January 11th, 2021, an Awareness and Protest Webinar was held over the destruction of Mullivaaikaal Monument in the University of Jaffna campus by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Student leaders from the University, political leaders and activists from the North East, Tamil Nadu and from Tamil diaspora participated.

The Government has decided to remove Provincial letters from vehicle number plates. The Cabinet has approved a resolution submitted by the Minister of Transport in this regard for the convenience of customers. The Cabinet said letters to identify Provinces are added to the number plate when registering vehicles which is easy at the vehicular emission tests and annual revenue license issuance.

Parliamentary complex has been closed for two days from today to disinfect the complex after a police officer tested posstive for COVID-19. Secretary General of Parliament Dammika Dassanayake said the decision was taken after a sub-inspector who has been in charge of police officers kitchen and canteen was tested COVID-19 positive last week. Accordingly, the staff attached to the complex was asked to stay at home.

Former President Maithripala Sirisena today denied the statement made by former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando-regarding Former President- to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the 2019 Easter Sunday Attack.

A group of five UN special rapporteurs have expressed their serious concerns to the Government of Sri Lanka on the continued harassment of journalist Dharisha Bastians, the former editor of Sunday Observer and reporter for the New York Times in Colombo. In a joint letter to the Government dated 13th July 2020 the Special Rapporteurs said Bastians' was being targeted for her writing and her work to defend human rights in Sri Lanka.

On Monday April 20th Government of Sri Lanka lifted the curfew and reinstated on Friday April 24th. The curfew scheduled to be lifted on Monday April 27th was extended to Tuesday April 28th morning due to serious concerns having been raised over the increase in new cases of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. Continued and uncertain curfew along with increasing cases of COVID-19 is expected to impact the daily wage earner families for the next 4 weeks at minimum, before they are able to return to normalcy in phases.

The Government has decided to assign 5,000 Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses and 400 trains for the transportation from Monday, Transport Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. He said the decision was taken to facilitate the employees to reach the employment institutions.

Tamil Canadian Food Relief Support for Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.

Dear Tamil Canadian Community Members & Friends,

We hope all of you are keeping well and safe. While we have our own challenges and uncertainties here in Canadian, the situation in war affected Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka continues to deteriorate with continued curfew / lock down. A large number of daily wage-earning families are on the brink of starvation. Over the last two weeks, thanks to generous donors, the Canadian Tamil Congress has been successfully working with partners on the ground in Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka to deliver basic food rations to the most vulnerable families impacted by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Two Russian Navy ships ‘Yaroslav Mudry’ and ‘Victor Konetsky’ arrived to the port of Colombo on a three day goodwill visit yesterday (4). The visiting ships were welcomed by Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with naval traditions.

The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) hosted its 13th annual Thai Pongal Dinner on January 18th, 2020 at the Hilton Suites in Markham. Despite a snowstorm that lasted for most of the day a large number of guests attended the event which as in previous years showcased the achievements of the Tamil community in Canada and across the world and highlighted CTC’s many accomplishments in 2019. The dinner was attended by several dignitaries including elected officials from all levels of Government. Hon. Mary Ng, Federal Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International, Hon. Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance from the Province of Ontario, Mayor Frank Scarpitti – City of Markham, Mayor Iain Lovatt – Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville and Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson – City of Toronto brought greetings. Guests also included senior members of various law enforcement agencies, academics, members of media, business and community leaders from various communities. The Leaders for Change Award was presented to Ms. Kanimozhi Mathi, a practicing Attorney at Law at the High Court of Madras, India for her successful legal intervention in protecting the Keezhadi, Tamil Nadu, an area of great archaeological significance for Tamils. Current excavations continue to provide clear evidence of the trading prowess of the Tamils thousands of years ago and the sophistication of their civilization. Her legal victory has guaranteed that the site will live as a testament to all Tamils world wide and instill in them a even more heightened appreciation of their origins.

August 30th marks the "International Day of the Missing" to highlight the fate of the countless number of people who have disappeared worldwide as a result of armed and politically motivated violence. On this day the people should be reminded that there are people held in secret detention camps against their will. Their relatives are not informed about the location or state of the disappeared. Although such internment would be a violation of human rights and, in the event of an armed conflict, a violation of international humanitarian law, internment camps for political prisoners are still being established worldwide.

The jeep in which the Civil Security Department (CSD) Director General Chandraratne Pallegama was travelling in had caught fire. The vehicle had caught fire due to a technical fault. No one was hurt in the incident. Pallegama’s jeep had caught fire while he was on his way to participate in the President’s ‘Rata wenuwen ekata sitimu’ programme in Mulaithivu. Having pumped fuel in Paranthan the driver had driven for about 10 km and stopped as the vehicle was overheating. The vehicle had caught fire after Pallegama and the others had got off the vehicle. The jeep belongs to the CSD.

Sri Lanka President and Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces today commissioned the Coast Guard Cutter P626 acquired by the Sri Lanka Navy from the United States as SLNS Gajabahu. At a ceremony held Thursday at the Port of Colombo, the Commanding Officer of the ship, Captain Rohitha Abeysinghe received the Commissioning Warrant from the President - the Chief Guest of the event.

The verdict for the case filed against former Northern Province Chief Minister, C.W. Vigneswaran and three others for contempt of court will be delivered by the Court of Appeal on January 31, 2019.The case against the four individuals was filed by Northern Provincial Councillor B. Deniswaran who claimed that they had acted in contempt of court. The case was filed against Mr. Vigneswaran for not enforcing the verdict given by the Court of Appeal to reinstate B.Daniswaran as a Minister of the Northern Provincial Council.

George Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs but was denied a second term after support for his presidency collapsed under the weight of an economic downturn and his seeming inattention to domestic affairs, died Friday night at his home in Houston. He was 94.

The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) has received over 13,000 files on missing/disappeared persons from the former Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation, OMP Chief Saliya Peiris told the Daily FT. According to Peiris, the files were handed over to the Ministry of Integration by various Grama Niladharis following a Ministry announcement to the public to submit instances of missing or disappeared persons.

Two higher ranking Army officials who were assigned for the security detail of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa have been questioned and their statements recorded in connection with the murder of former Havelocks rugby captain Wasim Thajudeen, the Attorney General informed Court yesterday.

A United Nations committee that monitors acts of torture in member countries grilled an intelligence chief Wednesday over the alleged abuse of detainees during Sri Lanka

Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, United People's Freedom Alliance General Secretary, yesterday confirmed that the UPFA has had several discussions with political parties from the North, aimed at forging alliances with the UPFA. Minister Amaraweera, who is also the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, announced this at a media briefing at his ministry yesterday.Declining to name any of the political parties from the North with which he claims the UPFA had initiated talks, he said the discussions had been fruitful.

Three People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) ships, "Liuzhohu", "Sanya" and "Qinghaihu", arrived at the Port of Colombo on a goodwill visit yesterday. They were welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy. The Commander of the Task Force and Deputy Chief of Staff of the South Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, Rear Admiral Yu Manjiang and the ships' Commanding Officers are due to pay a courtesy call on Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne at the Naval Headquarters in Colombo today. As a gesture of goodwill and friendship, the ships' crews' will participate in a friendly soccer and basketball match with the SLN teams at the Welisara Navy base.