Latest news
Protesters are rallying through Vavuniya today as they demand the release of the eight Tamil men who were unlawfully arrested at a Shivarathri pooja at Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan temple last week.
Tamil News
-
Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister and Inspector General of Police, Tiran Alles, declared, during a programme in Jaffna, that Sri Lanka’s notorious anti-drug operation “Yukthiya” will continue with a focus on the Tamil regions in the North-East, despite outcry from human rights defenders.
-
Responding to a US intelligence report, which maintains that China may seek to establish a military presence on Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's Defence Minister, Premitha Bandara Tennakoon dismissed the claims and told reporters that they have been no discussion "with any foreign government including China for a possible...
-
The Sri Lankan Navy have arrested 21 Tamil Nadu fishermen and seized two trawlers off Delft island while conducting a "special operation" this week.
-
The Hindu Federation of Switzerland has condemned the arrest of the eight Tamils at Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan temple and the ongoing attempts by Sri Lanka's archaeology department to acquire places of religious worship belonging to the Tamil Hindu community.
The statement comes as Tamils across the homeland protest against the unlawful arrest of eight Tamil men who participated in the observance of Shivarathri at Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan temple in Vavuniya...
-
-
Shops and stores across Nedunkerny were closed all day on Friday, as a mark of protest over Sri Lanka’s arrests of eight Tamils who took part in Shivarathri observances at the Vedukkunaari Adi Shiva temple in Vavuniya last week.
-
Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) has summoned yet another Tamil journalist form Mullaitivu to their headquarters in Colombo for questioning, as Eelam Tamil press workers continue to face intimidation for their work.
-
Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Member of Parliament Selvarajah Kajendren who visited the detainees in the Vedukkunaari temple arrest inquired why the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) did not launch an investigation, despite a formal complaint being lodged.
-
A mass protest was held earlier today in Nedunkerny, Vavuniya, to demand the release of the eight devotees who were arrested on Shivarathri at the Vedukkunaari Athi Sivan temple last week.
-
The Sri Lankan navy has been accused of being complict in the murder of a man in Jaffna, after they were seen in dramatic CCTV footage refusing to help the man and his wife as they were being chased and...
-
Five out of the eight Tamils who were arrested last week at Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan temple have launched a hunger strike to demand their immediate release.
-
In a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Human Rights Watch (HRW) calls upon the organisation to stress to Sri Lanka the importance of civil society and to abandon proposed legislation that would severly curtail their freedom.
-
Marking 2,200 days of protest the Association for the relatives of the enforced disappearances, representing 8 districts across the North East, called on UN member states to recognise the Tamil genocide and bring Sri Lanka before the International Criminal Court.
-
Indigo Airlines, a budget airline from India is tipped to operate direct flights between Chennai and Jaffna later this year.
-
Sri Lanka’s Archbishop of Colombo delivered a statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva last week, where he called for an investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks and – for the first time – spoke of accountability “for the atrocities in the...
-
The University of Jaffna's Teacher's Association has described last week's violence and arrests at Vedukkunaari Athi Sivan temple in Vavuniya as the "latest manifestations of the violence of Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism" as efforts to colonise the traditionally Tamil temple continue.
Last Friday, as Tamils gathered at the temple to observe Shivarathri, Sri Lankan police aggressively disrupted the religious ceremony and arrested eight Tamil devotees.
-
Lands that were being occupied by the Sri Lankan military were released to their original owners for the first time in years, with Tamils returning to the area finding their homes having been left in ruins.
Some of the families were visiting their homes for the first time in almost 30 years. Much of the land had been seized...
-
Sri Lanka's archaeology department has claimed that the eight Tamil devotees at Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan temple were arrested during the Shivarathri for damaging the temple's antiquities.
Appearing on behalf of those arrested, lawyer Kanagaratnam Sugash said that the archaeology department has...
-
Hundreds of women from all eight districts across the Tamil homeland 8 districts took to the streets in Kilinochchi today, demanding an end all forms of oppression, harassment, and militarisation across the North-East, including eliminating violence against women.
The rally was organized by the North-East...
-
The leader of the Crusaders for Democratic Party, C. Vendan, called on India to expedite the release of the remaining freed convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who are presently detained in special camps.
The call to release the remaining freed convicts comes following the death of Santhan who was freed from the case over a...
-
Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya are marking 2578 days of continuous roadside protest today. in pursuit of answers to the whereabouts of their forcibly disappeared loved ones.
Many of the families witnessed their relatives being taken into Sri Lankan military...
