Pro-Sri Lankan government paramilitary leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, widely known as Karuna Amman, has claimed that the UK’s sanctions against him are politically motivated and driven by elements within the Tamil diaspora.

 In a recent interview with BBC Tamil, the former paramilitary leader and deputy minister rejected allegations of human rights abuses and accused the British government of acting under pressure from the British Tamil diaspora.

Temperatures are rising, impacting women led businesses in the north writes Amita Arudpragasam for the Himal Southasian, as extreme heat events linked to climate change become more frequent.

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, better known as Pillayan, a former chief minister and current head of the paramilitary Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), was arrested by Sri Lankan police in Batticaloa on Tuesday night.

Sri Lanka’s newly released preliminary census figures from 2024 illustrated how the Tamil North-East, particularly the Vanni region, remains the worst-affected part of the island in terms of population loss and stagnation.

Throughout the past few weeks the Sri Lankan military's activities in civilian spheres in the Tamil homeland continued unabated.