Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Tiran Alles instructed the security forces to  “stop fondling weapons and use them” just days after he called for the intensification of the military-led operation Yukthiya.

(Image courtesy: Yarltheepan)

The United National Party (UNP) has appointed self-proclaimed Ava gang senior member and former Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) member Arun Siddharthan as its Jaffna organiser ahead of Sri Lanka's presidential polls which are set to take place this year. 

Siddharthan was present alongside Ravi Karunanayake, the UNP's assistant leader, at the UNP's first election campaign event in Jaffna last week.  

An event discussing Sri Lanka’s enduring ethnic and economic crisis took place at Harvard University earlier this month, with panellists painting a bleak picture of the path that lies ahead for the island.

Tamil residents of Kalmunai North have opposed a move by the Sri Lankan government to subjugate their division under the Kalmunai South Division, adding that Tamils in the region were assured a fully-fledged secretariat to address their community-specific needs. 

Sri Lanka’s Attorney General informed the Court of Appeal that it would submit a ‘comprehensive investigation report’ on all Maaveerar Naal commemorations that have been held to date in the North-East, amidst threats of legal action against any remembrance activity.

British politicians called on the UK government to exert more pressure on Sri Lanka by referring them to the International Criminal Court, imposing targeted sanctions and to evaluate it's military co-operation over the island's longstanding history of human rights abuses. 

Opening last week's Westminster Hall debate, Elliot Colburn, the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) and MP for Carshalton and Wallington explained that despite 15 years passing since the Mullivaikkal genocide, which saw the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamils at the hands of the Sri Lankan state, the situation on the island "remains precarious".

Former Sri Lankan minister, S.M. Chandrasena, who served in Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s cabinet, has cast blame for the island’s economic crisis on the defunct LTTE and the oppositional JVP.

The Trincomalee Pathirakali Ambal Temple chariot festival, held on March 23, 2024, witnessed an overwhelming turnout of devotees, marking yet another successful year for the event.

The highlight of the event unfolded at 8:00 am when Amman graced the ceremonial Chariot, escorted by her sons Pillaiyaar and Murugan.

Residents of Palaly, Jaffna,  engaged in a postcard campaign demanding the immediate release of their lands which have been under Sri Lankan military occupation for over 30 years. 

The campaign titled  “Give us back our land” was organised by the Mannar Social Economic Development Organisation (MSEDO) in Maviddapuram, Palaly last week. 

The root cause of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is the inability to solve the ongoing ethnic issues, said Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) Leader and former parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran at a meeting in Vavuniya today. 

 “Everyone says that once the economic issue is resolved, all other problems will be too,” said Premachandran.