On midnight 31^st May 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, famous for being the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. The burning has since been marked by Eelam Tamils as an act of genocide.

Over 95,000 unique and irreplaceable Tamil palm leaves (ola), manuscripts, parchments, books, magazines and newspapers, housed within an impressive building inspired by ancient Dravidian architecture, were destroyed during the burning. Some texts that were kept in the library, such as the Yalpanam Vaipavama (a history of Jaffna), were literally irreplaceable, being the only copies in existence. It was one of the largest libraries in Asia.

A senior Buddhist monk, Athuraliye Rathana today launched a hunger strike in Kandy calling for the removal of a Muslim minister and two Muslim governors from their posts. 

The massacre of 63 people at the Alvai Muththumari Amman temple by the Sri Lankan army in 1987 was remembered on Wednesday, 32 years on. 

Vavuniya residents have been angered by the Sri Lankan army’s construction of a welcome arch to the district with images of soldiers and slogans exclusively in Sinhala.

The military arch was erected a few yards in front of an old traditional arch which marked entry into the Vavuniya district from the south.

Residents of Vavuniya expressed anger at the region’s Tamil politicians saying they were blindly allowing Sinhalisation to take place, especially through the military forces and government agencies.

The victims of the Easter Sunday bombings at the Zion church in Batticaloa were remembered last week by a local pre-school. 

Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena was forced to deny that he knew of the Easter Sunday bombings beforehand amid increasing scrutiny over why the country failed to prevent the attacks despite repeated warnings from other states. 

In a statement, the president's media division, said that the Defence Secretary nor the Inspector General of Police had informed him of warnings issued by India ahead of the attack. 

Over 250 people were killed when Islamist extremist suicide bombers supportive of Islamic State detonated devices at luxury hotels and churches on Easter Sunday. 

As part of a series marking the atrocities of Mullivaikkal, we invited activists, journalists, and writers from around the world to share their experiences and reflections a decade on.

Tamil politicians have objected to the approval of a housing scheme for Sinhalese settlers in Mullaitivu on what several have said is Tamil-owned land. The original owners of lands around the Kokkilai Lagoon were evicted by the Sri Lankan army and most are too scared to come forward due to the hostilities in the area between Sinhalese and local Tamils, one politician said.

Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena today appointed the Air Commodore responsible for operations in Kilinocchi during the end of the armed conflict in 2009 as the country's new Air Force Commander. 

The leader of the extremist Buddhist monk group Bodu Bala Sena, who was recently released from prison following a presidential pardon pledged to expose Islamist militancy in his first press conference since being freed.