James Coomarasamy is a British presenter of the BBC Radio 4 evening programme The World Tonight and the flagship Newshour programme on the BBC World Service. Before joining Newshour in 2010, Coomarasamy spent a year presenting the failed 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. He was privately educated at Christ's Hospital, an independent school for boys (not co-educational), near Horsham, West Sussex, followed by Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he studied modern and medieval languages. He is fluent in French and Russian, and he speaks and understands some Polish words.

Career

Coomarasamy has worked primarily for the BBC:

Personal life

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