On 19 April, Indians will begin choosing a new parliament for the next five years, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third consecutive term. Opinion polls put his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies ahead. They are up against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (India), which groups more than two dozen opposition […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will stand again for a fifth term in office. He announced it at an awards ceremony for participants of the full-scale war he launched against Ukraine in 2022. It comes a day after election officials set 15-17 March 2024 as dates for the presidential election. The re-election of  […]

This week, China is throwing a huge party to celebrate one of its biggest experiments in engaging with the world: its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Officials and leaders from all over the globe are in Beijing to attend a high-level summit marking the BRI’s 10th anniversary. Participants expected to show up range from Vladimir […]

Poland elects a new parliament this weekend after a bitterly fought campaign that has seen each side paint the other аs a dire, national threat. The governing, right-wing Law and Justice party, or PiS, is battling to secure a record third term in office. It says the opposition would weaken Poland with mass migration and […]

Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping […]

Tamil Guardian asks: The UK policy, regarding mainly Sri Lankan Tamils held in Diego Garcia, is likely to remain unchanged. Some of those who reached Diego Garcia, home for the strategic US military base, over a year ago, have already been sent back “voluntarily” to Sri Lanka. They returned in the wake of the UK […]

By Michael Rowand As Sri Lankan protesters stormed the presidential residence in Colombo, the Chinese Embassy released no statements and did not tweet. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered no comment until Monday afternoon, well behind others such as India, the European Union, and the United States. The French Embassy even retweeted a tweet […]

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Nothing is closer to the law of the jungle than a system of distorted laws and procedures” Haaretz Editorial (2.1.2012) President Rajapaksa won the Eelam War, with the help of countless others (including the imprisoned Gen. Fonseka). In fairytales, the hero who saves a country from some deadly peril is rewarded with ...

Below is an interview with Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleke published in the French Diplomatic Review – La Lettre Diplomatique (The Diplomatic Letter) Two years after the end of a three decades conflict, the lifting of the emergency rule in late August 2011 confirmed the beginning of a new era for Sri Lanka. With the recent discovery of ...

By S. V. Kirubaharan - in France Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” — Julius Henry, Groucho Marx, American comedian and film star (1890-1977). When life is smooth and everything goes in the right direction, normal civilians can become President, Prime Minister ...

Report To Congress on Measures Taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and International Bodies To Investigate Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka, and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Such Efforts Office of War Crimes Issues Report August 11,...

June 16, 2010: 11.00 am Siobhain McDonagh: (Mitcham and Morden) (Lab): I am grateful for the chance to highlight again the appalling treatment of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan Government....