US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been urged to “leverage US leadership within the United Nations” and advocate for the rights of the Eelam Tamils to self-determination, by a group of ten members of congress this week.

Sri Lankan soldiers are currently fighting a fully-fledged war. However, this time it is thousands of miles from the Tamil homeland. Reports emerged this week that ‘hundreds’ of troops are currently serving with the Russian military, as Moscow continues its deadly offensive into Ukraine. Though some are fighting alongside the Ukrainians, it seems the vast majority are travelling to fight with Russia, lured with promises of earning a stable salary and even foreign citizenship. As Sri Lanka’s economic woes continue, its troops have effectively become a mercenary force. A military accused of war crimes is exporting soldiers to fight alongside another military accused of war crimes.

The London Borough of Hounslow passed a motion declaring January as Tamil Heritage Month, as well as marking January 14 as Thai Pongal in the borough’s calendar. 

The motion, proposed by Councillor Ron Mushiso and seconded by Councillor Allan Joseph, states that:

The Colombo High Court handed down a sentence of four years of rigorous imprisonment to Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara and a fine of Rs.100,000 over anti-Muslim remarks he made in 2016 during a press conference. 

Current Sri Lankan soldiers are taking leave from their duties to go and serve on the frontlines with the Russian and Ukrainian militaries, joining dozens of former Sri Lankan troops who are already participating in the conflict.

Former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre and activist Selvanayagam Aravinthan has been arrested by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) for allegedly supporting the LTTE. 

Aravinthan was summoned for an investigation on March 12 by the TID over a Facebook account but he allegedly did not report to the TID on this date. Following this, the TID issued another summons ordering him to report to the TID.

Tamils blocked officials from Sri Lanka's land survey department from attempting to seize 29 acres of land in Jaffna for the purpose of urban development. 

Sri Lanka's former army commander and accused war criminal Shavendra Silva flew to Nairobi, Kenya this week to "enhance bilateral defence relations"  despite Sri Lanka's longstanding human rights abuses. 

The Sri Lankan health Ministry has rejected a study published in the British Medical Journal, The Lancet which finds that 410,000 girls in Sri Lanka are underweight and that there has been no detectable change in statistics since 1990.

Sri Lankan soldiers have died fighting for and against the Russian army on the front lines in Ukraine, as “hundreds” of former soldiers have turned mercenaries in the midst of an economic crisis on the island.