An Indian national has been arrested for alleged involvement in a kidney trafficking racket operating across Sri Lanka, India and Turkey, according to The News Minute.    

25-year-old D S Pavan Srinivas, was arrested by Hyderabad police on Saturday and accused of arranging around nine kidney transplants, earning a commission of Rs 6 lakhs for each one.

Former parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan insisted that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) “has not sold out” and reiterated that it was “formed in Vanni on the basis of the struggle.”

Adaikalanathan, who is the current leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and a member of the TNA, said “The TNA was formed with a sacrificial rationale in mind and it is formed with the endeavour to continuously serve its people, and we have proof of this,” during a meeting in Mannar last week.

In November 2019 Sri Lanka again produced headlines in the international media. Gotabhaya Rajapakse won the presidential elections by a landslide. Shortly afterwards, he appointed his brother and former president Mahinda Rajapakse as prime minister. Thus, the Rajapakse brothers are back in power after five years. In May 2009 they had conquered the last territories of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). The author outlines what this return means from a Tamil perspective.

Priya Murugappan, one of the Tamil asylum-seekers still detained by Australian authorities on Christmas Island, has been urgently evacuated for urgent medical treatment, according to latest reports.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in praised Sri Lanka’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and swift resumption of routine vaccinations, even as fears rose as clusters of coronavirus cases continued to be reported across the island.

Sri Lanka’s coronavirus task force has been led by army commander and credibly accused war criminal Shavendra Silva, as the military has taken the lead on the country’s public health strategy. Their response has come under widespread criticism, as thousands were detained in coronavirus quarantine centres, which were largely set up in the North-East, and thousands more arrested for curfew violations.

As the Sri Lankan state continues to ramp up its militarisation of the North-East, an already marginalised community has now found itself under greater threat. The Tamil LGBTQ community, which has long faced its own intra-community discrimination and struggles for recognition has in recent months come under mounting pressure. A military enforced lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and looming parliamentary elections has exacerbated existing inequalities.

Sri Lankan police officers arrested a Tamil youth in Vavuniya for alleged heroin possession, yesterday.  

The 23-year-old was arrested by Vanni police officers following and the narcotics control division who stated they were informed by the army of illegal drug trade operating in Kathar Sinnakulam, Vavuniya.

Vanni police Chief Superintendent, Dhammika Priyantha – who led the raid leading to the arrest – claimed that he seized 16g of heroin and that the youth will appear in court, following further investigations.

Rauff Hakeem, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SBW) candidate for the Kandy district and leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) described the proportional representation system as advantageous to Muslims on the island at an election meeting in Gampola. 

Sri Lanka’s election commissioner (EC), Mahinda Deshapriya stated “only the police will be used for election duties” and insisted that the Sri Lankan military will only be used to “transport ballot boxes quickly from polling stations to election offices.”

Deshapriya said “the air force, navy and army will be required to transport ballot boxes from areas in the North to their respective collection offices for counting,” during his visit to Jaffna earlier this week.