Sri Lanka's police announced the arrests of nearly 15,000 people during a week-long military-backed anti-narcotics drive, a crackdown denounced by rights activists.

Police said their operation, code-named "Yukthiya" or "Justice", led to the seizure of almost 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of narcotics, including 272 kg of cannabis, 35 kg of hashish and nine kilograms of heroin.

Authorities believe the Indian Ocean island is being used as a drug trafficking transit point.

Former Northern Province Chief Minister and Leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) party, C.V. Wigneswaran, has publicly announced his intention to contest the upcoming Presidential election. 

During the press conference, he emphasised that his candidacy hinged upon the unity and agreement of all Tamil political parties.

"I believe I am the best candidate if a common Tamil candidate is to be put forward," he asserted, highlighting the need for timely representation.

The assassinated Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham was remembered in Batticaloa this week, to mark the 18th anniversary of his killing.

Pararajasingham, who was a senior Tamil National Alliance (TNA) figure, and the MP for Batticaloa district, was shot and killed by two armed paramilitary men, whilst he was attending Christmas Eve midnight mass in 2005, at the St Mary's church in Batticaloa town. 

His wife, Sugunam Pararajasingham was seriously wounded in the gunfire.

Malayaga Tamil activist, Jeewaratnam Suresh, faces continued threats and intimidation after successful appeal to Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court to improve the housing rights of Malayaga Tamils, who have faced historic oppression.

Former Sri Lankan President, and accused war criminal, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been accused of blocking investigations into the Easter Sunday bombings, which claimed the lives of 269 people.

In a landmark documentary, Channel 4 interviews a whistle-blower who alleges that the plan was orchestrated to enable Rajapaksa to seize upon the instability and secure the presidency in the 2019 elections.

Thousands of applications for agricultural and construction work in Israel have been filed in Sri Lanka, as Israel struggles with labour shortages following mass deportations of Palestinians. 

Around 82,000 Palestinians worked in the country’s construction industry accounting for a third of the sector’s workforce but were subsequently deported or stripped of work permits following the beginning of the war. 

Leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootan (TMTK), CV Wigneswaran has written to the secretary of Sri Lanka’s president to explain that he would not attend the dialogue session due to the continued failure to implement the 13^th amendment, which sets out grounds for devolution to the North and East.

A collection of 18 different Tamil Canadian student and youth organisations have demanded a “public apology” from the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) and Global Tamil Forum (GTF), after they sparked controversy by meeting with accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa last week.

The groups released a statement this morning, which was co-signed by Tamil Students’ Association from across the country and the Tamil Youth Organization Canada.

In the wake of widespread backlash to an initiative launched by the Global Tami Forum (GTF) and Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) that saw them meet accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa last week, the organisations have defended the meetings and refused to apologise.

The Tamil Guardian spoke to a range of Tamil Canadians across the political spectrum, and the country, all of whom expressed outrage at the meeting. At least two members are known to have resigned from CTC’s advisory council, with a campaign calling on members and sponsors to “boycott, disinvest and isolate” the organisation.