• US sanctions another Sri Lankan war criminal

    On the eve of International Human Rights Day, the United States has imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions on the former head of a clandestine Sri Lankan Army platoon, known as the “Tripoli Platoon”, Prabath Bulathwatte.

  • Revisiting Baba - 20th anniversary re-release

    Baba is a strange yet singular film, which reveals a lot about its writer. It is an unmissable film for a Rajini fan. Unfortunately, the re-release has toned down the aspects which make the film unique.

  • Rajapksas wiped out Rs.40mn from state in 2021

    Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa dropped more than Rs. 40 million in 2021 on official overseas visits, Daily Mirror reported based on details provided by the Presidential Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office.

  • Tamils celebrate Karthikai Deepam

    The Tamil festival of lights known as Karthikai Deepam or Karthikai Villakkeedu was celebrated in the North-East this weekend.

    The festival falls each year on the full moon night of the Tamil month of karthikai and celebrates the creation of the Tamil god Murugan, although the celebration of a festival of lights precedes Hindu canonisation.

    It was observed this year on December 7th.

  • Locals demand road repairs in Jaffna

    Protests were held on November 29th at the Moolai Arasadi Junction and in front of the Chankanai bus station demanding the reconstruction of roads in Valikamam West, Jaffna.

    The protest was carried out demanding the reconstruction of the Jaffna - Manipay - Kaarainagar Road, Mavadi - Moolai Road, Vattukkottai - Ponnalai Roads.

  • Vavuniya residents remember Semamadu massacre

     

    An event was held in the Vavuniya village of Semamadu to remember a massacre by the Sri Lankan army in 1984.

    Twenty-eight Tamil men and boys in Semamadu were woken up from their sleep and rounded up by the army, taken away in military vehicles never to be seen again, assumed to have been massacred.

  • Student leaders released on bail after three months in detention

    Sri Lankan student leaders Wasantha Mudalige, the convener of Inter University Students’ Federation and Galwewa Siridhamma Thero, the convener of Inter University Bhikku Federation have reportedly been released on bail after being detained under the draconian Prevention Terrorism Act (PTA) for over three months. 

  • Sri Lankan navy arrest 20 asylum seekers

     


    The Sri Lankan navy arrested 20 asylum seekers who were reportedly fleeing the island by boat on Monday. 

    The 20 asylum seekers who were on board the fishing vessel, were detained in the seas east of the Foul Point, Trincomalee after a tip off was received by the navy.

  • Othiyamalai massacre of 32 Tamils by Sri Lankan military remembered

    The massacre of 32 Tamils in Othiyamalai, Mullaitivu by the Sri Lankan army in 1984 was remembered last week. 

  • Maaveerar Naal - a nation's uprising

    Last week, thousands of Tamils, from the political strongholds in Jaffna, the militarised heartlands of the Vanni, to the allegedly contested territories of Amparai, lit up destroyed LTTE cemeteries to pay tribute to those who laid down their lives in the armed struggle. Since 2016, when Tamils reclaimed the Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam in Kilinochchi to hold Maaveerar Naal publicly for the first time since 2012, when Tamil students were beaten by the Sri Lankan army for attempting to mark the day, the commemorations have been growing in scale each year, disrupted only by the lockdowns of the global pandemic. This year was the largest yet, with events reported in at least thirty locations across the eight districts of the North-East.

  • Harrow Arts Centre calls for creative submissions from Tamil community

    Harrow Arts Centre, the prestigious heritage building in the London borough of Harrow will be hosting an exhibition to mark Tamil Heritage Month 2023.

    For the exhibition which "aims to creatively explore the rich heritage of the Tamil community", the arts centre is calling on members of the Tamil community to submit artwork which creatively expresses their heritage and culture.

    In it's callout the centre says:

  • DSP - An uninspired cop's tale

    Vijay Sethupathi films tend to be a 50:50 deal for me. He is either a part of some of the best Tamil films in recent history or run-of-the-mill, unoriginal template masala films. Unfortunately, DSP falls in the latter category.

  • Human rights, rule of law & reconciliation are key to a stability and democracy' - US Ambassador meets with TNA MPs

    Meeting with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, emphasised that "advancing human rights, rule of law & reconciliation among all communities" is key "to a stable and democratic Sri Lanka".

  • Jaffna Tamils chase out land surveyors

    Responding to continued military land grabs, Jaffna Tamils chased out official land surveyors, which had planned to hand over 11 acres from Karainagar, belonging to 44 families, to Sri Lanka's army.

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