India’s Foreign Secretary to Visit Sri Lanka Amid Growing Tamil Political Coordination
Vikram Misri

India’s Foreign Secretary to Visit Sri Lanka Amid Growing Tamil Political Coordination

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India's Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri, is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka next week for an official visit, as Tamil-speaking political parties seek to strengthen coordination ahead of renewed engagement with New Delhi, according to people familiar with the plans. Mr. Misri is expected to meet Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister and other senior government officials, as well as Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and representatives of Tamil nationalist and up-country Tamil politi
Exclusive August 2026
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
The Easter Bombings: Anatomy of a State Failure

The Easter Bombings: Anatomy of a State Failure

By Aruliniyan Mahalingam At 8:27 on the morning of April 21, 2019, a foreign intelligence service sent one last message to the head of Sri Lanka’s State Intelligence Service. The bombers would probably move between six and ten that morning, it said, and one of their targets was a Methodist church in Colombo. Surveillance teams were being deployed. The police, it added, had already been warned. The first explosions came shortly before nine, less than twenty minutes later. Over the course of th
Cover Story JM COURTS
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
Nineteen Years After Nilakshan's Killing, Justice Remains Elusive

Nineteen Years After Nilakshan's Killing, Justice Remains Elusive

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Nineteen years after Sahathevan Nilakshan, a 22-year-old journalist and University of Jaffna student, was shot dead outside his home during a military curfew, no one has been charged in the case. His killing, former classmates and colleagues say, deprived not only Sri Lankan journalism of a promising young journalist but also the Tamil community of a potential future leader. Mr. Nilakshan, a former student of Jaffna Hindu College, was remembered by teachers and fellow studen
August 2026
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Vietnam Sees Historic Direct Flights as Gateway to Stronger Sri Lanka Ties

Vietnam Sees Historic Direct Flights as Gateway to Stronger Sri Lanka Ties

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Vietnam and Sri Lanka are poised to reach a historic milestone in their bilateral relations with the launch of the first direct commercial flights between the two countries later this month, Vietnamese Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam said, describing the new air links as a catalyst for tourism, trade, and investment. Speaking at a tourism promotion programme in Colombo, Tam said the new services by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet would end a 34-year period without direct air connecti
Economics Story
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

Former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was sentenced to death on Friday after a special three-judge trial court found him guilty of failing to act on intelligence warnings ahead of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, becoming the second senior official to receive the death penalty in the landmark case. The ruling by the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar came hours after the same court sentenced former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara to de
JM COURTS Story
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Former Sri Lankan Police Chief Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

Former Sri Lankan Police Chief Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s former police chief was sentenced to death on Friday for failing to stop the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, after a court found he had sat on a run of intelligence warnings that named the bombers and, at the end, the day they would strike. The three judges of the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar, Priyantha Liyanage, Viraj Weerasuriya, and Thilakaratne Bandara, convicted Pujith Jayasundara, who was Inspector General of Police at the time of the attacks, of
JM COURTS Exclusive
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
U.N. Experts Urge Criminal Probe Into Chemmani Mass Grave

U.N. Experts Urge Criminal Probe Into Chemmani Mass Grave

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — International accountability experts, senior lawyers, and United Nations officials have called on Sri Lanka to immediately launch a full criminal investigation into the Chemmani mass grave, arguing that the recovery of nearly 500 human skeletons has already established sufficient grounds for a criminal inquiry and that excavation alone cannot deliver justice. Speaking during a special online discussion in Geneva organized by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP)
JM Exclusive July 2026
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
How Deep Do China-Sri Lanka Ties Really Go? A New Book Explores

How Deep Do China-Sri Lanka Ties Really Go? A New Book Explores

By M.R. Narayan Swamy China and Sri Lanka have enjoyed decades of close and warm relations. Many Sri Lankans also credit China with providing extensive military assistance that helped Colombo defeat the Tamil Tigers. But is there a side of this relationship that has been kept under wraps? Yes, says a Sri Lankan scholar in a revealing new book. After detailing at length the many ways China has come to the economic and military rescue of Sri Lanka since the 1950s, Colombo-based Bhagya Senaratne
Book Review Article
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy