Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena has granted a pardon to Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the leader of the extremist Buddhist monk organisation, Bodu Bala Sena. 

Students at the University of Jaffna yesterday called for the charges against two student union leaders and a canteen owner to be dropped and said they would boycott classes until then. 

Sri Lanka today extending the state of emergency by one month, following the Easter Sunday attacks by Islamist extremists last month. 

Issuing a special gazette the Sri Lankan president said, "I am of the opinion that by the reason of a public emergency in Sri Lanka, it is expedient, so to do, in the interest of public security, the preservation of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community." 

The emergency regulations, which grant the state's security forces additional powers, have been used to carry out widespread search operations, detentions and arrests. 

Events were held in Toronto and Ottawa this week, as thousands of Tamils gathered to mark a decade since the genocide at Mullivaikkal.

At Albert Campbell Square in Toronto, Tamils were joined by parliamentarians and community leaders as they laid flowers before a Tamil genocide memorial.

The victims of the Easter Sunday bombings were remembered this week, one month on from the attacks which left over 250 people dead. 

An exhibition was held by the Tamil Information Centre this weekend, showcasing the history, culture and politics of the Tamil people on the island in memory of the massacres in Mullivaikkal a decade ago.

The exhibition, entitled ‘Tamils of Lanka: A Timeless Heritage’, brought together a variety of artwork, historical texts and carefully preserved artefacts that provided a glimpse of Tamils throughout the ages on the island.

The Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today submitted a no-confidence motion against the government over its failure to prevent the Easter Sunday bombings by Islamist extremists despite numberous warnings by other states. 

The Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that Muslim schools, known as Madrasas, would be brought under the Ministry of Education, following the Easter Sunday bombings by Islamic extremists. 

An ID tag was found by the skeletal remains of an LTTE cadre, which was discovered close to the Sri Lankan military's 681 Brigade camp in Mullivaikkal on May 17. 

The Sri Lankan Muslim diaspora in Toronto on Sunday marched through the city, demanding that the perpetrators of the recent anti-Muslim violence are brought to justice.