A second autopsy on a Tamil youth from Batticaloa who was "beaten to death" by Sri Lankan police, has reportedly revealed signs of torture according to lawyers for the murdered man’s family.

22-year old Chandran Vithusan was tied to a tree and assaulted in front of his family members by Sri Lankan police officers, before being taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on June 3rd. He was pronounced dead the following morning.

Tamil lawyer Sugas Kanagaratnam and Vithusan’s family had demanded a second autopsy, after an initial autopsy led by the Special Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) cited a drug overdose as the cause of death. Vithusan’s family repeatedly raised suspicions, insisting his death was a result of police brutality.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Vanni District MP Charles Nirmalanathan has been diagnosed and hospitalized with Covid-19. 

Nirmalanathan was admitted to a private hospital in Colombo on 8 November after feeling ill. He is currently isolated and receiving treatment in the private Colombo hospital.

More than a decade since the end of the armed conflict, the Sri Lankan military has raised a deadly new unit in Kilinochchi, the heart of the Tamil homeland, reportedly to “eliminate the internal and external threats”.

A flashy new video from the newly raised 1 Corps states that the new unit "is the highest tactical organization” in the Sri Lankan army, with a range of units including the war crimes accused 58 and 53 Divisions.

Hundreds of Tamil farmers marched to the Sri Lankan Government’s Agent office in Batticaloa last week, as they continued to protest against the policy of banning chemical fertilisers, a move that has launched a wave of discontent from agricultural workers across the island

This month saw the launch of Britain’s first ever Tamil Comedy Club, in a jam-packed event with a diverse range of comics tackling politics, sex and life in the diaspora in front of a sold-out audience.

The Tamil Comedy Club, hosted by Sunthar V, was envisaged to be a space that was inclusive to Tamils from around the world and all walks of life, breaking barriers that had been longstanding in the Tamil community and the world of comedy.

"Learning is a lifelong journey," said Varathaledchumy Shanmuganathan, who earned the distinction of becoming one of the oldest women to obtain a graduate degree from a Canadian university at 87 years old, in an interview with the Tamil Guardian this week.

Born in Jaffna and affectionately known as Varatha, Shanmuganathan has lived in and taught in four continents before immigrating to Canada in 2004. While at York University, she chose to focus her studies on non-violence for national peacebuilding and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

“I Have Had So Many People Connecting To Me” — Reflecting On Media Attention

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) urged the Catholic Church to reverse its call to commemorate between November 21 to 27 all those who died in the war of liberation - including civilians, during a week usually reserved for remembering the sacrifices of Tamil liberation fighters.

The International Law Commission (ILC) rejected Sri Lanka's nomination, Mohan Peiris, following a campaign calling on the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to turn down his nomination. 

'Reject Mohan Peiris' 

Writing in The Diplomat, former US for religious minorities during both the Obama and Trump administrations, Knox Thames has urged for international pressure and sanctions on Sri Lanka to force a change in the government's policy of religious persecution against Hindus, Christians, and Muslims.