirror that 2000 jobs of direct employment had been lost due to the closure of two factories on January 2, 2013 alone.

The United States has refused an application for military training of Sri Lankan Army General, prompting the country's Defence Secretary to slam the decision as "wrong".

Major-General Sudantha Ranasinghe was refused entry into the US for military training, with speculation that it may be on grounds that Ranasinghe is suspected of overseeing human rights violations.

The Sri Lankan Army appeared at the house of TNPF member Selvarajah Kajendran's house in Jaffna and proceeded to enquire about his wherabouts earlier this week.

Publishing from his personal Twitter account on the 24th of January, Kajendran said,

The Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse has claimed that no civilians at all went missing during the final phase of the armed conflict and that ICRC records tallied with those of the army, reported the Daily Mirror.

“The Board observes that at present, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) principles, applicable to internal war situations have not adequately addressed various complex issues and the existing rules are seemingly applied to state actors only. Further, there are no specific guidelines with regard to the role of international humanitarian agencies in internal war situations. Hence, the Board recommends to formulate new domestic rules, covering internal war situations.”

“With regard to the presence of Military bases in the North and East, the Board observes that the Government has an absolute right to maintain its armed forces anywhere in the Island, according to the country’s strategic and security needs."

Speaking at a function at St Mary’s College in the southern district of Kalutara, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapksa said his government will take measures to uplift the schools in the southern rural areas to eliminate the disparity in education between the Colombo and the rural areas around it.

The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged to hold talks with the Indian government in order to resolve the fishermen arrests and the crossing of territorial waters.

Addressing the General Fisheries Federation (GFF), Rajapaksa said:

The preparations for Sri Lanka's 65th independence day ceremony in Trincomalee are in full swing and all arrangements are in place.

Legislation that allows the police to detain suspects without charge for upto 48 hours without a warrant was passed on Tuesday.

The previous limit was 24 hours.

Presenting the bill in parliament, the Environment Minister Anura Priyasharshana said:

The US Embassy in Colombo has released a statement, expressing concern over a "series of threats and attacks against legal defenders, civil society organizations and activists".