James Coomarasamy

James Coomarasamy is a British presenter of the BBC Radio 4 evening programme The World Tonight, and the flagship Newshour programme on the World Service.

Before joining Newshour in 2010, Coomarasamy spent a year presenting the now defunct programme Europe Today. Before becoming a presenter (announcer) he had been a BBC correspondent in Warsaw, followed by Paris, then Washington, D.C.

Early life[]

Coomarasamy was born in London to parents of English and Sri Lankan ancestry.^{[citation needed]} He was educated at Christ's Hospital School, an independent school for boys (now co-educational), near Horsham, West Sussex, followed by the University of Cambridge, where he studied modern and medieval languages. He is fluent in French and Russian, and he speaks some Polish.^[2]

Career[]

Coomarasamy has worked primarily for the BBC.^[3]

• 1991. Production assistant in the BBC Moscow bureau, after which he freelanced in Moscow as a reporter-producer
• Producer for the BBC World in London
• December 1994. Returned to Moscow as the bureau's bi-media producer, covering major stories such as the war in Chechnya
• November 1997. In Warsaw as the BBC correspondent covering events in Poland, the Baltics and Ukraine
• From 1999 to 2003. The BBC's Paris reporter, covering for both radio and television
• From February 2005. Correspondent in Washington, D.C., for North America
• 2009. Presented Europe Today for the BBC World Service
• 2010. Joined the presentation team for Newshour on the BBC World Service

Personal life[]

Coomarasamy is married to Nanette van der Laan. They have two children: Maya and Finn.^[4]

References[]

External links[]

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