Events were held in Jaffna and Mullaitivu last week to commemorate Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Kiddinan Sivanesan on the 17th anniversary of his assassination by Sri Lankan armed forces on March 6, 2008.

Sinhala nationalist lawmaher and leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), Udaya Gammanpila, has accused the Dissanayake-led government of weakening Sri Lanka’s intelligence sector, warning that such reckless interference poses a “severe national security risk”.

Sri Lanka will launch a fresh inquiry into allegations against former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, said a government minister, including his alleged role in the Batalanda torture camp, the Central Bank bond scam, and the Easter Sunday attacks. 

The move comes just days after Wickremesinghe’s disastrous interview on Al Jazeera, where he was pressed on his record of impunity, his shielding of war criminals, and his failure to address enforced disappearances. 

A new documentary aired on TRT World last week, travelled to the Tamil homeland and spoke to former LTTE fighters, activists and journalists on the situation almost 16 years after the end of the armed conflict.

Amongst those interviewed were former LTTE fighter Kokilavany Navalan, Tamil politician Ananthy Sasitharan and journalist Kumanan Kanapathipillai.

They spoke about the ongoing struggles in the North-East such as alcoholism and drug abuse, the push to find those who were abducted and disappeared by the Sri Lankan state and the ongoing attacks, intimidation and surveillance of journalists in the North-East.

Watch the full documentary below.

India is set to increase services along a historic maritime route with the launch of a second passenger ferry service between Rameswaram and Talaimannar this July. 

The Tamil Nadu Maritime Board has received an expression of interest from an operator to run an all-weather ferry service, capable of carrying 250 passengers and covering the distance in just one hour.