Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

US sanctions two Sri Lankan military officers

US sanctions two Sri Lankan military officers

THE US has imposed sanctions on two Sri Lankan military officers, including a murder convict pardoned by president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, for human rights violations, banning them and their immediate family members from entering America.

Chandana Hettiarachchi, a naval officer, and Sunil Ratnayake, a former staff sergeant of the Sri Lankan Army, were among several officers from 12 countries who were sanctioned by the US over accountability for "gross violations of human rights".


Hettiarachchi was involved in the "flagrant denial of the right to liberty of at least eight 'Trincomalee 11' victims, from 2008 to 2009," the US state department said in a statement issued last Friday (10), coinciding with International Human Rights Day.

The 'Trincomalee 11' case pertains to the abduction and murder of 11 Tamil youth from Trincomalee district. They were killed in naval custody after they had been abducted for extortion of money, news website colombogazette.com reported.

Ratnayake was involved in the "extrajudicial killings of at least eight Tamil villagers in December 2000", the statement said.

Ratnayake was sentenced to death by a Lankan court for killing the eight Tamil civilians, including four children, following which he moved the Supreme Court. The apex court in 2019 unanimously rejected the officer's appeal and upheld the death penalty.

However, Rajapaksa last year pardoned Ratnayake and ordered his release from prison.

The US state department in 2020 also sanctioned the current Sri Lankan Army chief Gen Shavendra Silva on allegations of war crimes committed during the final phase of the armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.

The LTTE had waged a war with the Sri Lankan government to carve out a separate Tamil homeland with the conflict ending in 2009 when the government forces killed its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.

According to the Lankan government figures, over 20,000 people are missing due to various conflicts including the three-decade brutal war with the LTTE in the north and east, which claimed at least 100,000 lives.

The Tamils alleged that thousands were massacred during the final stages of the war that ended in 2009 when the government forces killed Prabhakaran.

The Sri Lankan Army denies the charge, claiming it as a humanitarian operation to rid the Tamils of LTTE's control.

More For You

Covid inquiry begins probe into care home deaths

FILE PHOTO: A mother and daughter sit atop the Covid memorial wall on September 9, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Covid inquiry begins probe into care home deaths

THE Covid inquiry has started examining how the pandemic affected care services for older and disabled people, with families describing the crisis as one of the worst failures of the pandemic.

Nearly 46,000 care home residents died with Covid in England and Wales between March 2020 and January 2022, with many deaths happening in the first weeks of the outbreak.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

Keir Starmer speaks to members of the media during a visit to RAF Valley, on Anglesey in north-west Wales, on June 27, 2025. PAUL CURRIE/Pool via REUTERS

Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and Glastonbury organisers said on Sunday (29) they were appalled by on-stage chanting against the Israeli military during a performance at the festival by Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

During their show on Saturday (28), the duo chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in reference to the Israel Defense Forces, the formal name of the Israeli military.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan floods

A flooded street near Station Road after heavy rainfall in Hyderabad, Pakistan, on June 27, 2025.

Getty

Pakistan reports 45 deaths from flash floods and rain in monsoon onset

AT LEAST 45 people have died in Pakistan over the past few days due to flash flooding and heavy rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon season, according to disaster management officials on Sunday.

The highest number of deaths was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. There, 21 people were killed, including 10 children.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Weather Alert: June Heatwave to Hit 34°C, Breaking Records

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record

iStock

UK set for one of the hottest June days with highs of 34°C

Key points

  • Temperatures may hit 34°C in Greater London and Bedfordshire
  • Amber alert in place across five regions due to health risks
  • Wimbledon’s opening day to be hottest on record
  • Risk of wildfires in London labelled “severe”
  • Scotland and Northern Ireland remain cooler

Hottest June day in years expected as second UK heatwave peaks

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record, with temperatures expected to reach 34°C on Monday (30 June). The ongoing heatwave, now in its fourth day, is most intense across the South and East of England, particularly in Greater London and Bedfordshire.

Although there is a small chance of temperatures hitting 35°C, they are unlikely to surpass the all-time June record of 35.6°C set in 1976.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Probing all angles in Air India crash, including sabotage: Minister

INDIA’s junior civil aviation minister said on Sunday that all possible angles, including sabotage, were being looked into as part of the investigation into the Air India crash.

All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. Authorities have identified 19 others who died on the ground. However, a police source told AFP after the crash that the death toll on the ground was 38.

Keep ReadingShow less