After a forced resignation following leaked footage of presidential advisor Ashu Marasinghe sexually abusing a dog, he has been reappointed to his position.

The footage was revealed by former MP Hirunika Premachandra during a media briefing on Friday. During the briefing, she identified the dog’s owner as Aadarsha Karandana who had been in a two-year relationship with Marasinghe after meeting on Facebook.

Ahead of Sri Lanka’s 75^th Independence Day, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) has issued a statement expressing solidarity with Eelam Tamils who are boycotting celebration and instead taking to the streets to demand an end to militarisation; the continued lack of accountability for the genocide they suffered; and to demand a political solution based on the principle of self-determination.

Meeting with India’s Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar, in New Delhi, several BJP officials from Tamil Nadu, including the President of Tamil Nadu’s BJP branch, K. Annamalai, have urged India to press for the full implementation of the 13^th amendment in Sri Lanka without change to the letter or spirit.

Ahead of Sri Lanka’s 75^th Independence Day, Tamil National People’s Front leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, has written and met with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, and stressed the need for a federal solution.

Ahead of Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, and Under Secretary Victoria Nuland,  met with Tamil and Muslim political leaders to discuss reconciliation and a political solution to Sri Lanka's history of ethnic conflict.

On Twitter the Ambassador tweeted:

Tamil diaspora groups are asking Ottawa to bring Sri Lankan officials to international tribunals.

Earlier this month the Canadian government imposed sanctions on four Sri Lankan state officials. This includes two of Sri Lanka's former presidents, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as well as two former Sri Lankan soldiers.

Ottawa sanctioned the four high-ranking officials for alleged human rights violations during the Island's 26-year conflict.

Photo credit: Andy Sillett

Marking Tamil Heritage Month and Thai Pongal, British Tamils held a vibrant festival in the streets of New Malden within the borough of Kingston.

Last year, Tamil Heritage Month was introduced to Britain's capital city through the London Assembly and is being marked by boroughs across the capital with significant Tamil communities.

Speaking before Sri Lanka’s All-Party Conference, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe maintained a “middle position” on the 13^th amendment is no longer tenable and stressed that “either we ought to get rid of the 13th amendment or should implement it”.

Tamil journalists in Batticaloa gathered to mark "Black January", an event designed to speak out against the Sri Lankan state's acts of intimidation, murder and enforced disappearance against journalists.

A peaceful protest was held in front of the monument of the deceased journalists located in Gandhi Park in Batticaloa district,

In a letter sent to the finance ministry on 19 January, the Export-Import Bank of China offered Sri Lanka a two-year debt moratorium.

The bank also stated that it would support Sri Lanka's efforts to secure a $2.9 billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Earlier this month a group of 182 development experts and economists called on creditors to cancel Sri Lanka's debt in order for the island to move forward with restructuring its economy.