The Sri Lankan navy has stepped up land grab operations in Pungudutivu, a coastal island off the Jaffna peninsula.

Earlier this year the navy attempted to expropriate 14 acres of publicly owned land, including land occupied by the Malayadi Nachimar Temple with the permission of the Velanai Divisional Secretary, for the Kottayam navy camp.

The soil in the area is known to be the most fertile region in Pungudutivu.

A cinema theatre in Jaffna has been shut down for at least 14 days, after an early morning screening of Vijay’s latest ‘Master’ movie drew complaints from Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health.

Fans began gathering for Vijay’s newest movie at midnight, all eager to catch the morning screening when doors opened. However, fans failed to adhere to social distancing and were reportedly shoving past each other to get to the front of the ticket line.

<p>Amnesty International called the acquittal of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, over the assassination of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP a "failure of justice".&nbsp;</p> <p>The rights group <u><a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/01/sri-lanka-collapse-of-jo…">responded </a></u>to the decision by Sri Lanka's Attorney General Department to drop the charges against the suspects involved in the murder of Joseph Pararajasingham:</p> <blockquote><p>

British politicians from across the political spectrum praised the Tamil community for their contribution to life in the United Kingdom in their Thai Pongal wishes. 

Boris Johnson, the UK's prime minister, thanked the British Tamil community for their contribution towards the coronavirus pandemic response in the country. 

During his Thai Pongal message, Sam Tarry, MP for Ilford South, has expressed his concern over the detonating human rights situation in Sri Lanka for Tamils and Muslims and has called for sanctions against Sri Lankan officials accused by the UN of war crimes.

In its Word Report 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised the worsening human rights situation in Sri Lanka and called on the international community to speak out to prevent a return to "the bad old days of rampant human rights violations".

Justice and accountability

Thai Pongal was celebrated across the Tamil homeland this morning, with festivities taking place despite bouts of flooding, coronavirus restrictions and a continued heavy Sri Lankan military presence.

Gareth Thomas for Harrow West has urged British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, to condemn the destruction of a Mullivaikkal memorial at Jaffna university.

Tamils around the world marked Thai Pongal, the traditional Tamil harvest festival, today as celebrations shone despite coronavirus restrictions.

In his Thai Pongal message Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, expressed support for Tamil Canadian protesters responding to the destruction of a Mullivaikkal memorial at Jaffna university.

In his statement he noted:

Recently, we saw Tamil-Canadians from coast to coast to coast come together in solidarity to condemn the destruction of the Mullivaikkal memorial at the University of Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, and call for its reinstatement. It is a reminder for all of us that commemoration is essential for reconciliation.