Today marks 14 years since Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP and human rights lawyer, Nadaraja Raviraj was assassinated in Colombo. 

Mr Raviraj was shot in Colombo at close range by unidentified gunmen on a motorbike at around 8:30am on November 10 2006, as he got into his car after giving an interview. The MP died later in hospital. His bodyguard was also killed. 

Local police in Mannar have arrested two persons in relation to the murder of a Tamil village officer at Manthai West Divisional Secretariat.  

The husband of the victim’s lady colleague was among the two suspects to be arrested on Sunday by Iluppaikadavai Police.

The European Union has recently aired concerns about Sri Lanka’s import ban, highlighting the controversy of the “unfair” ban which prevents the outflow of foreign exchange, whilst Sri Lanka aims to become a “regional trading hub.” 

The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has aired its “deep concerns” in a series of reports on Sri Lanka’s forced cremation of Muslim COVID-19 victims, regardless of the fact that mandating cremations runs in direct violation of traditional Islamic burial practices.

India’s Adani Group is the frontrunner to develop Sri Lanka’s East Container Terminal (ECT) in Colombo port, despite opposition from Sinhala nationalist groups and trade unions.

Bloomberg reported that Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. and a local partner recently received approval to sign a deal with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have announced a ‘transition team’, as it prepares to assume power at the White House in January 20201, which includes the former US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Cathy Russell.

The team, announced on the "Build Back Better" website, includes a "diverse advisory board, and respected leaders and staff from across sectors”.

There have been celebrations in both Tamil Nadu and Jamaica today, as it was announced that Kamala Harris has become the first Black and Tamil woman to become elected the Vice President of the United States.

"We are celebrating this as a woman whose roots are in our village is getting elected as the Vice President of America,” local resident Malar Vendhan told the News Minute. “It is a matter of immense pride. Not only for Tamilians in Tamil Nadu, but this victory is a matter of pride for all Tamilians across the world.”

"I'm extremely glad that Kamala Harris is the first woman to be elected as the Vice President of US,” tweeted Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister this morning. “She has made Tamil Nadu proud with this astounding victory.”

The election of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, as well as Kamala Harris as the first Black and Tamil female Vice President, has been touted as a victory for international multilateralism and the “restoration of America’s moral leadership” in the world.

In Biden’s manifesto, he announces that within his first year in office he will host a “Global Summit for Democracy” a key aim of which will be “advancing human rights” and “defending against authoritarianism”.

In an era in which the international community is backsliding on its commitments to Eelam Tamils and to human rights in Sri Lanka more generally, “moral leadership” is in dire need. However, the question remains will a Biden-Harris administration follow through?

“The Tamil media field was and continues to be the most frequent target of threats and killings in Sri Lanka”, the Jaffna Press Club (JPC) said last week. “But as Sri Lanka continues to be a state that fails to administer justice for crimes, accountability remains illusive.”

In a statement released on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists on November 2, JPC, a collective of journalists working across the North, pointed out that not a single crime against a journalist had been seen through to prosecution and justice in Sri Lanka.

Muslims in Tamil Nadu protested in solidarity with Sri Lankan Muslims who have been subjected to Sri Lanka’s policy of mandatory cremation despite it breaking their religious customs and going against World Health Organisation guidance.