Tamil journalist, Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, was remembered today across the North-East on the 20th anniversary of his assassination. 

Nimalarajan, a senior journalist who contributed to the BBC Tamil and Sinhala services, the Tamil daily Virakesari and Sinhala weekly Ravaya, was murdered on October 19, 2000. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists stated shortly after his death: 

Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi has seemingly announced that he will no longer play controversial Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan in a biopic, by posting a letter from Muralitharan himself asking him to withdraw.

Sri Lanka’s Force Protection Company (SLFP-Coy), a military unit serving under the United Nations’ Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) conducted jointed military exercises with the Lebanese army despite human right concerns relating to Sri Lanka’s military.

Sri Lankan troops are currently deployed in UN missions based in Lebanon, South Sudan, Mali and the Western Sahara. This deployment follows a ban of all “non-essential” Sri Lankan troops deployed on peacekeeping missions, in response to the appointment of accused war criminal Shavendra Silva as head of the country’s military.

Sri Lanka’s military has been accused of a litany human rights abuses both within Sri Lanka as well as abroad during peacekeeping operations.

Fisherman from Tamil Nadu, India were threatened and chased away by Sri Lankan navy patrol boats on Saturday, causing tense conflict in the coastal villages of Tamil Nadu.

^{** CN - Blood/murder/violence **}

The bodies of two Tamil men were found in a house in Vavuniya on Saturday, with another man hospitalised in critical condition.

The men were discovered by the Omanthai Police department, who revealed the bodies were both found with massive cuts to the head.

The Sri Lankan army announced that two of the country’s “internationally-famed professional cricketers” have been commissioned as majors in the military, as accused war criminal Shavendra Silva pinned rank insignia on them last week.

Thisara Perera and Dinesh Chandimal were both commissioned in at a military event at Silva’s office last week, where he “expressed his happiness by congratulating both of them”.

As criticism of Muttiah Muralitharan grows following the announcement that Kollywood actor Vijay Sethupathi would play the controversial Sri Lankan cricketer in a biopic, he hit back with a statement claiming that he has helped Eelam Tamils more than his own Malayaga Tamil community and that Tamils on the island should “throw away your insecurities”.

Director-General of the Department Nalaka Kaluwewa has advised all journalists who attended the press conference, which took place at 9.30 a.m. on 13^th October 2020 to self-isolate until the medical reports of the journalists suspected to have contracted the coronavirus are received. 

In Kaluwewa’s statement published today, he stated that the “Health sector suspects that a journalist who attended a press conference held at the Department of Government Information”. 

Prominent human rights lawyer and outspoken government critic, Hajeez Hizbullah’s continued incarceration has raised concerned amongst rights groups. 

The chief commando of Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security force, has stated that India’s counter-terrorism force, NSG, had trained provided training to members of the Prime Minsiter's personal security team. 

“The NSG close protection force has trained 21 personnel of Sri Lanka’s PM security division in close protection skills. The honourable Prime Minister of Sri Lanka wrote to the honourable Indian PM and praised the training,” said NSG director SS Deswal.