Tamil people in Oothuchenai, a village in Batticaloa bordering Polonnaruwa district, blocked a highway between Polonnaruwa and Colombo on Monday, in protest against rampant sand mining in their locality. 

Located near Vadamunai, Oothuchenai also suffers from a poor road system and the protesters demanded that the road between their village and Velikanthai be renovated. 

The 34th anniversary of the passing of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and popular Kollywood actor M.G. Ramachandran was commemorated in Jaffna late last week. 

Remembrance of the towering personality in modern Tamil political history is usually organised in Jaffna by Koppay Sundaralingam, a friend and fan of the superstar. This year, however, due to his recent passing, Sundaralingam’s wife led the proceedings by laying a wreath around MGR’s statue and lighting a candle. 

A joint statement by numerous global Tamil diaspora organisations pays tribute to life of human rights advocacy and justice lived by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his continued support for the Tamil nation.

“Archbishop Tutu has always been our inspiration to provide guidance and leadership to exert political pressure on Sri Lanka to end its national oppression of the Tamil nation with genocidal intent. Archbishop Tutu not only spoke loud for justice but has always matched it with his own and collective actions” the statement reads.

Sri Lankan Energy Minister, Udaya Gammanpila, has claimed to be finalising the Trincomalee project with India and has told the Hindu that he hopes “sign the agreement in a month”.

The agreement would see 99 storage tanks of oil kept in Trincomalee leased out to the Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC). Each tank has a capacity of 12,000 kilolitres and the LIOC currently runs 15 tanks.

The US State Department is suspected to have listed Sri Lankan General Udaya Perera as a suspected war criminal and has subjected him to a travel ban.

Tamils across the North-East remembered the 35,000 victims of the catastrophic Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. 

On December 26th, 2004, over 35,000 people perished during the catastrophic tsunami that hit the coasts of the North-East and South of the island of Sri Lanka.

Across the Tamil homeland, Tamils gathered to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the assassination of Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham.

Footage has emerged of Sri Lankan police officer brutalising a civilian in Kegalle, Sabaragamuwa.

The footage follows raised international concern over the unchecked abuses of Sri Lanka's security forces which include police brutality, torture, sexual violence, and extrajudicial killings.

Across the Tamil homeland, Tamil Christians gathered to celebrate Christmas, although there were some reports of surveillance by Sri Lankan police outside of the churches.