A court in Sri Lanka has sentenced Daya Master, a former media co-ordinator with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, to two years’ imprisonment, almost 13 years since the end of the armed conflict.

In an interview with the Island, former Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe lamented the government’s disastrous economic policy which has seen a surge in the price of basic goods and shortages in food and medicines.

Twelve years ago on 24 January, journalist, political analyst, and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda was reported missing, exactly two days before the presidential election in 2010, which Rajapaksa won.

Eknaligoda’s wife, Sandhya, insisting that the truth be revealed, sought guidance from a higher power today, after having said that she had given up faith in authorities and the judiciary system. This morning, Sandhya shaved her head at a Kaali temple in the outskirts of Colombo during a special pooja. 

A Tamil driver in Mullaitivu has been admitted to hospital after intoxicated Sri Lankan military officers assaulted him with a palm stick wrapped in barbed wire on Monday.

Responding to a damning Human Rights Watch report, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has lashed out against the findings claiming that “sensationalized and biased reporting” risks “risks igniting and aggravating domestic discord”.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has published a gazette notification, mandating that hotel services accept payments from tourists only in foreign exchange as the islands economic crisis worsens. 

The gazette notification notes that hotel services registered with and licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority are required to,  

The newly appointed Vice Chancellor at the University of Colombo launched a scathing attack on undergraduates at the university this week.

In their year-end report, Human Rights Watch detailed how the Rajapaksa regime has placed fundamental rights under “serious jeopardy” with “escalated surveillance and intimidation targeting victims’ families and human rights defenders”.

A Tamil family who were removed by Australian authorities from their home in Biloela almost four years ago have won an important court case which will allow them to apply for new bridging visas this week, though their battle against deportation to Sri Lanka continues.

Events were held in Batticaloa today to remember Tamil journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan 16 years on from his murder, as calls were renewed demanding justice for his murder.

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames has unveiled a plaque commemorating the twinning with Jaffna in celebrations held to mark Tamil heritage month in London. 

 In an address to parliament, C.V. Wigneswaran, stressed that Sri Lanka current economic woes are driven by the government’s failure to meet the demands of the Tamil nation.

Chastising the attempt by Sri Lanka’s President to sweep over the underlying issues for Tamils, Wigneswaran states:

Responding to the Indian government’s decision to exclude Tamil Nadu’s submission for its 75^th annual Republic Day parade, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin maintained that this was “unacceptable”.

As an economic crisis sends food and gas prices soaring in Sri Lanka, candles have become the latest commodity to be hit as shortages have begun to be reported in the southern capital of Colombo.