-
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran was the sole opposition lawmaker to attend a meeting convened by Sri Lanka’s president regarding engagment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday, as he broke a boycott against the global body’s “hard reforms”.
-
The residents of Pallimunai in Mannar and Pungudutivu in Jaffna took to the streets last week to protests over the Sri Lankan government’s failure to address their grievances on a range of issues, from Sinhala settlers disrupting their livelihood through sea cucumber farms to illegal sand mining.
-
Out of the thousands of acres of land forcibly retained by the Sri Lankan military in the North-East, 70 acres in Valikamam North and 40 acres in Kilinochchi were ceremoniously released this weekend, even as the state continues to engage in further land grabbing attempts.
-
(File photo)
-
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) MP Sivagnanam Shritharan has called on Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe to release the eight individuals who were arrested by Sri Lankan police during the observance of Shivarathri at the Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan temple on Friday.
-
Despite repeated pleas from civil society organizations, environmentalists, and locals over the construction of a wind power plant in Eastern Mannar, the government of Sri Lanka announced that it would forge ahead regardless and call for tenders this week owing to ‘growing interests from investors.’
-
A protest was held in Jaffna this morning to condemn the violence and arrests by Sri Lankan police that disrupted Shivarathri celebrations at the Vedukkunaari Athi Sivan temple on Friday.
-
Mannar Magistrate Court has summoned the Chief Judicial Medical Officer and other experts to attend the next hearing on the Sathosa mass grave for failing to provide a comprehensive report on the excavations.
-
World News
-
The Indian government has enacted a controversial citizenship law that has been described as discriminatory towards Muslims by critics.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), proposed by the Modi government, explicitly makes religion the basis for acquiring Indian citizenship.
-
Source: Flickr, July 29, 2016
While attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea, about 60 migrants have died after the engine of their small dinghy broke down.
On Wednesday, the dinghy was spotted by a ship belonging to the humanitarian organization, SOS Mediterranee. The humanitarian group was able to rescue 25 survivors who were showing...
-
A UN fact-finding mission (FFM) has concluded that the Iranian regime’s human rights violations during its brutal suppression of protests in 2022 amount to crimes against humanity.
In November 2022, the UN Human Rights Council established an FFM two months after the Woman, Life, Freedom protests that swept the country. The protests were in response to the death of 22-year-old...
-
On 4 March the United States sanctioned eleven Zimbabwean officials including President Emmerson Mnangagwa for their connection to corruption or serious human rights abuses.
-
Five members of the SAS have been arrested by British military police on suspicion of allegedly committing war crimes while on operations in Syria.
The case against the five revolves around the alleged murder of a suspected jihadist in Syria who was killed on operations two years ago. Case files recommending prosecution of murder charges have been sent by service police to the Service Prosecuting Authority, the military equivalent of the CPS.
-
Human rights experts have condemned a decision by Indonesia’s outgoing president to award the rank of honorary four-star general to his presumed successor, Prabowo Subianto, a controversial figure accused of human rights violations.
-
On Friday, President Biden announced plans to carryout a US military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza.
The announcement comes just a day after Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of Palestinians lining up for desperately needed food assistance. The massacre left more than 750 wounded and killed at least 112 Palestinans.
-
Nicaragua has filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Germany for providing Israel financial and military aid, and for suspending funding for the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA).
The case brought on by Nicaragua builds on South Africa's ICJ case against Israel. In it Nicaragua states that Germany is violating the 1948 Genocide convention and the 1949...
-
A member of the US Air Force has died after setting himself on fire outside of the Israeli Embassy in Washington in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.
The 25-year-old US airman, Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas, died from his injuries on Monday according to the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC.
...
-
The UN Human Rights Office has stated that warring sides in Sudan have committed abuses that could amount to war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilian sites such as hospitals, markets, and refugee camps.
The 10-month conflict has killed thousands and displaced approximately 8 million people.
-
UN experts are calling for a full investigation into credible allegations that Palestinian women and girls have been subjected to sexual assault while in Israeli detention.
A panel of experts has stated that there is evidence of at least two cases of rape alongside other cases of sexual humiliation and threats of rape.
-
The UK’s minister for veterans, Johnny Mercer, has effectively admitted in front of a public inquiry that he believed members of the SAS had engaged in dozens of unlawful killings of Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013.
Asked by the chair of the inquiry to clarify that he was describing "allegations of straight murder" by the SAS, Mr Mercer replied, "Yes."
