The UK Prime Minister released a video message to mark Thai Pongal this morning, stating it was an opportunity to “celebrate our fantastic Tamil community”.

Boris Johnson said British Tamils have “long been woven into the very fabric of British life and without [them] our country would be so much diminished”.

Thai Pongal was celebrated across the Tamil homeland this morning, with festivities taking place despite concerns about rising food prcies, food shortages and the plight of farmers caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Across the world, foreign embassies and world leaders have offered messages celebrating the Tamil harvest festival, Thai Pongal.

????? ??????! ???????????? ???? ?????? ????????????????!#HappyPongal #ThaiPongal #HarvestFestival pic.twitter.com/7uHTVtUQtl

— Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka (@ChinaEmbSL) January 14, 2022

Last month, anti-apartheid leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away aged 90.

We take a look at his association with the Tamil liberation struggle and calls for justice, equality and accountability in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan courts issued an order this morning to extend the remand of 43 Tamil Nadu fishermen for another two weeks.

In December, the Sri Lankan navy announced that 55 fishermen had been arrested near Neduntheevu “as part of the Navy’s effort to prevent poaching by Indian fishing trawlers in Sri Lankan territorial waters”.

The case was taken up in court for the third time since the initial arrests and the fishermen and their boats will remain under the states custody until January 27.

The Sri Lankan government was handed a much-needed financial reprieve earlier today when India agreed to a deferment of US$500 million and currency swap of US$400 million, as an economic crisis on the island worsens.

The announcement, made today after the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo met Sri Lanka’s Central Bank governor, comes following repeated requests for financial assistance from Sri Lanka.

A new campaign launched by British Tamils, human rights organisations and backed by British parliamentarians calls on the UK government to sanction Sri Lankan generals under the Global Magnitsky Act for war crimes committed against Tamils.

The campaign has been supported by British Tamil Conservatives, Tamils for Labour, Tamil Friends of Liberal Democrats, Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, and People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL).

A Pongal event titled “Freedom Pongal” was organised in Jaffna today, demanding the release of Tamil political prisoners. 

A protest was held in Jaffna after the body of a prominent Tamil activist who was killed by the Sri Lankan navy was brought ashore to his home village this morning.

31-year-old Edward Mariyaseelan was killed on Tuesday, after locals say his fishing boat was rammed by a Sri Lankan navy vessel. Though the military has sought to blame Indian fishing trawlers for the death, Mariyaseelan’s family hold the Sri Lankan navy responsible.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence has declared that all marriages between Sri Lankan citizens and foreigners will now require military approval, sparking fears across the more than million-strong Tamil diaspora over its ties to the homeland.

The new law, which came into effect from January 1, 2022, requires all foreign nationals who are seeking to marry Sri Lankan citizens to obtain a “Security Clearance Report”.  An in-depth health declaration must also be submitted to the military, with details ranging from HIV status to any history of kidney disease.

The Sri Lankan military insists that the new measures are for “national security” purposes.