Outrage has been sparked on social media, after a video emerged of a senior Sri Lankan police officer instructing his colleague to allow a visibly inebriated driver to continue driving along the Southern Expressway.

Writing to Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK), and Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) amongst others urged India to ensure that Sri Lanka abides by its commitments under the 13th Amendment and devolve power to the Tamil provinces as a starting point "towards a federal structure". 

A remembrance event was held in Jaffna yesterday to mark the 48th anniversary since the killing of eleven Tamils by Sri Lankan police officers at the 1974 World Tamil Research Conference. 

On January 10, 1974, the final day of the conference, Sri Lankan police officers, led by the Deputy Inspector of Police for Jaffna, Chandrasekara, opened fire at the audience, killing 11 civilians. 

In a public statement, the Tamil National People's Front slammed the 13^th Amendment and maintained their steadfast commitment to “the hallowed Tamil National principles of nationhood and self-determination”.

The 13^th Amendment was established in 1987 as part of the Indo-Lanka accords and created the system of Provincial Council and promised greater devolution of land and police powers to a merged North-East. However, despite its passage, Sri Lanka has failed to implement its accord despite repeated calls from Tamil politicians and the Indian government.

Concluding his first diplomatic tour of the new year, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi maintained that China’s relationship with Sri Lanka “should not be interfered with by any third party”.

“It does not target any third party and should not be interfered with by any third party. The all-around cooperation and strategic mutual trust between the two countries have injected positive energy into regional peace and stability” a statement from Beijing read.

Captain Pandithar, who was a senior member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was commemorated on the 37th anniversary of his passing at his residence in Jaffna yesterday. 

A Tamil Nadu schoolgirl has won widespread praise after identifying three ancient copper coins from Tamil Eelam that her father had unearthed from a field in the Ramanathapuram district.

The three copper coins reportedly date back to the 11th and 12th centuries and were issued to mark Rajaraja Chola I’s rule over the island.

A “top emerging-market money manager” is reportedly “waiting for Sri Lanka to default”, as an economic crisis in the country has left Colombo struggling to keep up with international payments.

Carlos de Sousa who oversees a bond fund at Vontobel Asset management in Zurich “expects the South Asian country to run out of money to pay creditors by mid year,” according to Bloomberg.

N K Jayawardena, the president of the All Ceylon Bakery Association has warned that the country faces imminent shortages of bread as wheat and flour importers informed them of supply chain disruptions caused by the forex crisis, which have left foreign dollar reserves at an all-time low.

Jayawardena spoke to reporters on January 7 and detailed that following discussions held with flour importers, the association was informed that the situation was critical.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has been compelled to enforce daily hour-long power cuts in Sri Lanka, as a worsening economic crisis has meant the power utility is unable to purchase fuel oil for its power stations.