ITAK parliamentarian Thurairasa Ravikaran paid tribute to former LTTE military commander Brigadier Balraj in Parliament on Thursday whilst also raising concerns over alleged state-backed deforestation in Vanni and government policies affecting local paddy farmers.

Nine-year-old Kayal Vijay, a British Tamil chess player from Bishop’s Stortford in the United Kingdom, has been crowned Under-9 Girls Champion at the European Schools Chess Championship 2026 after representing England at the prestigious tournament in Croatia.

Held from 27 April to 5 May, the championship brought together young chess players from across Europe, with Kayal competing against leading players from multiple countries in the Under-9 Girls section.

Human Rights Watch’s Asia director Elaine Pearson has come under criticism after calling for a “domestic accountability mechanism” whilst attending Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day commemorations in Mullivaikkal this week, despite repeatedly stating that the organisation stood in “solidarity” with Tamils.

Sri Lanka’s current government has moved to abolish the country’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) position, publishing draft legislation to repeal the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009, which was introduced shortly after the end of the armed conflict.

The proposed legislation, titled the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Act, 2026, was published through an extraordinary gazette notification issued on 15 May following Cabinet approval earlier this year.

An event commemorating the Tamil genocide was held outside Bern parliament in Switzerland on May 18. 

Hundreds gathered outside the parliament building to remember the victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government. 

The flags of Switzerland and Tamil Eelam were hoisted before the sacrificial lamp was lit. Attendees then laid flowers in memory of the victims. 

Leaflets detailing the massacre were handed out to members of the public to raise awareness of the Tamil genocide. 

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed Presidential Proclamation 95, later known as the “Emancipation Proclamation,” freeing 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the Confederate States. More than a century later, on May 14, 1976, in Sri Lanka, S. J. V. Chelvanayagam led the adoption of the Vaddukoddai Resolution, a historic political declaration calling for the liberation and self-determination of 13.5 million oppressed Tamils in Sri Lanka.