Social justice activist Rev. Fr. M. Sathivel has sharply questioned why Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who repeatedly claims there should be one law for both the South and the North, has failed to enforce that principle in the case of the illegally constructed Thaiyiddy Buddhist vihara in Jaffna.

The 33rd anniversary commemoration of the death of Colonel Kittu and nine other Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was held in Theravil, Mullaitivu this week, in a deeply emotional and solemn event.

The 25th anniversary of the historic Pongu Tamil Declaration was commemorated at the University of Jaffna, as students and members of the Tamil community gathered to remember a defining moment in the political history of the Tamil nation.

Steps are reportedly underway in Jaffna’s Eluvaitivu Island to survey and acquire privately owned Tamil lands for the use of the Sri Lankan Navy, as military land appropriation in the region continues.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath on January 12, 2025, during a brief transit visit to Colombo, using the meeting to set out Beijing’s stance on rising global instability and to reaffirm support for Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah.

Activists, media freedom organisations, and the family of disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda have strongly condemned the promotion of a Sri Lankan military intelligence officer who is currently facing criminal charges in connection with his abduction and disappearance.

Marginalised Tamil tea plantation workers took to the streets of Colombo on Wednesday, abandoning Thai Pongal celebrations to demand land rights, secure housing, and rehabilitation after recent climate disasters devastated their communities.

Udaya Gammanpila, a hardline Sinhala nationalist and former Sri Lankan minister, publicly celebrated the departure of outgoing United States Ambassador Julie Chung this week, describing her tenure as a “curse” on the country and staging a media spectacle to mark her exit.

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake seemed to launch a critique Sinhala Buddhist expansionism in Jaffna this week, even as monks continued colonise various parts of the Tamil homeland under his tenure. 

Tamil parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan has once again drawn attention to what he described as entrenched discrimination in the Sri Lankan state’s handling of land disputes and places of worship in the North-East, highlighting the destruction of Saiva temples and Christian churches under military occupation.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake laid the foundation stone for a controversial 50-megawatt wind power project in Mannar, despite sustained opposition from Tamils who say the initiative threatens their lands, livelihoods, and environment.

Outgoing United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung has held farewell meetings with former Sri Lankan presidents, including Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chandrika Kumaratunga, two political figures widely accused of presiding over grave human rights violations against the Tamil people.

This week, the charge that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya went before the International Court of Justice for three weeks of testimony. 

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) boycotted events attended by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his visit to Jaffna, citing serious concerns over the establishment of political structures operating parallel to state institutions.