Viswalingham Mannivannan resigned as Mayor of Jaffna last week after his 2023 budget for Jaffna Municipal Council was defeated by seven votes.

Mannivannan wrote to the Jaffna Municipal Commissioner and Local Government Commissioner to inform them of his decision to resign.

Sources close to Manivannan said that despite the opportunity to present the budget for the second time, Manivannan took the decision to resign after not getting the necessary support. 

Former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe during a private visit to Sri Lanka, where he reportedly extended his best wishes to the president for the new year.

China’s deputy envoy to Sri Lanka, Hoo Wei, slammed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) claiming that on three occasions they had asked to meet with Tamil Leader R Sampanthan and were refused.

“The accusation that China does not maintain relationships with Tamil people cannot be accepted. We had sent invitations three times to the representatives of the Tamil people, the Tamil National Alliance. They did not even have the courtesy to  acknowledge it", Hoo Wei claimed.

Speaking to Virakesari newspaper, former peace envoy for Norway, and current international climate advisor for Sri Lanka’s president, Erik Solheim asserted that there is no need for “third party mediation” as the issues raised by Tamil can be solved domestically.

Noting the promise of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe of the release of Tamil political prisoners, and ongoing cross-party discussions on the implementation of the 13^th amendment, Solheim maintained the demands of Tamils could be met internally.

Former Northern Provincial Councillor M K Shivajilingham commemorated five Tamil students who were summarily executed by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force (STF). 

On January 2, 2006, five Tamil students were shot and killed at pointblank range by the STF whilst they spent an afternoon on the beach in Trincomalee.

On this day 17 years ago, five Tamil students were summarily executed by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force, whilst they spent an afternoon on the beach in Trincomalee.

To date no one has been held accountable for the murder.

Cancer patients are struggling to receive treatment amidst Sri Lanka's ongoing economic crisis. 

Hospitals countrywide have struggled to contend with severe drug shortages, which have worsened over the last eight months, a representative of Sri Lanka's largest doctors union told Reuters.

"All hospitals are experiencing shortages. There is difficulty in even sourcing basics like paracetamol, vitamin C and saline for outpatient services," said Vasan Ratnasingam, a spokesperson for the Government Medical Officers' Association.

Specialist facilities like cancer and eye hospitals are running on donations, Ratnasingam said

Earlier this year The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA), one of Sri Lanka's most powerful trade unions, declared a medical crisis as doctors and hospitals reported a widespread lack of medicine. 

Responding to Sri Lankan army personnel planting seedlings in a thuyilum illam (LTTE cemetery), local Tamils chased out the personnel.

The plainclothes youth was acting on behalf of the military before locals demanded he cease. For years, the military has acted to destroy the cemeteries of former LTTE cadres and have acted to clamp down on memorialisation activities.

Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya continued their protest and called upon Tamil politicians to not engage in unconditional discussions with the government but rather to bring their case before the international community.

Following the burning of the village secretariat office in Thellippalai, Jaffna, the civil officials have staged a protest against the Sri Lankan police's continued inaction.

Demonstrators demanded the immediate arrest of the perpetrators and carried slogans which noted that "our service is not safe".