‘Raise Your Voice’, an event held by the Tamil Student Initiative (tsi) to showcase and empower emerging creative talent, proved to be an apt reminder of the growing creative versatility within the Tamil student community.

An Italian appeals court has ruled that the LTTE should not be considered as a terrorist organisation, according to the Uthayan.

The ruling relates to the case of 28 Italian Tamils who were cleared of terrorism charges by a court in Napoli in 2011, as the LTTE cannot be described as a terrorist organisation.

A challenge against the European Union’s proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has been heard at the European Court of Justice last week.

According to TamilNet, the hearing exposed serious flaws in the evidence used to proscribe the organisation in 2006.

The European Council reportedly drew on Indian anti-terror law as a suitable precedent and used Wikipedia articles as a source of information.

The body of a 26-year-old Tamil youth has been found hanging in Navalar Road in Jaffna, reported the Uthayan.

The body has been identified as that of Ganesh Rukhshan, a labourer from Vavuniya.

Sri Lankan police, who are reportedly investigating the murder, have said the death could have been due to an argument that Rukhshan had with his friends, after a night of drinking. The cause of his death is still to be established.

When Rukhshan’s body was discovered, the entire premises had been set on fire.

See more from the Uthayan here.

Warning - Graphic images below

The UK has said it will support the calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, for an international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka, stating "the international community now has a duty to act", in a statement welcoming her report.

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said in a statement the UK agreed with her finding that Sri Lanka has failed to credibly investigate past violations and remained concerns about ongoing issues such as militarisation and continuation of impunity.

The statement went on to say that the UK "strongly support her call for an international investigation".

“No one has been held accountable for these crimes, and even now the government in Colombo remains intent on burying the past. Only an international commission of inquiry stands any chance of rectifying this omission.”

“the government’s post-war policies have entrenched an increasingly authoritarian regime in Colombo, deepened the rift between Tamils and Sinhalese, and drawn dangerous new lines of ethnic and religious conflict.”

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly lashed out at Sri Lankan Muslim Congress head and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem, over allegations that he handed over a report to UN High Comissioner Navi Pillay when she visited the island that detailed attacks on Muslims.

In a Cabinet meeting Mahinda Rajapaksa, described as 'irate', accused Hakeem of “betraying the country”.

“If you cannot stay in the Government, you can get out,” the President told the SLMC leader.

Addressing members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, outlined that there was no need for the United Nations to adopt a resolution calling for an international inquiry in Sri Lanka.

Speaking to journalists that report for foreign media outlets, he said,

“We are taking measures locally, there is no need for a resolution. The whole resolution, we are uncomfortable with. There should not be a resolution at all."

"This is like Cassius Clay using a school boy as a punching bag."

Rajapaksa said that he did not understand why the US is pushing for an international investigation, when asked for the reason, saying only “God knows why".