Tamil Heritage Month began in Canada this week as politicians from across the political spectrum paid tribute to the Tamil community.

An online event with cultural performances was held on New Year’s day to mark the start of the month, which will see events held virtually throughout January.

Commemorating the 13th anniversary of Tamil MP, Thiyagaraja Maheswaran's murder, members of the UNP and supporters gathered in Vaddukoddai constituency office on New Year's Day.

On this day 15 years ago, five Tamil students were summarily executed by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force, whilst they spent an afternoon on the beach in Trincomalee.

To date no one has been held accountable for the murder.

Sri Lankan police burned approximately 532 kg of turmeric which they alleged was smuggled from India last week, as an import ban on the spice has sent prices soaring.

The 65 Infantry division of the Sri Lankan army, which is stationed in Kilinochchi, marked their twelfth anniversary by seeking blessings from Sinhala Buddhist monks in an elaborate religious ceremony last month.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, and accused war criminal Kamal Gunaratne, denied that Sri Lanka’s military committed war crimes, during his New Years address, insisting that they had launched a “humanitarian operation”.

Sri Lanka’s Army has announced that it will be taking over the responsibility from printing driving licences instead of using a private company. 

Three Ukrainian tourists who arrived in Sri Lanka have tested positive for COVID-19.

The first batch of 185 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka on the 28 December, being the first group of tourists to arrive in Sri Lanka for nine months. The second batch of 204 tourists arrived on the 29 December. The government has reopened Sri Lanka for tourists this week after closing its borders since March. The pilot project is expected to welcome tourists from various countries to assess its capability of handling flights and tourists amidst the pandemic.

Gaj Wallooppillai, a senior Conservative Party advisor and International Secretary received an OBE from the Queen in the 2021 New Years List. The honour was awarded for services towards equality and community cohesion.

Speaking at a Buddhist temple in Payagala, the Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Ranjith, called upon Sri Lanka’s political leaders to follow and safeguard Buddhism.

Following the arrest of several Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lanka’s Navy last week, Indian representatives called for the release of Tamil fishermen during the fourth meeting of the Indian-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries, held on the 30 December.  

DMK leader and party treasury, T R Baalu, has urged India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to intervene in Sri Lanka to prevent the abolition of provincial councils.

<p>The Muslim Council of Britain is demanding an end to Sri Lanka’s draconian policy of forced cremations, maintaining that they will take “the necessary legal action to end this violation”.</p>