-
The Foreign Secretary has announced sanctions on 4 extremist Israeli settlers who have committed human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
There have been unprecedented levels of violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank over the past year. Some residents of illegal Israeli settlements and outposts have used harassment,...
-
In a joint statement published on Wednesday, the leaders of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza in response to Israel's planned military operation in Rafah.
The statement emphasizes that Rafah is currently providing refuge for 1.5 million Palestinians and that an expanded military operation would be catastrophic.
-
Ethiopia’s federal security forces killed at least 45 civilians in a massacre in Amhara state in late January, the independent state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said on Tuesday.
It is one of the worst episodes of violence in the Amhara region since last August, when...
-
On Monday a Dutch appeals court ordered the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 jet parts to Israel due to concerns they are being used to violate international law in Gaza.
The court has stated that the government has seven days to comply with the order.
The lawsuit against the Dutch government over F-35 jet exports to Israel was brought on by various rights groups...
-
Thousands of people are fleeing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as fighting intensifies between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group.
Fighters reportedly surrounded the strategic town of Sake on Wednesday, a crucial step before reaching Goma, the capital of North Kivu. Capturing Sake would deal a logistical blow to Congolese...
-
On 8 February, UNICEF issued a statement warning that an escalation of Israel's attacks in Rafah "will mark another devastating turn in a war that has reportedly killed over 27,000 people - most of them women and children."
Israeli Prime Minister has stated that he ordered the military to develop a plan to both evacuate civilians from Rafah and defeat remaining Hamas battalions...
-
On Wednesday the United Nations appealed for $4.1bn to meet the humanitarian needs of Sudan after ten months of armed conflict have led to the world's largest displacement crisis with half of the population facing hunger.
The UN has characterized the situation in Sudan as one of "epic suffering". The appeal for more aid comes as the UN World Food Programme has warned that people in...
-
Sinn Féin says united Ireland 'within touching distance' as the party claim the post of Northern Ireland first minister for the first time.
Northern Ireland’s devolved government has reconvened and appointed Michelle O’Neill as first minister in a historic moment for Sinn Féin and Irish nationalism.
-
Earlier this week the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, appealed for increased attention on Myanmar from the international community citing the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the country.
Ahead of the third anniversary of the military coup, Türk stated “Amid all of the crises around the world, it is important no one is forgotten. The people...
-
Britain will consider recognising a Palestinian state as part of concerted efforts to bring about an “irreversible” peace settlement, the foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said.
Palestinians must have “a political horizon so that they can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution”, Lord Cameron said in a speech on...
-
On Wednesday, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation said that all states should stop funding Israel's military actions in Gaza after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined that those actions could amount to genocide.
-
The International Court of Justice ordered provisional measures, in South Africa's case that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention.
The court adopted “provisional measures,” or binding orders, that include requiring Israel to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza, enable the provision of basic services and...
-
In an interview with UN News, UNICEF representative in Sudan, Mandeep O'Brien, stated that the war in Sudan is a "living nightmare for children."
According to O'Brien the conflict has displaced more than 3.5 million girls and boys.
Further, nearly 2 million are in urgent need of lifesaving vaccines. And over 7.4 million do not have access to safe drinking water.
-
Sixty Syrian migrants have been rescued by Cypriot authorities on Wednesday after being lost at sea for 6 days.
The migrants were spotted by a merchant vessel on a small wooden fishing boat about 30 nautical miles off Cape Greco.
According to Cyprus’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, all migrants have been hospitalized, including three children and one man who ...
-
A recent article published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlights the Bangladeshi police abuse occurring in Rohingya camps.
In the past decade, nearly a million Rohingya have fled persecution by the Myanmar military. Those who have fled currently live in refugee settlements in Bangladesh.
-
Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets of Buenos Aires on Wednesday to protest economic and labor reforms proposed by President Javier Milei.
The 12-hour strike coordinated by Argentina's largest union, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), is the most significant opposition to Milei's proposed austerity measures since he took office in December 2023. ...
-
Turkey’s parliament has voted in favour of Sweden joining Nato, leaving Hungary the sole Nato member yet to ratify Sweden's accession.
The vote late on Tuesday paves the way for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to give Turkey’s seal of approval on Nato membership for Sweden, which dropped its centuries-old policy of military non-alignment after Russia’...
-
The president of Egypt, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, has expressed his support for Somalia in a dispute over an offer by Somaliland to give land-locked Ethiopia access to its coast in exchange for recognition of its independence.