Former Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) leader Mavai Somasundaram Senathirajah has passed away at the age of 82 today. 

He died at Jaffna Teaching Hospital after he was admitted for suffering a fall at his home.

Senathirajah first entered parliament in 1989 and was elected as an MP for the Jaffna district in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2010 and 2015. He served as ITAK's General Secretary from 2004 until 2014 and later served as the party's leader from 2014 to 2024. 

Tamils in Batticaloa commemorated the 87 people killed by Sri Lanka's security forces in the 1987 Kokkadichcholai massacre.

Lamps were lit at a memorial erected for the victims of the massacre. The memorial was rebuilt and opened in May 2019 after the original monument was destroyed by Sri Lankan troops. 

The students and staff of Burlington Junior and Infant School in New Malden, UK, celebrated Thai Pongal, marking the first time it has been observed in a British school with its school students. 

Eravur Circuit Magistrate Court has issued an arrest warrant for Tamil journalist Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy for not attending court after he was forced into exile due to intimidation by Sri Lanka's security forces.