Human Rights Watch has warned that Sri Lanka's controversial Online Safety Bill could impede the freedom of expression on the internet at a time when the island prepares for a parliamentary and presidential polls later this year. 

Venukanan Nayanakeshan, an 8-year-old chess prodigy from Jaffna, clinched the title of National Champion at the Sri Lanka National Youth Chess Championship in the under-8 open category, qualifying for further international competitions and fuelling talk of potential global success.

The tournament, held at Dharmapala College in Colombo, featured 450 players from each district, with Nayanakeshan securing his place among the top ten.

Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam raised concerns about the treatment of Tamil political detainees in Sri Lankan prisons, after a Tamil political prisoner was assaulted in Welikada prison this week.

In a sign of deepening militarisation in Sri Lanka, the government has deployed uniformed soldiers to hospitals across the island, as a strike by health unions intensifies.

Sri Lanka’s parliament today voted to go ahead with a scheduled debate on the controversial Online Safety Bill that has been vehemently opposed by critics who state it stifles freedom of speech on the internet. 

India’s new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha assured India’s support for the Tamil national question, ITAK parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran told the Tamil Guardian, after a cross-party group of Tamil legislators met with the diplomat this week.

Saman Perera, the leader of the right-wing Sinhala nationalist party 'Ape Janabala Pakshaya' (meaning “Our Power of People Party” in Sinhala), was confirmed to be among the five individuals shot dead in Tangalle, on Monday (22).

A batch of nearly 200 Eelam Tamil who have been living in Tamil Nadu received Sri Lankan passports at a ceremony organized by the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai on Friday (19), after decades in limbo as refugees. 

The newly elected leader of the Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), Sivagnanam Shritharan spoke to the Tamil Guardian for an exclusive interview on how he hopes to further Tamil aspirations.

A protest march and demonstration was held in Batticaloa on Monday (22), calling for the repeal of the the Anti-Terrorism Bill and Online Safety Bill, adding both repressive laws hinder the freedom of expression and assembly.