Every summer, in Kandy, the religious capital of Sri Lanka, the great Buddhist festival of Esala Perahera takes place. Flagship animation of the event: ten days of nightly processions of caparisoned elephants. This year, like every year, the elephant Tikiri was to be one of them… until photos of her physical state leaked onto the…
In Mayotte, 18 migrants from Sri Lanka were arrested by the police this Monday morning on a beach on the island, a first for the 101st French department. 16 men and 2 women. 18 Sri Lankan migrants , who would have left the Indian continent a fortnight ago, were arrested this Monday, May 27 on…
Sri Lanka began voting on Saturday in its presidential election. A ballot that could allow the return to power of the dreaded Rajapaksa clan who ruled the island with an iron fist for a decade. Millions of Sri Lankans went to the polls on Saturday, November 16, to elect their new president. Almost five years…
Sri Lanka and several other countries are in the sights of radical Islam and movements affiliated with the jihadist international. These extremist organizations seek to spread by taking advantage of local tensions and the presence of militant Islamist groups, both in Asia and Africa. Claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, the Colombo (Sri Lanka)…
At least 207 people were killed and 450 injured this Sunday, April 21, in a series of explosions in luxury hotels and churches in Sri Lanka in the midst of Easter celebration, police said. Eight people were arrested but the wave of attacks had not been claimed at the end of the day. There are…
Sri Lankan police said on Wednesday April 24 that they had found no evidence of the direct involvement of the Islamic State (IS) group in the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, for which the jihadist organization claimed responsibility. Simultaneous attacks on churches and hotels in Colombo and the eastern part of the country claimed the…
A few hours after the Ganesh parade, a major Parisian meeting for the Sri Lankan community, fourteen men were arrested by the police on Sunday afternoon. All of Sri Lankan origin, they were armed with axes, machetes and knives. The brawl left two injured. The 14 men remained in police custody for two days. The…
The attacks which left at least 290 dead in churches and hotels on Sunday April 21 were allegedly carried out by the small group NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath), according to the government. Since the end of the civil war, friction between communities has remained very frequent in this predominantly Buddhist country. The civil war that…
Sri Lanka has lifted the 39-year ban on women buying alcohol or working in establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold or manufactured. The 1979 law that banned the sale of any alcoholic beverage to women on the island of 21 million people was abolished as part of a broader fight against sexism in legislation, the…
On Sunday, a series of attacks on Sri Lankan soil left several hundred dead and injured. Dilip Fernando, a Sri Lankan Catholic recounts how, for lack of space, his life was saved that day. His family, who remained outside the church, are convinced of having crossed paths with the suicide bomber, a young man who…
The death toll from the collapse of a mountain of garbage in Sri Lanka rose to 26 on Monday after three people in hospital died of their injuries. Without much optimism, hundreds of soldiers continued to dig in the debris of the rubbish and the 145 houses destroyed by this disaster on Friday in the…
Sri Lanka declared a ten-day state of emergency nationwide on Tuesday after riots against the Muslim minority that left at least two dead. It was the Minister of Urban Planning Rauff Keem who announced it: a ten-day state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka . Reason? Riots directed against the Muslim minority which…
The government of Sri Lanka has reinstated the death penalty, but has no executioner. Next week, she will publish an advertisement for a post of “responsible for executions”. A job offer that may not find a taker right away. The government of Sri Lanka has reintroduced the death penalty for drug traffickers in the country,…
The political crisis in Sri Lanka is likely to degenerate into a “bloodbath”, worried the Speaker on Monday after the disputed dismissal of the Prime Minister replaced by the former strongman of the island. In a surprise decision on Friday, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena removed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from his post. Denouncing his…
The Sri Lankan police discovered, this Monday, April 22, 87 detonators in a station of Colombo, the economic and political capital of the country. On Sunday, a wave of attacks left more than 290 dead and 500 injured in the country. Sri Lanka police on Monday discovered 87 detonators in a bus station in the…
Two Muslim brothers, among the suicide bombers, are believed to be behind the deadly attacks in Sri Lanka which left more than 300 dead. The Sri Lankan government attributes the attacks to a little-known Islamist group, the NTJ. The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the attacks on Tuesday, April 23, without giving any evidence….
The candidate of the powerful Rajapaksa clan on Sunday claimed victory in Saturday’s presidential election. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, candidate of the powerful Rajapaksa clan who is aiming for a return to power in Sri Lanka, claimed victory in Saturday’s presidential election on Sunday. “We had between 53 and 54%” of the vote, told AFP his spokesman…
Authorities in Sri Lanka have accused a local Islamist movement in the investigation into the series of attacks that hit churches and hotels on Sunday, leaving 290 dead and around 500 injured, according to a new death toll. In Colombo, it is astonishment and a time of mourning, as the investigation led to the arrest…
Sri Lanka was hit by a series of eight explosions on Sunday April 21, in the midst of the celebration of Easter. Several churches and luxury hotels have been hit killing at least 290 people. No claim has yet been made, twenty-four people suspected of being in connection with the attack have been arrested. Return…
In the shadow of the new nationalist president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, alias Terminator, lurks all the siblings… As before. The speech is soporific, the voice barely audible… But the place speaks for him. It was from the largest temple in Sri Lanka that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 70, was sworn in on Monday, November 18….
The Sri Lankan government retracted its Sunday statements, citing a nationality error. The Sri Lankan government returned this Tuesday to its announcement the day before of a Frenchman killed in the suicide attacks on Easter Sunday. “The French national who was marked as killed in the ministry’s press release of April 22 is a case…
This ban on wearing Islamic veils covering the face is taken by the Head of State in the name of “national security”. The measure comes into force on Monday. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena announced on Sunday April 28 the ban on Islamic veils covering the face in the name of “national security” , a…
Hemasiri Fernando, the most senior official in Sri Lanka’s defense ministry, resigned Thursday April 26 following the jihadist attacks that killed 359 people on Sunday. Sri Lanka’s senior defense ministry official resigned Thursday following jihadist attacks that killed 359 people on Sunday, a ministerial source told AFP. Hemasiri Fernando gave his letter of resignation to…
Tens of thousands of demonstrators blocked the center of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Tuesday, a show of force by ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his confrontation with President Sirisena and his sulphurous predecessor Rajapakse. Fired Friday to everyone’s surprise by the president , Maithripala Sirisena, the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe denounces…
For the past year, the department has been dealing with illegal immigration from Sri Lankans seeking asylum. The population is divided on their welcome. Close game, concentrated faces and knowing smiles, four men are playing carrom. Between two scooter rides, teenagers in turn place pawns on the wooden board. This table game, very popular in…
The state of emergency had been in effect across Sri Lanka since March 6, after clashes between Buddhists and Muslims. The president announced this Sunday the lifting of the measure. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has lifted the state of emergency, imposed across the country on March 6, following violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims….