French Embassy Brings Global Music Festival to Colombo and Kandy

French Embassy Brings Global Music Festival to Colombo and Kandy

COLOMBO — The Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives will stage two free public concerts this month, in Colombo on June 21 and in Kandy on June 23, as part of the Fête de la Musique, the annual French music festival now celebrated in more than 120 countries. The French singer and writer Kelly ou moi, whose work draws on the blues, will headline both evenings, the embassy said. She will be joined by the disc jockey Chandana and the Sri Lankan band DotDotay. The Colombo concert will beg


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

A Hair Ball in a Child’s Stomach: Sri Lanka’s Only Reported Case

A Hair Ball in a Child’s Stomach: Sri Lanka’s Only Reported Case

A 14-year-old girl named Mali was admitted to my ward at the Sri Jayawardanapura General Hospital in Nugegoda, Sri Lanka, after months of suffering. She came from a remote district in Sri Lanka, where access to specialist medical care was limited. For nearly three months, she had struggled with persistent upper abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, poor appetite, and gradual weight loss. Her family had sought help from several doctors in her hometown, hoping the symptoms would settle with treatment


Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

‘Why Have a Justice Minister Without Justice?’ Protesters Confront Minister at Chemmani

‘Why Have a Justice Minister Without Justice?’ Protesters Confront Minister at Chemmani

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Relatives of people who disappeared during Sri Lanka’s civil war staged a protest on Friday outside the Chemmani mass grave site, demanding an international investigation and rejecting what they described as inadequate domestic efforts to uncover the truth. The demonstration coincided with a visit by Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara and officials from the Office on Missing Persons to the excavation site at the Siththupathi Hindu cemetery in Jaffna, where forensic teams


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Archchuna Removes Slipper-Garlanded Cutout After Heated Clash With Gajendrakumar

Archchuna Removes Slipper-Garlanded Cutout After Heated Clash With Gajendrakumar

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A day after a bitter confrontation with fellow Tamil lawmaker Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam at a local government coordination meeting, Member of Parliament Archchuna Ramanathan on Friday removed a protest cutout bearing his image that had been adorned with a garland of slippers. The incident followed a tense exchange on Thursday at a coordinating committee meeting in Tellippalai, where Mr. Ramanathan and Mr. Ponnambalam, leader of the Tamil National People’s Front, engaged in a


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Unafraid and Unbowed

Archbishop, Archbishop, why hast thou forsaken us in our hour of sorrow and slaughter?

Archbishop, Archbishop, why hast thou forsaken us in our hour of sorrow and slaughter?

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." - Isaiah 58:1 His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo and chief shepherd of the Catholic flock in all of Sri Lanka, has recently marked fifty years in the sacred priesthood. As the highest-ranking prelate whose dominion spans the entire island, he now stands as a mighty voice crying for justice, calling upon the nations of the earth for interv


Kaniyan Pungundran

Kaniyan Pungundran

Jaffna Library Burning: The Day They Burned the buddha and his dhamma

Jaffna Library Burning: The Day They Burned the buddha and his dhamma

Why South Asia Reveres Books-and Fears Their Destruction Irrespective of religion, across the Indian subcontinent, books have long held an exalted status. In the indigenous spiritual traditions that emerged from this land-Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism-knowledge is not merely valued; it is venerated in the highest order. In homes, temples, and schools across the region, people treat books with profound reverence-never touching them with their feet, and if done accidentally, offering a


Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Chemmani: Where Justice Was Buried

Chemmani: Where Justice Was Buried

The dead do not speak - but the earth does A few years ago, I visited Cambodia. My original aim was to see the Angkor Wat temple complex. But, as always, my journalistic instincts led me deeper into rural Cambodia, where I found myself in quiet conversations with a few former soldiers of the Pol Pot regime, now living ordinary lives as toddy tappers, farmers, and small shop owners. One of them - a former henchman of the Khmer Rouge - opened up after a few glasses of toddy. In a hauntingly calm


Kaniyan Pungundran

Kaniyan Pungundran

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Has India Lost the Tamil Street?

Has India Lost the Tamil Street?

By M.R. Narayan Swamy A long time ago, numerous homes in Sri Lanka’s Tamil region proudly displayed framed photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. August 15, India’s Independence Day, was also celebrated. To Tamils at large, India was as much their motherland as it was to Indians. As Tamil militancy transformed into a full-blown insurgency in the 1980s, most Tamils fleeing Sri Lanka were relieved to take refuge first in India, thanks to geographical proximity, even if their final d


M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy

The Boomerang War: How Israel Aimed at Iran and Hit Itself

The Boomerang War: How Israel Aimed at Iran and Hit Itself

By Abbi Kanthasamy There are wars that end in victory. There are wars that end in defeat. And then there are wars that begin with a press conference, a wall of flags, and the quiet arrogance of people who believe history works for them. This one was supposed to be Israel’s grand vindication. Iran was meant to be cornered, isolated, sanctioned, lectured, inspected, and gift-wrapped for a triumphant Washington photo-op. Netanyahu was meant to stride across the stage like a regional Churchill.


Abbi Kanthasamy

Abbi Kanthasamy

U.S. and Sri Lanka Hold Disaster Response Drill in Galle, Drawing Lessons From Cyclone Ditwah

U.S. and Sri Lanka Hold Disaster Response Drill in Galle, Drawing Lessons From Cyclone Ditwah

GALLE, Sri Lanka — Disaster-management officials from the United States and Sri Lanka concluded a three-day workshop in the southern coastal city of Galle on Thursday with a simulated emergency exercise aimed at strengthening coordination during major natural disasters and humanitarian crises. The workshop, held from June 16 to 18, was organized by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo in partnership with the U.S. military’s Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, the Mo


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Court Leaves Door Open to Arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Easter Bombings Inquiry

Court Leaves Door Open to Arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Easter Bombings Inquiry

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal on Thursday postponed until June 24 a petition by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeking to prevent his arrest under the country’s anti-terrorism law in connection with the investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The court declined to issue interim relief restraining investigators from taking action against Mr. Rajapaksa while the case is pending, leaving open the possibility of his arrest before the next hearing. Mr. Rajapaksa


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

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