<p>Canada’s prime minister Justice Trudeau recognised the “many contributions Tamil Canadians have made to the success and prosperity of our country,” as he marked Thai Pongal this week.</p> <p>“This week, the Tamil community in Canada and around the world will celebrate Thai Pongal, the four-day harvest festival,”said a statement from the prime minister’s office.</p> <p>“As we mark the end of the harvest season and the start of the New Year, we also celebrate Tamil Heritage Month. During this special time, we recognize the many contributions Tamil Canadians have made to the success and prosperity of our country.”</p>

The newly appointed head of the Sri Lankan navy took up his post in recent weeks by paying visits to sacred Buddhist sites and giving offerings to monks, as well as meeting controversial military leaders, including an admiral wanted over involvement in the murder of 11 Tamil youths.

<p>The Sri Lankan navy <a href="http://news.navy.lk/eventnews/2019/01/13/201901131850/">announced</a> that it had recovered the body of a dead Indian fisherman that it had discovered off the coast of Neduntheevu in Jaffna on Sunday.</p> <p>The man has been identified as 55-year-old Karuppaiah Muniasamy&nbsp;from Ramanathapuram in India.</p> <p>His body was reportedly handed over to the Jaffna police, with it still being unclear how the man had died.</p>

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has refused to reverse his decision to deport a Tamil family, declaring that “ at every single turn they’ve been found not to be refugees”.

Nades,his wife Priya and their two daughters, Kopika and Tharunicaa, were refused asylum by Australian authorities and due to be deported later this year. They are currently being held in detention despite pressure from their local community to reverse the government's decision.

Peter Dutton responded to the case by telling reporters, “The family has gone through multiple court processes. At every single turn they’ve been found not to be refugees”. 

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May celebrated the contributions of British Tamils in a Thai Pongal message.

“We should all celebrate our Tamil community,” the Prime Minister said.

“Small in number but big in impact, every day and in every corner of the country you help make Britain the successful, thriving, diverse place it is today.”

I want to send my warmest wishes to our British Tamil community this Thai Pongal.

<p>The appointment of Shavendra Silva as chief of staff of the Sri Lankan army “is a staggering affront to the international community,” said the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)&nbsp;, who called on the international community to exercise universal jurisdiction against those accused of crimes.</p>

<p>The International Monetary Fund has rescheduled a crucial meeting with Sri Lanka as a snowstorm hit Washington DC, with Colombo due to repay an estimated USD $1 billion today.</p> <p>Sri Lanka’s Minister of Economic Reform Harsha de Silva, who is in Washington with finance minister Mangala Samaraweera, tweeted details of the loan repayment figure, stating it was due today and confirming the meeting have been rescheduled.</p>

The Sri Lankan navy announced that it had arrested a man in Mannar, after it apprehended a haul of over 180 kilograms of Kerala cannabis.

The man, who was not identified by the navy, was reportedly arrested for being in possession of the haul of cannabis in Vankalai on the 10^th of January.

Mannar police have reportedly taken over the case.

<p>Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Tilak Marapana, called on diplomats to improve the country's image abroad through their diplomacy, the Sunday Times reports.&nbsp;</p> <p>Marapana, speaking at an awarding ceremony of the Public Diplomacy and Media Relations training programme on Friday, stressed the importance of presenting Sri Lanka as a civilised nation with untapped potential and talent.&nbsp;</p> <p>Foreign secretary, Ravinatha Aryasinha, said that international affairs would continue to play a pivotal role in diplomacy both at home and abroad.&nbsp;</p>

Officials from the Sri Lankan government’s Office of Missing Persons (OMP) will join the chief investigator of the Mannar mass grave, where over 200 skeletons have been unearthed, in accompanying samples from the grave to a laboratory in Florida where they will be analysed.

“Preparations are under way for the bone samples collected for carbon dating to be flown to the Beta Analytic Radio Carbon Dating Lab in Florida, USA,” said Dr Saminda Rajapaksha, who has been heading the excavation.