Vaikasi Pongal celebrations at Vattappalai Kannaki Amman temple in Mullaitivu took place under the strict control and surveillance of the Sri Lankan police and military on Monday. 

Vesak lanterns were set up by the Sri Lankan military in public places in Jaffna despite warnings not to hold Vesak Day events as the corona spread in the country intensifies.

At the start of this month, it was reported that Sri Lanka had a higher infection rate than India on the basis of the country population.

Retired general Muhammad Saad Khattak, High Commissioner for Pakistan, met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday during a meeting in which he expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation despite ongoing concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

The areas of cooperation discussed include trade, educational cooperation, and sports diplomacy, with a special focus on promoting cultural heritage and religious tourism between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) Chief Coordinator, Senthamizhan Seeman, has called on the international community to question the “racist repression of Sri Lanka” noting that the recent failure to include Tamil on the Attorney General Library’s plaque following the passage of the Colombo Port City bill.

The plaque only includes English, Sinhala and Mandarin despite Tamil being an official language.

In response to the release of “The Family Man 2” trailer, the Tamil Nadu government has written to the Indian government requesting immediate action to ban the release of the Amazon Prime Web series for its highly objectionable depiction of Eelam Tamils.

This comes following a backlash from Tamil netizens who voiced their concerns over the series on Twitter using the hashtag #FamilyMan2_against_Tamils.

Stephen Kinnock, UK Shadow Minister for Asia & Pacific, raised concerns over the nomination of Mohan Peiris, former attorney general and legal advisor to Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to the UN’s Law Commission.

In parliament, Kinnock asked the government for their assessment of the “potential effect of the election of Mohan Peris on the credibility of the Law Commission”.

The Bank of Bangladesh has approved in principle a $200-million currency swap with Sri Lanka, as Sri Lanka continues to struggle with its foreign exchange reserve.

The army has been heavily deployed in Jaffna to surveill the streets as restrictions on travel imposed last Friday came to end in the district today. 

Sri Lankan police have been reported to have barred Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Shanakiyan Rasamanikam, from visiting a Brandix apparel factory in Batticaloa yesterday and threatened to arrest him.

Rasamanikam was reported to be on a fact-finding mission as he was informed that the factor was operating in violation of health guidelines put in place to curb the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. 28 garment employees at the complex have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

Basel, Switzerland

Photos from Switzerland by Phoenix TNG.

Following Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which killed at least 248 people, including 66 children and injured 1,900, Tamils in Britain, Canada and Switzerland gathered in solidarity with Palestinians.