Heavy rains and flooding have struck the island, as a cyclone develops in the Bay of Bengal with Tamils across the North-East preparing to mark Maaveerar Naal on Wednesday.

The 70th birthday of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was marked at several locations in the North-East earlier today.

In Chavakachcheri in Jaffna, locals at several locations cut cakes and handed out sweets on local buses to celebrate Prabhakaran’s birthday.

The parents of Maaveerar - Great Heroes -  were honoured at an event in Kaithady, Jaffna today. 

A lamp was lit and flowers laid in memory of their children who gave their lives to the armed struggle. 

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has reversed his earlier commitment to renegotiate the terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program, as the global body decided to approve the release of $333 million as part of the third review of Sri Lanka’s $2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

Tamil children participated in an art competition in Naples, Italy earlier this month to commemorate the Tamil people who gave their lives to the liberation struggle. 

British Tamil students walked 20km from Little Moore Bridge in Loughborough to Abbey Park in Leicester to remember the sacrifices made by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres. 

The students completed the walk in six and a half hours as Storm Bert swept the UK on Saturday. 

Tamils in Mannar are making preparations at Aadkattiveli Thuyilum Illam for Maaveerar Naal which will be marked by the Tamil nation on November 27. 

More events were organised in Vavuniya this week, in the run-up to Maaveerar Naal on November 27, a day to commemorate those who gave their lives in the struggle for Tamil liberation.

Tamil students studying at universities in Copenhagen and Odense in Denmark, held events last week to commemorate fallen Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres. 

The Tamil Eelam national flag was raised at the events and students lit candles in remembrance of the cadres who sacrificed their lives. 

Preparations are underway at Vakarai Thuyilum Illam in Batticaloa ahead of Maaveerar Naal which will take place on Wednesday. 

Former Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren was present alongside a group of volunteers. 

Sri Lanka's president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed retired general Aruna Jayasekara as deputy defence minister - a man who oversaw Sri Lankan troops as they raped minors in Haiti and was a platoon commander as the state crushed an insurgency led by Dissanayake’s party, the JVP.

Following a visit to the North, China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong visited Kaluvankerni, a Tamil village in the Eastern Province which he has travelled to previously, as he pledged further financial aid aimed at improving livelihoods in the region.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala confirmed that restrictions would be put in place as Tamils look to observe Maaveerar Naal, or Great Heroes’ Day, on November 27, including the display of any photographs.