June 2026

COLOMBO — A Tamil opposition lawmaker on Tuesday accused successive Sri Lankan governments of applying double standards to prison violence, saying that past massacres of Tamil political prisoners had never been fully investigated, while lawmakers now demanded accountability for the recent killings at Negombo Prison. P. Sathiyalingam, a member of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), made the remarks during a parliamentary debate, where he expressed condolences to the families of the prison off

BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka — Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, the former state minister better known as Pillayan, was ordered held in custody on Tuesday over a separate series of killings dating to 2008, even as the terrorism investigation that has kept him imprisoned for more than a year over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings has yet to produce a single criminal charge. Mr. Chandrakanthan, a former chief minister of the Eastern Province and one-time commander of the breakaway Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pu

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