The Jaffna University Students' Union warned that dissatisfaction is brewing among Tamil youth as they slammed the current political class for failing to push forward Tamil nationalism, and leaving the Tamil people feeling abandoned by their leaders.

Sid Sriram joined a long list of illustrious names to perform at the O2 Arena on the Greenwich Peninsula, last Sunday, to mark his biggest UK solo concert to date. The multi-talented versatile singer adds another feather to his musical journey progressing from last year’s performance at the OVO Arena, Wembley. 

Today marks 24 years since Tamil journalist Nimalarajan Mylvaganam was murdered in his Jaffna home.

Nimalarajan contributed to the BBC for over six years, as well as the Tamil daily Virakesari and Sinhala weekly Ravaya.

He was murdered as he was writing for the BBC at home one evening. According to the BBC,

His father was repeatedly knifed and his mother and young nephew badly injured by a hand grenade explosion in their sitting room.

Selvarani Thambirasa, the head of the Association for Enforced Disappearances (AERD) in Amparai, spoke out about her interrogation at the hands of the Sri Lankan police last week, where she was accused of helping to regroup the LTTE.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “do everything we can to protect” Tamil Canadians, as he testified in a public inquiry on foreign interference in the affairs of diaspora communities.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung met with accused war criminal Sampath Thuyacontha this week, as Washington continued to ramp up military ties with Colombo despite the longstanding record of human rights abuses.

Chung tweeted photographs of her meeting with the new Secretary of Defence – a military figure who boasted of causing “chaos” during the Mullivaikkal genocide. Thuyacontha was the Wing Commander of the No 09 squadron, a helicopter gunship squadron that conducted nearly 400 missions during the genocide.

Tensions escalated in the Eastern Province last week when Sri Lankan police attempted to prevent the burial of a Muslim woman in Ponmalaikuda, based on false claims made by an extremist Sinhala Buddhist monk.

Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam refuted statements made by Tilvin Silva, the General Secretary of the ruling Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), who claimed that devolution of powers to Tamils in the North-East “is not necessary”, and instead said the government must adhere to Tamil demands.

At a media briefing held in Mullaitivu, along with party secretary Selvarajah Kajendran, Ponnambalam emphasized the need to focus on long-standing Tamil political aspirations.

Bimal Rathnayake, a longstanding member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and national executive member of National People's Power (NPP), claimed remarks made by his colleague and party secretary Tilvin Silva which side-lined Tamil demands for devolution did not occur, as he addressed party supporters in Vavuniya this week.

Silva told a Sinhala TV program that Tamils “do not want devolution of power,” earlier this week.

Excavation work at the Mannar mass grave resumed this week, with researchers extracting materials and working around the burial site, despite the prohibition of any photography or video recordings of the ongoing excavations.

Lawyers representing the families of the victims have also refrained from speaking to the media or providing any sound bites about the progress of the work. The reason behind this media blackout has not been disclosed.