Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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A Guinness World Record set by nearly 5,000 Bharatanatyam dancers at Galle Face in Colombo has sparked controversy, after activists questioned why the official recognition was awarded to organisers and an overseas instructor rather than the thousands of performers who paid to take part. The SANGAMAM-2026 event, held on 14 June, saw 4,988 dancers successfully set a new Guinness World Record for…

Jaffna Uni students protest for charges to be dropped

Students at the University of Jaffna continued their campaign to have their student leaders cleared of terrorism charges with a protest on Thursday.

Following the Easter Sunday bombings by Islamist extremists, the president and secretary of the university’s student union were arrested when a photograph of LTTE leader V Prabhakaran was found in their office during a search operation of the campus. A canteen manager was also arrested and detained when a photo of Thileepan was found in the dining area.

Remembering the victims of Easter Sunday: Jeshanika

Jeshanika Thivanithan was in grade 8 at St Cecilia’s Girls College in Batticaloa and excelled at extra curricular. The second of three daughters, Jeshanika’s death at the hands of suicide bombers on Easter Sunday has devastated her family.

On Sunday, April 21, thirteen-year-old Jeshanika and her sister, ten-year-old Jeromika, were attending Sunday school at the Zion Church of Batticaloa. They were sitting on the church’s staircase when the first blast went off.

Sri Lankan navy arrest 9 people in Trincomalee

<p>The Sri Lankan navy yesterday arrested nine people for alleged illegal fishing in Trincomalee.&nbsp;</p> <p>The nine people were accused of using unauthorised fishing nets.&nbsp;</p> <p>The men were taken into custody and their fishing nets and dinghie confiscated.&nbsp;</p>

Sri Lanka says UN advisors 'insensitive and ill-conceived'

Sri Lanka's permanent representative to the UN in New York criticised UN Special Advisors as "ill-conceived and insensitive" for releasing a joint statement earlier this month, warning Sri Lanka was moving backwards towards inter-ethnic conflict. 

Reflections from Mullivaikkal: From the Ashes

As part of a series marking the atrocities of Mullivaikkal, we invited activists, journalists, and writers from around the world to share their experiences and reflections a decade on.

‘ISIS military plan and Kuwaiti army uniforms’ recovered claims Sri Lankan military

The Sri Lankan military claimed to have recovered several weapons, Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti identity cards and an ISIS military plan in a series of raids carried out across the island this week.

The army’s official military website claimed that search operations continued as security remains ramped up in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks last month.

Reflections from Mullivaikkal: Kilinochchi

As part of a series marking the atrocities of Mullivaikkal, families of the disappeared protesting in Kilinochchi shared their reflections on their experiences and the struggles they continue to face a decade on. 

Sri Lankan army holds 'victory' parade in Mullaitivu, days after Mullivaikkal remembrance

The Sri Lankan army held a large ‘victory’ parade in Mullaitivu town, just days after thousands of Tamils gathered for genocide commemorations in nearby Mullivaikkal.

Sri Lankan president meets extremist Buddhist monk

Sri Lanka’s president met with the leader of the extremist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), a Sinhala Buddhist hate group, the day after he was released following a presidential pardon.

Maithripala Sirisena invited  Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the general secretary of the BBS to the President’s official residence at Mahagama Sekara Mawatha in Colombo on Thursday night, just hours after he was released from prison. The monk had been serving a sentence for threatening the wife of the disappeared journalist, Prageeth Ekneligoda.  

Parliament passes state of emergency extension, TNA opposes

Sri Lanka's parliament yesterday passed an extension of the state of emergency currently in place since the Easter Sunday bombings.