A candlelight vigil was held in Batticaloa yesterday to mark ‘Black January’, a day to commemorate the intimidation, murder and enforced disappearance of journalists in Sri Lanka.

TNPF campaign in Kokkuvil

Across the North-East the Tamil National People’s Front are continuing their campaign against the controversial 13^th amendment and maintaining their stance for Tamil nationhood and self-determination.

Puttalam High Court has refused to grant bail to Muslim human rights lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah despite earlier claims from the Sri Lankan Attorney General that the Court of Appeal would consent to the granting of bail.

In their annual report, British ministers and MPs renewed their commitment to “fighting for truth, justice and accountability for Tamils” whilst highlighting the ongoing abuses suffered by those in Sri Lanka.

UNHRC

In an open letter, several global Tamil diaspora organisations have called on their respective governments to impose targeted travel bans and asset freezes on high-ranking Sri Lankan war criminals and their family members.

Despite Sri Lankan police officers attempting to halt commemorations in Batticaloa earlier today, the 35^th anniversary of the Kokkadichcholai massacre was marked in the district, paying tribute to the 87 people killed by Sri Lankan security forces.

Sri Lanka’s finance minister Basil Rajapaksa said Colombo was “trying all our options” to avoid defaulting on looming payments, as an economic crisis worsens on the island.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Rajapaksa said the government was “negotiating with everybody”.

South Korea’s Speaker of the National Assembly, Park Byeong-Seug, visited Sri Lanka amidst a flurry of diplomatic visits and a worsening economic crisis to explore employment, investment and training opportunities.

Brampton’s integrity commissioner has cleared Mayor Patrick Brown’s behaviour, noting that he did not break any codes, following a dispute over Tamil Genocide Day.

Marking the invasion of the First Nation communities in Australia in 1788, Eelam Tamils marched in solidarity with Aboriginal communities to commemorate the genocidal abuse suffered and continuing abuses by Australia’s government.

Sri Lanka fell 8 places in Transparency International’s corruption perception index (CPI) for 2021, with the state now ranking 102^nd in the world.

Sri Lankan police officers have pushed back protesting Tamil mothers in Vavuniya today, as they demanded justice for their forcibly disappeared loved ones outside a justice ministry meeting in the city.

As Sri Lanka continues to struggle to maintain a tourist-worthy destination on all fronts, a reoccurring issue hits the headlines again: the nurdles that are decorated along the south and west beaches of Sri Lanka.

In May, 87 containers of nurdles, which are essentially small plastic pellets - used to make just about anything, escaped into coastal areas in Sri Lanka following the fire and sinking of an X-Press Pearl cargo ship.