Peace Road to Jaffna: The 2002 A9 Odyssey

Peace Road to Jaffna: The 2002 A9 Odyssey

By air, by sea, and now—after almost two decades—by land. My journeys to Jaffna had always been shaped by the shifting tides of Sri Lanka’s civil war. I had flown many times into the heavily fortified Palaly Base Hospital to treat injured soldiers. I had sailed across the uncertain seas in 1994 with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to assist the medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna, in completing the final examination for the medical degree (MBBS-


Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Lalith–Kugan Case Reaches Critical Stage as Court Presses Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Lalith–Kugan Case Reaches Critical Stage as Court Presses Gotabaya Rajapaksa

The Jaffna Magistrate's Court has ordered former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to submit a sworn affidavit by February 6, 2026, detailing the death threats he claims are preventing his appearance in court for a case involving the enforced disappearance of two political activists 14 years ago. The directive came after Rajapaksa's legal team informed the court that the former president was unable to travel to Jaffna due to security concerns, specifically citing death threats against him. The cour


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Emeritus Professor Velupillai Tharmaratnam, Pioneer of Jaffna University's Science Faculty, Passes Away

Emeritus Professor Velupillai Tharmaratnam, Pioneer of Jaffna University's Science Faculty, Passes Away

Emeritus Professor Velupillai Tharmaratnam, the founding Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Jaffna and a distinguished mathematician, has passed away. Professor Tharmaratnam, who served as Dean from 1978 to 1984, was instrumental in establishing the foundational infrastructure and academic standards of the Faculty of Science during the institution's formative years following its separation from the University of Sri Lanka. Joining the University of Jaffna in the late 1970s aft


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Karaituraiyappattu PS Chairman Found Passed Out Drunk on the Road

Karaituraiyappattu PS Chairman Found Passed Out Drunk on the Road

In an incident that has triggered both public anger and quiet amusement across the Northern Province, Karaituraiyappattu Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Chinnarasa Logeswaran was found passed out under the influence of alcohol on a narrow lane in broad daylight. The episode occurred during Maaveerar Week, a period of solemn remembrance for the Tamil community, further intensifying public condemnation of the chairman’s behaviour. Social Media Turns Incident into Satire Photos and video clips of Log


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Our Reporter

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LTTE Maaveerar Yesterday, Army “War Heroes” Today: Floods Perform Historic Reconciliation for Archchuna MP

LTTE Maaveerar Yesterday, Army “War Heroes” Today: Floods Perform Historic Reconciliation for Archchuna MP

In an unusual turn of events, Jaffna District MP Ramanathan Archchuna found himself rescued by Sri Lankan military personnel — just hours after attending Maaveerar Naal commemorations honouring fallen LTTE cadres the previous night. Adding to the irony, he appeared to be wearing the same shirt he had worn at the Maaveerar event, indicating he was likely returning from the previous night’s ceremony when the army stepped in to rescue him around midday. Speaking in Parliament, Archchuna described


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Anti-Sand Mining Whistleblower Killed; Family Alleges Deliberate Hit-and-Kill

Anti-Sand Mining Whistleblower Killed; Family Alleges Deliberate Hit-and-Kill

A 35-year-old activist who had repeatedly reported illegal sand mining was killed after being struck by a tipper lorry carrying illicitly mined sand — in what his family alleges was a deliberate attack. Selvaratnam Sopanath, a resident of Thiruvaiyāru, died on the spot near Mottai Bridge on Wilson Road in Kilinochchi. According to relatives, Sopanath was travelling on a motorcycle with his wife from Kilinochchi town towards Iranamadu when the incident occurred. As he attempted to pull over to


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

23 Schools Closed in Vavuniya North as MP Alleges Sinhalese Settlements Displacing Tamil Residents

23 Schools Closed in Vavuniya North as MP Alleges Sinhalese Settlements Displacing Tamil Residents

Twenty-three schools in Vavuniya North have been shut down due to lack of Tamil students, a phenomenon that Member of Parliament Ravikaran attributes to what he calls the systematic displacement of Tamil residents through expanding Sinhalese settlements and land acquisitions in the area. Ravikaran raised the issue during the Vavuniya District Development Coordinating Committee recently, urging Deputy Minister Upali Samarasinghe and Northern Province Governor Nagalingam Vethanayagan to take imme


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

“The world survives only when all life is honoured”: Writer Vadivarasu

“The world survives only when all life is honoured”: Writer Vadivarasu

In 2019, the Tamil literary world witnessed the arrival of a remarkable new voice through Ayya — The Ninety-Five-Year-Old Child! by Vadivarasu, a native of Thiruvadathanur village in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district. Written with disarming intimacy, the book traces how an ageing father — a hardworking farmer, an unlettered yet extraordinary man who served as the village pūchāri (priest), performed therukoothu (Tamil folk street theatre), and even acted as the de facto veterinarian for every


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