A Tamil father who has spent the last 17 years looking for his forcibly disappeared son has passed away this week. 

Vaiyapuri Chandran from Chinnathampanai, Vavuniya died at the age of 69 from an illness. 

Chandran has been protesting alongside other Tamil families in Vavuniya to know the fate of his son Jayakanthan who was forcibly disappeared in 2008.

2025 has been an interesting year for Tamil cinema. There have been no film releases for Vijay, whose next film ‘Jana Nayagan’ is awaiting release in early 2026. The much anticipated collaboration between director Lokesh Kanagaraj and Rajinikanth was a middling disappointment. Dhanush released two films as director, neither of which show much improvement in his trajectory as a writer. Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan’s reunion following their 1987 classic ‘Nayakan’ was unanimously panned by critics and audiences alike. In the midst of all this negativity, there were a few releases which act as a silver lining to an otherwise lacklustre year of film.

Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda  yesterday, over the alleged transfer of a firearm to an underworld drug kingpin. 

Eelam Tamils held commemorative events in the North-East to mourn the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. 

On December 26th, 2004, over 35,000 people perished during the catastrophic tsunami that hit the coasts of the North-East and South of the island of Sri Lanka.

 

On December 26th, 2004, over 35,000 people perished during the catastrophic tsunami that hit the coasts of the North-East and South of the island of Sri Lanka.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said five days after the disaster that almost two thirds of those killed across the island were in the Tamil homeland of the North-East.

Today marks 20 years since Tamil politician Joseph Pararajasingham was assassinated by Sri Lankan government-aligned paramilitary men in 2005.

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

Eelam Tamils are celebrating Christmas across the North-East today. 

Tamils gathered at St Mary's Church in Jaffna for midnight mass. This year's service was held on a smaller scale as the churches had requested worshippers to help those affected by the recent Cyclone Ditwah. 

 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced on last week that it will hold hearings in a case accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its Rohingya minority.

British MP Uma Kumaran called on the UK's Foreign Secretary to expand on the government's sanctions on Sri Lankan war criminals. 

During a Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on December 16, the MP for Stratford and Bow highlighted the lack of accountability and political will from the current Sri Lankan government to address war crimes and mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka.