The Nallur Kandasamy Kovil's annual Thiruvizha officially commenced on Friday with the inaugural flag-raising ceremony.

The historic temple's festival will last 25 days and traditionally sees thousands flock to Jaffna from across the Tamil homeland as well as around the world.

Preparations are underway for the historic Nallur Kandasamy Kovil’s annual Thiruvizha which will commence tomorrow with the inaugural flag raising ceremony.

Today the temple held 'kodicheelai kaiyalippu', the traditional handing over of the flag silk, with a procession and poosai to bless the flag.

The Nagapoosani Amman Kovil in Nainathivu celebrated its annual chariot festival on Saturday.

Tamil schools in Denmark celebrated their students’ sporting achievements with their annual sports festival last week.

British Tamil students discussed Tamil identity and the experience of growing up Tamil at a panel event hosted by student groups in London.

A video series and publication supporting those impacted by childhood sexual abuse (CSA) within the Tamil community was released by Toronto-based non-profit organization Abuse Never Becomes Us (A.N.B.U.).

The publication showcases the lived experiences of five individuals that were impacted by CSA.

One contributor writes,

Over 10,000 devotees filled the streets of West Ealing as Shri Kanaga Thurkkai Amman Temple (SKTAT) held their annual ther (chariot) festival.

Every year the event is attended by members of the Tamil community all over London, as well as from overseas but also attracts many visitors of other cultures and faiths.

A documentary examining how life on an islet in the Tamil North-East has been crumbling in recent decades was screened in London last month, by the Pungudutivu Welfare Association (PWA).

Puthuvai Ratnathurai is an Eelam Tamil Revoluntary Poet. He was in charge of the Tamil Eelam Arts and Cultural Guild. 

Mr Rathnathuai was last seen in the custody of the Sri Lankan military on 18 May 2009 in Mullivaikkal and to date his fate is not known. 

He has written hundreds of poems. Here we publish just one such poem, originally written in Tamil and translated into English by the late Chelva Kanaganayakam.