Storekeepers of clothing outlets and vendors selling firecrackers across the North-East said there was a noticeable decline in sales this year as Tamils celebrated the New Year, amidst the high cost of living and ongoing economic turmoil.

Tamil residents of Nagathalvu village in the Mannar District have complained about Sri Lanka’s continued occupation of a public cemetery in the region and have appealed for at least another site that could be used, as locals are forced to find vacant plots of land to bury their dead. 

The All Ceylon Shasanarakshaka Bala Mandalaya presented a set of proposals last week, calling on the Sri Lankan government to ‘secure temple lands and safeguarding Theravada Buddhism nationally and internationally’.

The Buddhist monks presented the proposals to Secretary to the President, Saman Ekanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat and claimed there was a “nexus between diminishing religious education and the surge in societal crime”. The Sri Lankan President’s Media Division touted the proposals as an attempt to “foster a virtuous society”.

As Sri Lanka’s presidential elections draw closer and Tamil parties debate whether a common candidate should be selected, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) MP Charles Nirmalanathan said that Tamils were “yet to identify a Tamil leader of the likes of Velupillai Prabhakaran,” referring to the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Tamils in Mullaitivu commemorated Annai Poopathy as a memorial float dedicated to her travelled through Mullaitivu today. 

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) organised a memorial float to travel through the homeland to mark 36 years since Annai Poopathy’s fast unto death. 

The Sri Lankan military carried out a series of events across the North-East, as the occupation marked both Tamil and Sinhala new year.

In Jaffna, the Consulate General of India in Jaffna, the Additional Secretary of the Presidential Secretariat in Jaffna and government officials took part in a festival organised by the Sri Lankan army.

Image courtesy of Virakesari 

A Buddha statue has been secretly inaugurated at the Veerakathy Pillaiyar temple in Madathady, Trincomalee, after it was installed illegally last month. 

Virakesari reported that on the evening on April 5, a small group of Sinhala Buddhists attended an event to inaugurate the statue which was initially installed in 2019 despite opposition from Tamils. 

Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren has written to Sri Lanka’s prime minister urging him to “prioritise the needs” of the Tamils who have been longing for a separate divisional secretary in Kalmunai North. 

The latest report released by the World Bank has revealed that poverty in Sri Lanka has increased over the past four years from 11 percent in 2019 to 26 percent in 2024 putting more than a quarter of the Sri Lankan population living in poverty. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognised the "important contributions" made by Tamils in Canada, in his statement marking Tamil New Year.