Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to India’s Ram Nath Kovind demanding the release of seven people convicted for their alleged involvement in the assassination of India’s 6th Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi who served from 1984 to 1989 and oversaw the notorious Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF).

The seven convicts are S. Nalini, Murugan, Santhan, A.G. Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas and P. Ravichandran.

On the 12^th anniversary of the massacre at Mullivaikkal, which killed tens of thousands of Tamil civilians, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promoted 452 officers in the Sri Lankan army and 4289 officials of other ranks.

This was reported to be one of the biggest promotions in recent times.

Yesterday marked 13 years since the death of Brigadier Balraj, a senior commander with the LTTE, who passed away from a sudden heart attack in 2008.

Brig. Balraj was famed for his courage, leadership and skills on the battlefield.

Senior Tamil politicians from the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) held a Mullivaikkal memorial at the party's Jaffna headquarters on May 18.

Speaking at the memorial, former MP Mavai Senathirajah condemned the Sri Lankan state's crackdown on Tamil memorial efforts.

Former Northern Provincial Council member and Mullaitivu politician Thurairasa Ravikaran also held a personal vigil at his home.

The Tamil politician M K Sivajilingam was pursued and harassed throughout the day by Sri Lankan military and police on May 18, as he attempted to hold vigil and mark Tamil Genocide Day privately at different significant sites.

After defying the Sri Lankan state’s crackdown on Mullivaikkal commemoration in Mullaitivu, by holding a small vigil at the Nandikadal lagoon with other politicians, Sivajilingam was stopped and threatened with arrest by police near Jaffna town.

Marking 12 years since the massacre at Mullivaikkal, Australian parliamentarians spoke out against the Tamil genocide, which killed an estimated 40,000 Tamil civilians during the final phase of the conflict, and demanded accountability for the war crimes committed.

The Family Man 2, sequel to a popular Indian Hindi-language web series, has attracted controversy for its negative portrayal of Tamil people and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 

Actor Samantha Akkineni has particularly drawn the ire of Tamil netizens as she is seen in the trailer playing an LTTE fighter portrayed as an extremist.

Tamils marked the 12th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide with a remembrance event in the capital. 

An Early Day Motion (EDM) was tabled by UK MPs to recognise that 12 years have passed since the end of the armed conflict and to urge the government to sanction accused war criminal Shavendra Silva. 

Silva, who currently serves as the Acting Chief of Defence Staff and the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, is credibly accused of gross violations of human rights through command responsibility. 

Swiss Tamils marked the 12th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide with a remembrance event at the Helvetiaplatz in Bern. 

Flowers were laid and candles lit to honour the tens of thousands of Tamil lives lost at Mullivaikkal.