In #SriLanka well-meaning experts try desperately to make the authorities see “sense”
Naively believing that they are ignorant. Not willing to accept that these are inherently evil, selfish individuals at the helm who intentionally & informedly take the wrong decisions & actions
Thank you Prime Minister @CMShehbaz for ensuring the game we all love goes on. Delighted that the eagerly awaited India and Pakistan match at the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup in Colombo will proceed as planned.
As co-host of the tournament, Sri Lanka thanks the @ICC and all concerned for their efforts. Sri Lanka hasn’t forgotten the solidarity shown by both India and Pakistan during the 1996 World Cup, when they played in Colombo at a time when others refrained due to security concerns.
Hind Rajab's mom, Wesam, made this brilliant speech on Saturday:
Ladies & gentlemen,
I'll begin with no introductions.
On January 29, 2024, my daughter Hind Rajab was trapped inside a car, under direct fire.
Hind was a five-year-old child.
At that age, children don't think about politics, & don't know the meaning of war.
All they know is fear… & the hope that someone will come to save them.
Hind didn't die suddenly.
Hind waited.
She waited for help,
For her cries to have meaning.
She said:
"I'm scared…come get me."
This isn't a literary phrase.
This is the last thing a child said,
who knew she might not survive.
She said a sentence that tore my heart apart:
"Mom, they're lying. Stay with me!"
At that moment, I realized the betrayal.
An ambulance was sent to her. It didn't arrive. It was bombed.
This means one thing:
Saving a life wasn't allowed.
Today, 2 years later,
I'm not standing here to tell you a sad story.
I am here to speak about responsibility.
I will pose a weighty question:
What is the value of a human life when it is Palestinian?
Because what happened to my daughter Hind,
Had it happened anywhere else, would have shaken the world.
But it was in Gaza.
And that is why time was allowed to pass,
& the crime to be forgotten.
I ask you to imagine, even for a few seconds,
The magnitude of pain that mothers in Gaza carry when they lose their children.
Imagine the bitterness of the pain,
When you cannot save your child,
Or even reach them,
Or know what their final moments were like.
This pain lives with mothers
every day,
& with every breath.
What happened to Hind is not just a personal story.
It reveals how a child can be left to die, before the eyes of the world, without accountability.
You live in countries that believe in the rule of law,
that teach human rights,
& sign agreements to protect children.
But Hind was not protected.
Nor were the paramedics.
Nor was the truth protected.
I don't blame the people of the world,
but I do hold silence responsible.
The silence that makes the crime possible,
& makes its repetition easy.
Your presence here today
means that you have chosen not to be silent.
And that is important.
But what is more important, is what happens after this event.
Will Hind remain just a name at an event?
Or will she become a turning point?
I am not asking for the impossible.
I am asking for something very simple:
That the life of a Palestinian child be protected… as if it were your own child's life.
If the law cannot save a child, then it is a law that needs to be held accountable.
And if the world only acts when the victim resembles its own children, then the world needs a new conscience.
Hind is no longer here.
But her story is a trust.
And a trust is not preserved with words,
But with actions!
Do you remember the Meethotumulla Garbage dump that towered over Colombo? Here is what it looks like today! Proof that change can happen! every little step we take makes a massive difference further down the line.
do check out the full documentary for more.
For anyone who would like to hear Mark Carney’s outstanding Davos speech in full here it is. This is what true global leadership looks like.
Canada should be immensely proud today, because they are leading the fight back when others dare not.
🎥 TikTok - https://t.co/BExGV2YIDq
EU leaders say they are "watching the situation". They cannot even bring themselves to condemn strikes on a sovereign nation in flagrant violation of international law. Absolutely craven and pathetic.
“Honoured, humbled, and incredibly proud.”
Our Vice‑Chancellor, soon Professor Sir Nishan Canagarajah, has received a 2026 New Year’s Honour (The Gazette). A proud moment for Leicester and our community. Thank you for backing our mission.
#CitizensofChange | @NCanagarajah
Storms across Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka have devastated communities. At Apple, we’re thinking of everyone affected, and will be donating to relief and building efforts on the ground.
Concerned to learn that five international flights have been diverted from Colombo to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport because of Cyclone Ditwah disturbing weather patterns over Sri Lanka. The airlines are attempting to accommodate passengers in the city, but with the ongoing Navy week celebrations, Hotel rooms are scarce. Calling on all small and medium Hotels in my consistency to rise to the occasion and make space available for the stranded passengers.
#BREAKING
General Assembly ADOPTS resolution on the participation by the State of Palestine during its eightieth session.
Voting result
In Favor: 145
Against: 5
Abstain: 6
I can’t in good conscience continue to work for Reuters given their betrayal of journalists in Gaza and culpability in the assassination of 245 our colleagues.
‘Handala’ was illegally boarded by Israel military in international waters, around 40 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.
Before interception the 21 crew made this statement: if attacked they will join the global hunger strike for Gaza.
Call your governments now and hold them to account. Demand an end their complicity in Israel’s war crimes and genocide & an immediate release of all ‘Handala’ crew members.
Tragic news continues to arrive in these days from the Middle East, especially from Gaza. I express my profound sadness regarding last Thursday’s attack by the Israeli army on the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which as you know killed three Christians and gravely wounded others. I pray for the victims, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, and I am particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners.
Sri Lanka extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of India for the timely assistance to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals from Iran alongside Indian citizens. (1/2)
You cannot commit genocide in Gaza, invade Lebanon, destroy Syria and Yemen, violate Iraqi airspace, bomb Iranian nuclear power plants, violate Geneva and Vienna Conventions, international law, human rights, and state sovereignty, then hide behind anti-Semitism and the Holocaust.
What an Orwellian world we live in. Israel launches a clearly illegal and unprovoked attack on Iran, in violation of the U.N. charter, and with no imminent Iran attack in sight, or any Iranian nukes developed, and its western allies come out to say they reaffirm *Israel’s* right to defend itself, not Iran’s. The aggressor’s, not the victim of the illegal attack.
This, I guess, is the west’s ’rules-based international order.’
17 hours after its unlawful seizure and capture, the #Madleen crew remains held offshore, reportedly near Ashdod. I call on:
– Israel to release them immediately, and let them sail unimpeded to Gaza;
– The UK to act under its Article 94 UNCLOS duties as flag-state to ensure the safety of the crew;
– Crew members’ home states (Brazil, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Turkey), to intervene to ensure the safety of their citizens.
There is no legal basis for Israel’s actions. All states must uphold their obligations under the Genocide Convention—to prevent further acts of genocide and end Israel’s impunity.
It should never have fallen to ordinary citizens to do what states refuse to.