‘Queen of Sinhala Cinema’ Malini Fonseka passed away
Sri Lankan cinema icon and veteran actress Malini Fonseka, widely celebrated as the “Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema,” has passed away this morning (24) at the age of 76, while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo. Malini Fonseka’s illustrious career spanned over seven decades, marking her as one of the most revered and influential figures in Sri Lankan arts and cinema. She first rose to prominence after winning the Best Actress Award at the 1969 National State Drama Festival. Her cinematic acclaim grew rapidly with multiple Sarasaviya Best Actress Awards for her performances in Hingana Kolla (1980), Aradhana (1982), and Yasa Isuru (1983). Fonseka made her film debut in 1968 with Punchi Baba, directed by Tissa Liyansooriya. That same year, she starred in…
IMF Board To Review Sri Lanka In Coming Weeks
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund is expected to meet in the coming weeks to decide on approving the staff level agreement that was reached between the IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities, confirmed Julie Kozack, the spokesperson for the fund. During a press conference held in Washington, DC on Thursday (22), she stressed that IMF Executive Board approval is contingent on the implementation of prior actions relating to restoring electricity cost-recovery pricing and ensuring proper function of the automatic electricity price adjustment mechanism. She further stressed that the board approval will also be contingent on the completion of financing assurances review, which will focus on confirming multilateral partners’ committed financing contributions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff reached a staff-level agreement…
Eliminating Hamas: Insights from Sri Lanka’s defeat of the Tamil Tigers
Security expert Moshe Elad argues that the case of Sri Lanka proves that terror groups can, in fact, be completely defeated through military means. As Israel struggles with the issue of “eliminating Hamas” and ending its rule in the Gaza Strip, Col. (res.) Dr. Moshe Elad, a Middle East expert and former security coordinator of the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts in the South Lebanon Security Zone, spoke to Maariv on Wednesday about the prospects of successfully dismantling terrorist organizations. Elad drew on international case studies to explore whether such a goal is truly achievable—and pointed to one case that few in the West are comfortable discussing. According to Elad, the global debate about whether terrorist organizations can be completely dismantled, or whether “total victory” is ever feasible, appears…
U.S. Embassy Warns of Fake Social Media Accounts Posing as Embassy Officials
The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka has observed a recent increase in social media accounts impersonating officials of the U.S. Embassy. We encourage social media users and followers of U.S. Embassy Sri Lanka’s official accounts to verify the authenticity of any account claiming to represent the Embassy or its officials, avoiding engagement with or reliance on information from impersonator profiles. For our Embassy’s most accurate and up-to-date information, skip the fakes and go straight to the source. Visit our official website at https://lk.usembassy.gov/ and follow only our verified Embassy social media accounts: We encourage the public to follow Ambassador Julie Chung’s official profile on X (@USAmbSL) for accurate updates about the United States in Sri Lanka. Please note that she does not have profiles on Facebook, Instagram,…
No One Must Bow to Tyranny: AKD’s Defiant Call for Peace and Justice
“No one must bow to tyranny. We must only bow to truth, to humanity, to compassion.” With these stirring words, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered a bold and emotionally charged address, urging Sri Lankans to transform the painful lessons of history into a future of peace, justice, and national dignity. Speaking at the 16th National War Heroes Commemoration Day, the President reflected on the blood-soaked chapters of Sri Lanka’s past, where rivers ran red and tears flowed in torrents. He called on the nation to rise from the ashes of war and division, and to reject the politics of fear, ethnic hatred, and authoritarianism. “We are a people who have shed enough blood to soak this earth. A nation whose rivers have run with blood,…
New Canadian PM supports calls for accountability in Sri Lanka
Newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for accountability in Sri Lanka, in a statement issued to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Carney said that Canada continues to support independent international efforts to seek accountability and push for truth and justice. “Today marks 16 years since the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka – a conflict that spanned over 26 years and killed tens of thousands of civilians “On this Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, we remember the lives lost – the families torn apart, the communities devastated, and those who remain missing to this day. We also think of Canada’s Tamil community, who carry with them the memory of loved ones, and the many remembrance services planned across Canada. “As we mark…
ISRO’s 101st Launch Mission Takes Flight, Loses Satellite Minutes Later
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday launched its 101st satellite, EOS-09, aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61), but it failed minutes later. The 101st launch was done with PSLV-C61, carrying an Earth Observation Satellite, named as EOS-09, that was to be put in a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO). However, the EOS-09 mission could not be accomplished. According to the ISRO Chief, the PSLV 4-stage vehicle, and performance was normal till the second stage. “We will come back after analysis,” he said. The space agency, in a post on X, said, “Today 101st launch was attempted, PSLV-C61 performance was normal till 2nd stage. Due to an observation in 3rd stage, the mission could not be accomplished.”
