German Tamils commemorated the 47th anniversary of Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran’s passing  on June 5. Remembrances took place in Berlin, in front of Freie Universitat Berlin and in Johannez Rau Platz, Dusseldorf. 

A senior Sri Lankan official sparked outrage after he claimed that the dozens of journalists who had been murdered on the island were “third class ones”, in comments made to reporters at a press briefing last week.

The three-year-old daughter of a Tamil refugee family, Tharnicaa, was medically evacuated to a hospital in Perth, Australia, after being denied treatment by detention centre staff at Christmas Island.

As COVID-19 infections surge in Sri Lanka, Jaffna Teach Hospital has issued an urgent request for Medical Equipment noting the need to establish High Dependency Units (HDUs) for the management of seriously ill coronavirus patients.

A Tamil mother, who has spent over a decade searching for her forcibly disappeared son, has died from cancer today. 

Thevakiamma, has been demanding to know the whereabouts of her son, Senchudar, who was forcibly disappeared in Mullivaikkal in 2009. 

Tamils in Germany protested against the planned deportation of Tamil refugees to Sri Lanka, despite ongoing reports of torture and human rights abuses. 

Valikamam Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, Thiyagarajah Nirosh, was blocked from commemorating Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran, the first Tamil to die in the armed struggle for liberation. 

14 people who were praying at a mosque in Jaffna on Friday, were forcibly removed by police officers and ordered to quarantine, who stated the travel ban must still be adhered to.  

A landmark decision from a British tribunal found that Tamils who engage in a range of political activities in the United Kingdom may continue to face “a real risk of ill-treatment or harm” if deported to Sri Lanka, in a significant ruling that clarifies and expands those who may face persecution on the island.

The ruling, which centred on the asylum appeal of two Tamil refugees in the UK, known as KK and RS, importantly expands the criteria of those who may be at risk in Sri Lanka, taking into account a range of activities from posting on social media, to attendance at commemorative events and even signing petitions that could be “perceived as being anti-government”.

Sri Lanka’s President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has ordered Governors and District Secretaries to maintain operations in factories and developments projects despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Puthukudiyiruppu police detained and threatened two Hindu priests and a trustee of the Sivan temple in Moongilaru, Mullaitivu, on Thursday. 

Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, David Holly extended “goodwill and appreciation” towards the role of Sri Lankan armed forces against COVID-19, by gifting personal protection equipment (PPE) to accused war criminal, Shavendra Silva.