A new campaign launched by British Tamils, human rights organisations and backed by British parliamentarians calls on the UK government to sanction Sri Lankan generals under the Global Magnitsky Act for war crimes committed against Tamils.

A Pongal event titled “Freedom Pongal” was organised in Jaffna today, demanding the release of Tamil political prisoners. 

A protest was held in Jaffna after the body of a prominent Tamil activist who was killed by the Sri Lankan navy was brought ashore to his home village this morning.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence has declared that all marriages between Sri Lankan citizens and foreigners will now require military approval, sparking fears across the more than million-strong Tamil diaspora over its ties to the homeland.

The new law, which came into effect from January 1, 2022, requires all foreign nationals who are seeking to marry Sri Lankan citizens to obtain a “Security Clearance Report”.  An in-depth health declaration must also be submitted to the military, with details ranging from HIV status to any history of kidney disease.

The Sri Lankan military insists that the new measures are for “national security” purposes.

Marking a major diplomatic visit to Sri Lanka, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced the country’s largest road construction project whilst turning a blind eye to Sri Lanka’s deteriorating human rights record.

Without warning, Facebook has deleted the verified account of prominent Tamil Nadu activist, and founder of the May 17 movement, Thirumurugan Gandhi.

China has lifted the ban on the People's Bank in Sri Lanka following its payment of almost US$6.9 million over a dispute involving imported organic fertiliser. 

The Economic and Commerical Office of the Chinese embassy in Colombo lifted the ban implemented last October following the payment of the requested sum by the Chinese company Seawin Biotech Group. 

Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition and head of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, paid a visit to Jaffna on Tuesday. 

During his visit, he attended special prayers in the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple, a site of great cultural significance for Tamils. 

Protests have been planned in Jaffna after widespread outrage over the killing of a prominent Tamil protestor by the Sri Lankan navy yesterday.

Local Tamil fishermen said that 31-year-old Edward Mariyaseelan was killed at sea on Tuesday, when his fishing boat was rammed by a Sri Lankan navy vessel.

Sri Lankan authorities claimed that a woman who died under police custody committed “suicide” after jumping off the 5^th floor of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters in Colombo.

The 46-year-old woman had reportedly been detained over fraud allegations.

As tennis player Novak Djokovic left an Australian hotel where he was being detained by immigration authorities this week, asylum seekers have hoped the incident, which has received international attention, will shed light on the conditions and system in which they remain trapped.

“I couldn’t believe that Djokovic is here,” said 24-year-old Adnan Choopani told NBC news this week, from the same detention hotel in which the tennis superstar was being held. “I hope he shares what he’s seen.” Choopani, who fled Iran, is one of the many asylum seekers at the hotel, where conditions have been labelled “disgusting”.

Standard and Poor’s has hit Colombo with yet another credit rating downgrade, from ‘CCC+’ to ‘CCC’, stating that Sri Lanka’s “external position continues to weaken owing to elevated external obligations and uneven access to financing”.

The latest downgrade comes in the midst of a financial crisis on the island, which has seen foreign reserves drop and the cost of basic goods skyrocket.

A Sri Lankan court has ordered the release of 5 Tamils who had been detained under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act since 2019.

The Colombo Magistrate's Court ordered that the 5 Tamils, who had been detained in Magazine prison on the southern capital, were to be freed.

Sri Lankan police officers have begun learning Hindi, courtesy of the Indian government, despite ongoing discrimination against the Tamil language across the island.