GTF says Sri Lanka still struggling to come to terms with its past
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a leading Tamil diaspora group, said that Sri Lanka is still struggling to come to terms with its past following the end of the war. GTF joined Tamils worldwide in commemorating the 16th anniversary of the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka. The final phase of the war is one of the most brutal in recent history, with the estimated deaths of over 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months alone. This constitutes only a fraction of the total deaths, destruction and displacement suffered by the Tamil community during its 70-year political struggle for equality and justice in Sri Lanka. Many tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed or made to disappear by the State of Sri…
இலங்கை தனது கடந்த காலத்தை சமாளிக்க இன்னும் போராடி வருகிறது
போர் முடிந்த பிறகும் இலங்கை தனது கடந்த காலத்தை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள இன்னும் போராடி வருவதாக உலக தமிழர் பேரவை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.இலங்கையில் உள்நாட்டுப் போர் முடிவடைந்த 16வது ஆண்டு நிறைவை நினைவுகூரும் வகையில் உலகெங்கிலும் உள்ள தமிழர்களுடன் தாம் இணைந்து கொள்வதாக உலக தமிழர் பேரவை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.போரின் இறுதிக் கட்டம், வரலாற்றில் மிகவும் கொடூரமான ஒன்றாகும், இறுதி மாதங்களில் மட்டும் 40,000க்கும் மேற்பட்ட தமிழ் பொதுமக்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டதாக மதிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. இது இலங்கையில் சமத்துவம் மற்றும் நீதிக்கான 70 ஆண்டுகால அரசியல் போராட்டத்தில் தமிழ் சமூகம் எதிர்கொண்ட மொத்த இறப்புகள், அழிவு மற்றும் இடம்பெயர்வுகளில் ஒரு பகுதி மட்டுமே என்று பேரவை குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளது.இலங்கை அரசால் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான தமிழ் பொதுமக்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டனர் அல்லது காணாமல் ஆக்கப்பட்டனர்.இலங்கையில் மரணம் மற்றும் அழிவு தமிழ் சமூகத்திற்கு மட்டும் மட்டுப்படுத்தப்படவில்லை என்பதை உலக தமிழர் பேரவை உணர்ந்துள்ளது,எனவே வன்முறை இன மோதலால் பெரிதும் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட அனைவருக்கும் தாம் அஞ்சலி செலுத்துவதாக பேரவை குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளது.இந்தநிலையில், போர் முடிந்து பதினாறு ஆண்டுகளுக்குப் பிறகும், போரில் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு நீதி வழங்குவதிலும், ஆயுத மோதலுக்கு வழிவகுத்த மூல காரணங்களை நிவர்த்தி செய்வதிலும், இலங்கை தனது கடந்த காலத்தை சமாளிக்க இன்னும் போராடி…
Drug money in local polls: President orders probe-Sunday times
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake this week said he had information that drug traffickers funded local government councillors who have been elected at this month’s polls and asked Police to investigate the infiltration of organised criminal gangs into the political process. Addressing a meeting of senior officials from institutions, including the Police Department and the Attorney General’s Department, at the Presidential Secretariat, President Dissanayake said he was concerned over information he claimed to have received alleging that several leading drug traffickers had funded candidates who contested this month’s local council elections and that a significant number of those candidates had been elected. The President had described this as a sign of a dangerous future, stating that at a time when criminal gangs had lost political patronage,…
