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US President Donald Trump has announced 'reciprocal' tariffs on countries worldwide, including a 44% tariff on all goods from Sri Lanka.
The tariffs were imposed in response to what Trump said were 'Tariffs charged to the US including currency manipulations and Trade Barriers'.

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The junta’s ceasefire declaration came several days after armed resistance groups across the country had already unilaterally paused hostilities to allow for humanitarian operations. The military had initially refused to reciprocate.
As you prepare for your upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, I write to you not just as an Eelam Tamil, but as a member of a people with deep historical, cultural, and civilisational ties to the land you lead.
The Sri Lankan government has pledged USD 1 million in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar in the wake of a devastating earthquake, a move it says is driven by the “close ties between the two nations as two Buddhist states,” according to Cabinet spokesperson and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.
The donation will include dry rations collected under the “guidance” of Sinhala Buddhist monks, after the Ambassador of Myanmar in Sri Lanka met with senior Buddhist clergy in Kandy. A medical team from Sri Lanka also remains on standby for deployment.
A rift has emerged between the Sri Lanka Air Force and Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Bimal Ratnayake, after the minister made claims regarding the cause of a recent military aircraft crash, contradicting official Air Force statements.
On 21 March 2025, a K-8 advanced jet trainer aircraft, manufactured in China and operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force’s No. 05 Fighter Squadron, crashed during a training exercise in Wariyapola, Kurunegala. Both pilots — a qualified instructor and another Air Force pilot — successfully ejected and were admitted to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital. No fatalities were reported.
Tamil Families of the Disappeared have hailed the United Kingdom’s decision to impose sanctions on senior Sri Lankan military officials accused of war crimes, stating that the move affirms the long-standing demands of Tamil families for international justice and recognition of the genocide committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Three state agencies in Sri Lanka have launched investigations into the Tamil-owned UK-based Lyca Group over its acquisition of a network of 12 media companies on the island, with questions raised over the legality of the transactions and the processes by which licences were granted.
China and Russia have reaffirmed their deepening ties during a high-level visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
During a three-day visit to Russia, which began on 1 April, Wang Yi met with senior Russian officials and declared China and Russia are “friends forever, never enemies”.
“Cooperation between China and Russia is never directed against third parties and does not succumb to impediments coming from outside,” he said. “We will not tread water when it comes to advancing bilateral relations, and we have a broad prospects open to us. Our friendship is not based on fleeting considerations, but is of a long-term nature.”
Pro-Sri Lankan government paramilitary leaders Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, also known as Karuna Amman, and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan laso known as Pillayan, have formally reunited after 21 years, signing a memorandum of understanding in Batticaloa on 22 March 2025 to work together under a new political alliance.
The move saw the formation of the Eastern Tamil Alliance.
Pillayan, currently the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), and Karuna, who is with the Ahila Ilankai Thamizh Maha Sabha now join forces ahead of Sri Lanka’s upcoming local government elections in May.
The Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, visited Colombo from 19 to 21 March 2025, reinforcing the growing military relationship between the United States and Sri Lanka.
Tamil diaspora groups and international human rights organisations have welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to impose targeted sanctions on four individuals implicated in grave human rights violations during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict.
The sanctions, announced on 24 March 2025 under the UK’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020, target former senior military officials Shavendra Silva, Jagath Jayasuriya, and Wasantha Karannagoda, as well as former paramilitary leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna). Measures include asset freezes and travel bans, prohibiting them from entering the UK or accessing British financial systems.
Latest Headlines
The junta’s ceasefire declaration came several days after armed resistance groups across the country had already unilaterally paused hostilities to allow for humanitarian operations. The military had initially refused to reciprocate.
As you prepare for your upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, I write to you not just as an Eelam Tamil, but as a member of a people with deep historical, cultural, and civilisational ties to the land you lead.
The Sri Lankan government has pledged USD 1 million in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar in the wake of a devastating earthquake, a move it says is driven by the “close ties between the two nations as two Buddhist states,” according to Cabinet spokesperson and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.
A rift has emerged between the Sri Lanka Air Force and Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Bimal Ratnayake, after the minister made claims regarding the cause of a recent military aircraft crash, contradicting official Air Force statements.
On 21 March 2025, a K-8 advanced jet trainer aircraft, manufactured in China and operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force’s No. 05 Fighter Squadron, crashed during a training exercise in Wariyapola, Kurunegala. Both pilots — a qualified instructor and another Air Force pilot — successfully ejected and were admitted to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital. No fatalities were reported.
Tamil Families of the Disappeared have hailed the United Kingdom’s decision to impose sanctions on senior Sri Lankan military officials accused of war crimes, stating that the move affirms the long-standing demands of Tamil families for international justice and recognition of the genocide committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, visited Colombo from 19 to 21 March 2025, reinforcing the growing military relationship between the United States and Sri Lanka.
A direct flight service between Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and Jaffna in Sri Lanka officially commenced on 30 March 2025, marking the first such connection between the two cities in nearly five decades.
Operated by IndiGo Airlines, the inaugural service is part of a broader push to restore and expand regional connectivity between India and Tamil Eelam. The route, which had been inactive since the escalation of armed conflict in the late 1970s, was revived following the 2019 reopening of Palaly Airport—now renamed Jaffna International Airport.
Eid al-Fitr was marked in Tamil Eelam this week, as Muslims in the Tamil homeland joined those around the world to celebrate the festival.
See footage from across the North-East below.
Mannar
Tamil diaspora groups and international human rights organisations have welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to impose targeted sanctions on four individuals implicated in grave human rights violations during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict.
China and Russia have reaffirmed their deepening ties during a high-level visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
During a three-day visit to Russia, which began on 1 April, Wang Yi met with senior Russian officials and declared China and Russia are “friends forever, never enemies”.
Pro-Sri Lankan government paramilitary leaders Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, also known as Karuna Amman, and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan laso known as Pillayan, have formally reunited after 21 years, signing a memorandum of understanding in Batticaloa on 22 March 2025 to work together under a new political alliance.
The move saw the formation of the Eastern Tamil Alliance.
Pillayan, currently the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), and Karuna, who is with the Ahila Ilankai Thamizh Maha Sabha now join forces ahead of Sri Lanka’s upcoming local government elections in May.
Three state agencies in Sri Lanka have launched investigations into the Tamil-owned UK-based Lyca Group over its acquisition of a network of 12 media companies on the island, with questions raised over the legality of the transactions and the processes by which licences were granted.
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