Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Public Security, Sunil Watagala, has ordered the police to use emergency regulations to pursue and arrest individuals accused of circulating defamatory statements about Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake on social media, despite the president’s own public assurance that emergency powers would apply strictly to disaster management.

Canadian Tamils held an event in Toronto, Canada, to commemorate Maaveerar Naal 2025. 

Similar commemorations took place in the North-East and across the Tamil diaspora to mark the day. 

A man from Sri Lanka who was arrested by authorities in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 269 people, is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom claiming he “fears persecution” if returned back to the island.

UNICEF has raised the alarm over a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis for children across Sri Lanka, as Cyclone Ditwah leaves more than 275,000 children facing an escalating humanitarian crisis.

India has completed the evacuation of all its nationals stranded in Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah, with a reported 400 evacuated from the island in total.

Commemorative events were held in California and North Carolina in the USA last week to mark Maaveerar Naal. 

Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes' Day - is observed on November 27 annually by the Tamil nation to remember the sacrifices of the Tamils who laid down their lives int he armed struggle. 

Grama Niladharis across the Kilinochchi district will wear black armbands for one week after one of their colleagues was allegedly assaulted by National People’s Power (NPP) parliamentarian Karunananthan Ilankumaran during ongoing flood-relief efforts.

Sri Lanka’s response to Cyclone Ditwah has come under intense scrutiny, as the death toll climbs into the hundreds and survivors accuse the National People’s Power (NPP) government of failures in early warning, coordination and basic communication - particularly in Tamil.

Tamils gathered in Auckland, New Zealand to mark Maaveerar Naal 2025. 

The event began with the hoisting of the New Zealand flag and the Tamil Eelam flag which was hoisted by Mrs Nadarasa Wigneswary, the sister of two fallen LTTE cadres. 

Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes' Day - was commemorated by Tamils in Palermo, Italy, in honour of the fighters who sacrificed their lives in the armed struggle for liberation. 

Thousands of Tamils gathered at Messe Basel in Switzerland to mark Maaveerar Naal 2025.

The remembrance event began with the hoisting of the Tamil Eelam flag and the lighting of the memorial lamp. 

Flooding across Mullaitivu has forced thousands from their homes, severed major road links and left regions without electricity or telecommunications, as disaster officials warn that the true scale of damage remains unknown due to communication blackouts.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved the creation of a new “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” Fund in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, but drawn criticism for not including women, Tamil representatives from the North-East or the hill-country community, and having no independent technical experts.

Sri Lanka has appealed for at least Rs 31 billion in international assistance after catastrophic floods inflicted widespread damage across the island, destroying farmland, breaching irrigation systems and derailing the government’s attempts to stabilise the economy.