COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Government of Japan and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in partnership with the Sri Lankan government, have launched a $1.33 million initiative aimed at restoring inland fisheries and strengthening the resilience of fishing communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province. The project, which will run from June 2026 through November 2027, will focus on the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee, where severe flo

MAYILIDDY, Sri Lanka — S. Sritharan, a lawmaker representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), on Friday called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to immediately release military-held lands in Valikamam North, where displaced residents have been staging weekly protests demanding the return of their ancestral properties nearly 17 years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war. Mr. Sritharan made the appeal while addressing a black-flag demonstration that entered its sixth consecutive week

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan police questioned two members of a Tamil music troupe this week after performers sang a song associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during a temple festival in northern Sri Lanka, according to police. The two performers, identified as Gokulan and Darwin, sons of the late Tamil singer S.G. Santhan, were summoned to the Kopay Police Station following the incident at a festival in Urumpirai, in Jaffna district. Police said the song performed during the

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, the leader of the Tamil National People's Front and a member of Parliament, on Wednesday accused the Sri Lankan government of creating false expectations among displaced communities in the country's north, saying military officials had rejected several requests for the return of civilian-owned land during a closed-door meeting earlier this week. Mr. Gajendrakumar's remarks directly contradicted public statements by Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Cha

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's Media Minister said Tuesday that future appointments to the top editorial position at the state-run Tamil daily Thinakaran would be made on the basis of qualifications, as the newspaper's management faces criticism over the interim appointment it made following the suspension of its Editor-in-Chief over alleged financial misconduct. The minister, Nalinda Jayatissa, made the remarks at a government media briefing held to announce Cabinet decisions, after journali