The North-East and Tamil Nadu have been put on red alert following the approach of Cyclone Nivar, which is approaching with a speed of 145kph.

The department of Meteorology said that 100-150mm of rain can be expected at several places in the North on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some isolated areas receiving 150mm or rain.

The Sri Lankan Meteorology Department said that naval and fishermen communities across the North-East were warned not to venture into the sea from areas extending from Puttalam to Pottuvil, Kankasanthurai, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

Dialog Enterprise, a subsidiary of Dialog Axiata one of Sri Lanka’s largest mobile network provider, has launched a new video surveillance service capable of facial recognition.

Sri Lankan police officers have been caught on camera demanding that a Tamil shopkeeper remove red and yellow flags that he raised outside his store in Vavuniya to commemorate Maaveerar Naal this week, as the state's repression attempts ramps up.

The police officers, who spoke only in Sinhalese, demanded the red and yellow flags be removed outside former combatant S. Aranvinthan’s store in Thonikkal, Vavuniya.

The People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) expressed their concern over Sri Lanka's intensifying crackdown of Tamils' right to remember across the North-East, in a statement today. 

Two Tamil journalists have been targeted for restraining orders by Sri Lankan police, amidst the dozens that have already been issued against Tamil politicians and community leaders across the North-East, preventing them from organising commemorations for Maaveerar Naal.

Koppay police filed the applications at the Jaffna Magistrate's Court, for injunctions against Jaffna-based journalists T Premananth and T Kandeepan, alleging that the journalists were involved in planning Maaveerar Naal activities.

Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) leader and Batticaloa district MP Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, has been released on bail by the Batticaloa Court today. 

Pillayan, head of the government-aligned paramilitary group, is accused of assassinating former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Joseph Pararajasingham. Pararajasingham was shot dead by two gunmen on Christmas Day 2005 as he was attending midnight mass at St Mary's Cathedral, Batticaloa. 

Sri Lanka’s Navy has conducted several operations which led to the detention of 10 Tamils, who they accuse of “illegal fishing” in Eastern and North-western seas, as well as several others accused of “drug smuggling”.

^{File photograph: Mahinda Rajapaksa meets with former US Ambassador Robert O'Blake}

A Sri Lankan parliamentarian revealed how Mahinda Rajapaksa lied to “an ambassador of the most powerful country” about the evacuation of trapped Tamil civilians in 2009, in order to allow a Sri Lankan military offensive that killed tens of thousands of Tamils to continue.

On the 27th of November we remember the thousands of Tamil heroes who died fighting for our country. Fighting for our freedom. Fighting for our future.

Every year we come together to honour and pay our respects to our fallen soldiers and give our love and support to the families who have lost their loved ones. We remind each other of who we are and why we should be proud to be Tamil through our speeches and cultural performances. We think about the bravery showcased by our heroes who had to say their farewells to their families knowing full well they may never see them again. These courageous heroes put their lives on the line to combat the discrimination, torture and killings inflicted upon the Tamil people by the racist Sri Lankan state.  They will go down in history as martyrs inspiring us to carry on the fight for our freedom.

In the lead up to Maveerar Naal, an 18-year-old British Tamil in London reflects on the sacrifice made by her uncle.

The day, which is marked by Eelam Tamils around the world, commemorates those who gave their lives in the Tamil liberation struggle.