More than a decade since the end of the armed conflict, the Sri Lankan military has raised a deadly new unit in Kilinochchi, the heart of the Tamil homeland, reportedly to “eliminate the internal and external threats”.

A flashy new video from the newly raised 1 Corps states that the new unit "is the highest tactical organization” in the Sri Lankan army, with a range of units including the war crimes accused 58 and 53 Divisions.

Hundreds of Tamil farmers marched to the Sri Lankan Government’s Agent office in Batticaloa last week, as they continued to protest against the policy of banning chemical fertilisers, a move that has launched a wave of discontent from agricultural workers across the island

This month saw the launch of Britain’s first ever Tamil Comedy Club, in a jam-packed event with a diverse range of comics tackling politics, sex and life in the diaspora in front of a sold-out audience.

The Tamil Comedy Club, hosted by Sunthar V, was envisaged to be a space that was inclusive to Tamils from around the world and all walks of life, breaking barriers that had been longstanding in the Tamil community and the world of comedy.

"Learning is a lifelong journey," said Varathaledchumy Shanmuganathan, who earned the distinction of becoming one of the oldest women to obtain a graduate degree from a Canadian university at 87 years old, in an interview with the Tamil Guardian this week.

Born in Jaffna and affectionately known as Varatha, Shanmuganathan has lived in and taught in four continents before immigrating to Canada in 2004. While at York University, she chose to focus her studies on non-violence for national peacebuilding and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

“I Have Had So Many People Connecting To Me” — Reflecting On Media Attention

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) urged the Catholic Church to reverse its call to commemorate between November 21 to 27 all those who died in the war of liberation - including civilians, during a week usually reserved for remembering the sacrifices of Tamil liberation fighters.

The International Law Commission (ILC) rejected Sri Lanka's nomination, Mohan Peiris, following a campaign calling on the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to turn down his nomination. 

'Reject Mohan Peiris' 

Writing in The Diplomat, former US for religious minorities during both the Obama and Trump administrations, Knox Thames has urged for international pressure and sanctions on Sri Lanka to force a change in the government's policy of religious persecution against Hindus, Christians, and Muslims.

The Catholic leadership in the North-East warned that the Sri Lankan government was in the midst of a “concerted effort to change the demography of the Tamil majority Trincomalee, Mullaitivu and Mannar districts by settling Sinhalese from other areas,” according to a report in JDS Lanka.

The religious leaders raised the concern whilst meeting with Switzerland’s ambassador to Sri Lanka Dominik Furgler in Jaffna on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, nicknamed ‘The Terminator’, warned that he had the ability to enforce “a military system” on the island if he wanted to.

Speaking to an audience at Mandaduwa Stadium last week, Rajapaksa hit back at the supposed two groups that have criticised him.

“One group is the ones who have no idea about the last two years,” he said “They think that these last two years are ordinary years.”