At a remembrance event held at Jaffna University last week, students gathered to pay tribute to members of the Malayaga Tamil community who had fought for the rights of their people.

Students laid flowers and lit candles before a portrait that showed the scarred hands of a tea plantation worker.

British Tamils gathered at the Prime Minister’s residence at Downing Street today to celebrate Thai Pongal, a festival marked to give thanks to the sun for the harvest.

A private meeting was held at Kurunthurmalai, involving members of the illegally constructed Buddhist vihara and alleged members of Shiv Sena, in what locals fear may be an attempt to ward off international condemnation of Sinhalisation in the Tamil homeland.

Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to participate in the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Uganda, even as he pledged to send a navy ship to the Red Sea to join a Western coalition against Yemen’s Houthis.

A protest was held in Jaffna on Tuesday January 16, as demonstrators gathered to demand justice for the beleaguered farmers of Batticaloa, who have faced repeated attacks by Sinhala settlers.

The Sri Lankan navy has arrested 18 Indian fishermen in a special operation on Tuesday, alleging that the fishermen illegally entered 'Sri Lankan waters' in two trawler boats near the low-lying sea area of Mannar District.

Leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (an ultra-nationalist Sri Lankan political party), Udaya Gammanpila, has alleged a global and well-financed conspiracy to denigrate Buddhism.

In his speech at the party headquarters yesterday, Gammanpila claimed that “leaders and priests of other religions fearlessly insult Buddhism” adding that “secularists who insult Buddhism also receive money from abroad”. 

The statement comes as there is increasing alarm of Buddhist majoritarianism in Sri Lanka. 

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation including Peter Breuer, the Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka took part in the Thai Pongal celebrations in Jaffna this week.

Memorial events were held across the North-East last month to pay homage to the late Tamil Nadu actor and political figure Vijayakanth, fondly known by his moniker ‘Captain’.

Vijayakanth's legacy encompasses not only his versatile acting career but also his contributions to Tamil Nadu's political landscape and his support for Eelam Tamils.

Tributes were paid in both Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Batticaloa to the late actor.

Marking Thai Pongal, Tamil New Year, London’s Mayor alongside a number of British MPs gathered in Ealing Amman temple to celebrate the festivities and thank the British Tamil community for their contribution to life in the UK.