The Commonwealth Games, a multi-sport event which takes place every four years, landed in Birmingham for 2022, a UK city well-known for its diverse population with many communities with roots in the Commonwealth. The city’s South Asian cultures were represented in the games’ opening and closing ceremonies, and for the first time in the history of the games, Tamil representation also gained pride of place at the closing ceremony with an upbeat Kuthu folk dance.

The dance entitled ‘Dia Dia Dole’ was choreographed and performed by French Tamil dancer Usha Jey, and Swiss Tamil dancers Janusha and Mithuja.

The Sencholai massacre - whereby 53 school girls were subject to merciless bombing by Sri Lankan air forces - was paid tribute to by Tamils yesterday in France. 

The commemorative event in France was organized by the French Tamil Women’s Organization and Mrs. Puspa.  

In a post on Instagram, British activist and tourist, Kayleigh Fraser, details a harrowing experience of sexual assault and an attempted cover-up by Sri Lanka police.

After reporting her rape to the tourist police, Fraser received a call from Weligama police that requested to speak in person. “They marched me into a room where they told me to sit down. As I walked into this room, the four men who had assaulted me were standing in that room. I was told to write a letter saying that my statement was untrue. I refused”.

War crimes accused former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reportedly been advised “not to leave” the hotel he is currently staying at in Thailand for “security reasons” according to a report in the Bangkok Post.

Tamils gathered in Amparai this week to mark 32 years since at least 55 Tamils were killed by the Sri Lankan military and Muslim home guards, part of a series of killings that left hundreds dead in just weeks.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Thavarasa Kalaiarasan was amongst those gathered in Amparai, as mourners lit a flame of remembrance before a monument that had ben constructed in memory of those killed.

Sri Lanka’s anti-terrorism police interrogated Tamil activist V S Sivakaran for over 4 hours at their headquarters in  Colombo this week, as the security forces continue its campaign of intimidation.

Sivakaran, based in Mannar and head of the Tamil National Right to Life Movement, had been summoned by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) earlier this month.

The head of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Movement (TELO) Selvam Adaikalanathan lashed out at his colleagues within the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) last week, as he called for “unity” despite signs of deepening fissures.

Speaking in Jaffna, Adaikalanathan claimed that the TNA was “strong” but that “its influence is diminishing from the minds of the people due to the activities of two or three black sheep”.

Following a recent spate of bodies being washed up on the Colombo shoreline, Tamil families of the disappeared raised concerns that their loved ones may be amongst the dead as they continue to demand answers for enforced disappearances.

Writing in Foreign Policy, Viruben Nandakumar highlights that despite a change in figureheads, Sri Lanka’s military maintains an inflated role in the running of the state.

“Not only must Sri Lanka’s protesters heed that call and refocus their efforts toward dismantling the militarization of the state, but so too must the international community”, he writes.

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry has announced that it plans to issue longer visas for tourists in an attempt to revive it's tourism industry.

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka has been struggling greatly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis.

The Tourism Ministry will soon extend visas for those who apply via Electronic Travel Authorization from 30 days to 180 days.

Single entry visa travelers will be able to stay up to 270 days. Further, multiple entry visas could be extended from 90 days to a year.