Sri Lanka–India Media Fest Returns to Colombo With Focus on Journalism's Future

Sri Lanka–India Media Fest Returns to Colombo With Focus on Journalism's Future

COLOMBO — A media-industry body that works to deepen ties between Sri Lanka and India will hold the second edition of its annual Media Fest in the capital on July 11, the organizers said. The Sri Lanka–India Media Friendship Association, known as SLIMFA, said the gathering would take place at the Taj Samudra hotel under the theme “Staying Relevant in a Changing World.” It follows the association’s inaugural festival, held over two days in April last year at the same venue. The association said


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Reforming the State: Why Independence, Accountability and Technology Must Converge

Reforming the State: Why Independence, Accountability and Technology Must Converge

By: Jeevan Thiyagaraja Sri Lanka's public service, a legacy of British colonial administration, faces persistent challenges in maintaining independence and integrity amidst evolving political landscapes. . While designed to operate on principles of meritocracy and impartiality, it has been profoundly shaped by the political dynamics of post-independence history. By 2015, growing public dissatisfaction fuelled calls for more independent and corruption-free public services. A decade later, n


Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

A Sri Lankan President Acknowledges Security Forces' Crimes — but Only Some

A Sri Lankan President Acknowledges Security Forces' Crimes — but Only Some

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — For decades, allegations that Sri Lanka's security forces were implicated in murder, abduction, and torture were, in the country's mainstream politics, largely dismissed as a Tamil grievance. Raised by victims in the north and east and by the families of the disappeared, they found little sympathy within the Sinhala-majority political establishment that has governed the country since independence. This week, the man who now leads that establishment — and serves as commander


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Appointed Governor Removes Two Elected Officials, Testing the Limits of Executive Power
Governor Nagalingam Vethanayahan

Appointed Governor Removes Two Elected Officials, Testing the Limits of Executive Power

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The governor of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province has removed two elected local officials from office by executive order, an extraordinary use of administrative power that has reignited a constitutional dispute over how far an unelected official may go in unseating elected representatives in the country’s Tamil-majority north. In a notification published in the government’s official Gazette, Governor Nagalingam Vethanayahan declared that Sundaralingam Kandeepan, elected mayor of


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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With a Signboard, Sri Lanka's Military Reinforces Its Grip on Tamil Land

With a Signboard, Sri Lanka's Military Reinforces Its Grip on Tamil Land

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan Army has installed a signboard formally designating a military agricultural farm on privately owned Tamil land within the Valikamam North High Security Zone, underscoring the military's continued presence despite repeated government assurances that private land would be returned to its displaced owners. The signboard appeared as the Ministry of Defence prepared to discuss land release in Valikamam North at a high-level meeting expected on Thursday. Many landow


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

PHỞ - VIET NAM'S CULINARY SOUL

PHỞ - VIET NAM'S CULINARY SOUL

“If one morning dish were chosen to represent three cities across Viet Nam's three regions, Hanoi would be Phở, Hue would be Bún bò giò heo, and Ho Chi Minh City would be Hủ tiếu” - Professor Trần Quốc Vượng Deeply rooted in Viet Nam's rice-farming civilisation and passed down through centuries, phở (noodle soup) has travelled with the Vietnamese people across five continents and earned its place among the world's most beloved dishes. Though the dish has evolved and taken on countless variation


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Sri Lankan Parliament Suspended After Chaotic Protest Over Judiciary Debate

Sri Lankan Parliament Suspended After Chaotic Protest Over Judiciary Debate

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Parliament descended into disorder on Tuesday when opposition lawmakers protested the government’s refusal to allow an urgent debate on persistent judicial vacancies and a contentious proposal to extend the retirement age of senior judges, prompting the Speaker to suspend proceedings for 10 minutes. The confrontation began after opposition legislators, led by Ajith P. Perera of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, pressed for immediate discussion of long-unfilled positio


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

U.S. Embassy Announces Transfer of 10 Helicopters to Sri Lanka Air Force
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake attends the induction of TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters to the Sri Lanka Air Force alongside senior U.S. and Sri Lankan defense officials at Ratmalana Air Force Base on June 23, 2026.

U.S. Embassy Announces Transfer of 10 Helicopters to Sri Lanka Air Force

RATMALANA, Sri Lanka — The United States has transferred 10 TH-57 Sea Ranger (Bell 206) helicopters to the Sri Lanka Air Force, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo on Tuesday. The handover took place at Ratmalana Air Force Base in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander General Kevin Schneider, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Paul Kapur, the embassy said. According to the U.S. Embassy, the helicopters were trans


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

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