Local Tamils are protesting the ongoing illegal construction of a Buddhist temple at Kurunthumalai, an ancient Tamil temple site.

Sinhala Buddhist monks aided by the Sri Lankan archeology department are constructing the shrine in defiance of a court order which states no changes could be made to the site. The archaeology department have used the guise of 'excavation' work to assist Sinhala Buddhist monks to erect a Buddhist shrine. 

Image courtesy of Tamilwin

Asokakumar Lalitha, an Eelam Tamil refugee who had been seeking asylum status in Indonesia since 2012, passed away on June 19. 

Lalitha had been living with her husband and two children in a refugee camp in Medan, Indonesia. She had been suffering from severe diabetes and had been denied access to adequate medical facilities to treat her condition.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Charles Nirmalanathan has alleged that up to 250 acres of land in the Veerapuram area that were supposed to be handed over to Tamil families have been illegally occupied by Sinhala settlers.

In 1994, Tamil families were settled on 400 acres of land that was allocated in the Cheddikulam Divisional Secretariat. Each family was promised 1 acre of land for their livelihood development. However, these lands have not yet been distributed to the families.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Sri Lanka to implement the UN's recommendations related to accountability in his statement at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council. 

He stated that:

British Tamils gathered at One George Street in central London to protest the Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to London this week. 

At the next board meeting on 28 June, the World Bank will likely approve $700 million in welfare and budgetary support for Sri Lanka.

In March, the International Monetary Fund approved a bailout of nearly $3 billion to assist the island with economic recovery. This bailout is expected to bring further funding of up to $4 billion from various institutions including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. 

Fisherfolk in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, have expressed disappointment after being unable to fetch an adequate price for their catch despite an abundant catch consisting of fish, crab, cuttlefish, and prawns.

A Tamil man in Mullaitivu has filed a complaint with the Vavuniya Human Rights Commission, after he was illegally detained, assaulted and tortured by officials from Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department last week. 

The complaint, filed by Mr. Navaruban, alleges that seven Wildlife Department officials and four Special Task Force (STF) officers forcibly entered his home on June 14th, without a warrant, on the suspicion that he had game meat in his possession.

Yesterday, British MPs met with Tamil activists, lawyers, and religious leaders in the parliament to demand that the UK government recognise the genocide perpetrated against Eelam Tamils.

The conference aimed at addressing the ongoing structural genocide against the Tamil community and reflecting on the urgent need for accountability for past atrocities.

In the town of Pulmoaddai, located in the Trincomalee District, more than 25 soldiers and monks are tirelessly working day and night to construct a new Buddhist vihara. Their objective is to complete the project swiftly, despite accusations of illegal deforestation that preceded it.