The annual Nachimar Kovil chariot festival took place today in Vannarpannai, Jaffna as devotees flocked to worship goddess Kamatchi Ambal, ensconced in her iconic chariot.  

State celebrations of the Buddhist festival of Wesak, a national holiday in Sri Lanka, will go ahead on the Jaffna island of Nainathivu as planned, despite rising coronavirus infections and restrictions across the North-East.

At a press meet about the increasing risks of COVID-19 Jaffna District Secretary K. Mahesan said that he had not been instructed to cancel the festivities.

Gajan Ponnambalam, leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), has condemned the arrest of Rishad Bathiudeen, Sri Lanka’s former Industry Minister and leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Party (ACMC), under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has called on Sri Lanka to reject a proposed resolution that seeks to stop trials against military and high-ranking government officials accused of war crimes and corruption.

Former Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has urged the new Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, to release a Tamil asylum-seeking family from immigration detention on Christmas Island, during a Q&A session on ABC. 

A tree planting ceremony was held in Vavuniya last week in tribute to legendary Tamil actor and comedian Vivek.

Three Tamil men were arrested in Mannar last Sunday over the alleged possession of cannabis worth ten million rupees. 

A Tamil youth was arrested in Kopay, Jaffna earlier this month for having a photo of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on his smartphone. 

^{MP Rishad Bathiudeen}

Former Sri Lankan minister and leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Rishad Bathiudeen MP and his brother Riyaz Bathiudeen were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department early this morning, in connection to the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019.

Sri Lanka’s government, Mass Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella has denied that the government’s decision to proscribe 11 Islamic organisations was intended to ban any religious or political organisation. Instead, he claims it was due to concerns over “national security and inter-communal harmony”.

Addressing a meeting held by the Sri Lanka-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association, Japan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Sugiyama Akira, expressed Japan's interest to broaden the scope of our bilateral relations over the coming years despite concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

The replacement Mullivaikkal memorial was unveiled this morning at the University of Jaffna, after it was destroyed by Sri Lankan authorities earlier this year. 

A memorial monument has been constructed in memory of the 31 people who perished in an attack on Zion Church in Batticaloa on Easter Sunday two years ago. 

The Australian government has supplied five aerial drones to the Sri Lankan police, despite international scrutiny at the United Nations Human Rights Council for its domestic “assault on justice.”