New wildlife underpass to curtail HEC

As of February 2024, Sri Lanka lost another 38 elephants as a result of the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC), elephant-train....

Will the Mannar wind power project kill ecological treasures?

In February 2023, Adani Green Energy (Sri Lanka) Ltd was given provisional approval for two wind power projects of 250 MW in Mannar and 234 MW in Pooneryn. The proposed project site in Mannar spans....

Businesses of Israeli, Ukrainian nationals spell doom for Southerners

Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry recently said that tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka may exceed 2.5 million in 2024. While the figures....

Building the Future: Rhino Roofing Products Celebrates Win for Revolutionary RBS Cement Panels

Rhino Roofing Products Limited is delighted to announce that its innovative RBS cement panels have been honored with the prestigious ’’Excellence Award’’

RTI reveals… Budget allocated to conduct one election in 2024

The Presidential and General elections are two much anticipated events in Sri Lanka’s political calendar this year (2024). The lack of funds to conduct an election has been one of the key factors that supposedly delayed the local government elections for four consecutive years. While it seems like President Ranil Wickremesinghe had already begun his campaign, defections among key figures in major political parties indicate that an election is lik

Sri Lanka’s War with Elephants

The discovery of an elephant carcass in Giribawa on February 6 raised the total count of elephant deaths to 21 for this year. In 2023, Sri Lanka made history as the country with the highest number of elephant deaths, hitting a record high of 400 or more. Elephants are frequently at the receiving end of the ever-aggravating human-elephant conflict (HEC) that was created more than 50-60 years ago, when people moved into elephant territory sans any

“Govt. tax policies are based on deals” -Dr. HariniAmarasuriya

National People’s Power or NPP, the major alliance of JanathaVimukthi Peramuna (JVP), is in a historical juncture of its political journey as its leaders have visited India on an invitation by the Indian Government. In the 1980s the JVP took a strong stance on India, especially against the Indo-Lanka pact signed under the J. R. Jayewardene government. Taking a more flexible line on geopolitics compared to several decades ago the NPP is ready to d

Human lives at stake… When protectors of the law become predators

On Thursday (January 18), a sub-inspector attached to the Narammala Police Station opened fire at a civilian. The civilian, identified as K. A Roshan Kumarasiri succumbed to injuries instantly. The reason....

Research on sex work during Lankan civil war: Sex workers and their faint cries to access basic rights

A broken pair of rubber slippers kept on a display caught this writer’s eye as she walked into the ICES auditorium to witness....

Newlywed Sri Lankans forced to remain childless

The ongoing economic crisis in the country is not only impacting the availability of food, but has also had a significant effect on population growth. This is evident in the fact that the majority of individuals who married in the years 2021-2022-2023 are choosing not to have children, according to data provided by the Department of Census and Statistics. Consequently, compared to previous years, the number of new births has decreased by about 10

Paramedics and docs in tug of war over raise in DAT allowance

On Tuesday (January 9), staffers in the paramedic services launched an unannounced token strike that crippled the country’s already ailing healthcare sector. The strike was launched in wake of the government approving to double the Disturbance, Availability and Transport (DAT) allowance for doctors by Rs. 70,000, but refused the same for technicians, laboratory workers and other staffers employed in the paramedic services sector. As a result publ

Stifling factors that frustrate females in Sri Lankan politics

Sri Lanka has its very own illustrious history in politics where the country recorded the swearing in of its first female prime minister; which also...

Drug busting operation and rehabilitation process questioned

Law enforcement authorities have been able to net over 29,000 suspects during the past 22 days under its recently launched ‘Yukthiya’ anti-drug operation. The main objective of this operation is to wipe drugs off the street and to establish a safer society for future generations. Even though the public has extended their support to the police and security forces, incidents of public strip searches and warrantless arrests too had been reported. Am

Harassment of Civilians in the guise of ‘Yukthiya’?

On January 3, a WhatsApp message written by one Gerald De Saram revealed another incident of alleged police brutality on two teens. The incident had occurred when two youths, a boy and a girl were.....

Right to Information reveals: Nearly 1.4 million in govt. jobs and over 300,000 vacancies more to be filled

In November last year, at least a 100,000 public sector employees launched an island wide strike demanding a Rs. 20,000 ...

Rohingya refugees agitate as UNHCR office in Colombo plans closure

“UNHCR is closing its office and thereby squashing the hopes of refugees in Sri Lanka,” a protester representing Rohingya refugees....

Crisis Hit Sri Lankans End Up In Foreign Cyber Slavery

In the early 2022, when the entire country was going through a ‘hell’ without essential goods, days long queues to buy fuel and gas....

Can a male cop search my handbag? Apparently the answer is yes!

The ‘Yukthiya’ anti-drug operation was launched on December 17 with the objective of cracking down on drug peddling and organised crimes that have plagued the country. So far, over 13,000 suspects have been arrested by the Police under this operation launched by Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon. Public Security Minister Tiran Alles recently announced that the security forces have been given an ultimatum to complete the operation- in other words ap

“We’ll never sit with criminals who destroyed the country”- SJB MP Dr. Harsha De Silva

The proposed tax revisions which will come into effect from January 1 (2024) have raised eyebrows of the public. While some have been confused about how the 18% Value Added Tax (VAT) would be....

Can Kandakadu serve justice to drug offenders anymore?

Back in 2019, during one of his visits to the Philippines, the then President Maithripala Sirisena praised Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s approach to control the drug menace; an approach that had allegedly led to thousands of extrajudicial killings at the time. Sirisena not only said that it had set an example to the world, but said that he should consider adopting similar approaches to eradicate the drug menace in Sri Lanka. Since then t

Will more Dharshinis be tortured in the Middle East ?

Migrant worker remittances constitute a major component of Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product. Central Bank statistics indicate that Sri Lankan migrant workers remitted close to USD 3.8 billion in 2022. But despite pre-departure trainings and skill improvement programmes for migrant workers, some of them continue to be brutally harassed by their landlords while working overseas. Two months after Ramachandran Dharshini (32), from Neboda, Mathugama

Migrants, communal tensions leave Batti’s original cattle farmers ruffled

In Sittandy, a small township in the Batticaloa district, cattle farmers of Mylathamadu and Mathavanai have been protesting for over 55 days to save grazing lands on which their cattle have been....

A life without taxes, that’s what the people want

Mohideen Ifthikar from Maligawatta makes a living as a kitchenware vendor. His daily income ranges between Rs. 1500-2000. Having left his previous job as a site supervisor, Ifthikar worries about not being able to save enough money for his future. This is a common story shared by a majority of Sri Lankans who are facing hardships to survive the prevailing economic crisis. The government imposed multiple taxes on people to meet the conditions l

Electricity tariff revision in October: Sri Lankan consumers struggle to beat govt.’s third electric shock

At least one hundred thousand electricity consumers in Sri Lanka have been left in the dark over the past one year as they have been unable to pay the accumulated electricity bills by the expected....

Will Online Safety Bill crush virtual freedom of expression?

The Online Safety Bill gazetted on September 18 and tabled in Parliament by Public Security Minister Tiran Alles has come under much scrutiny by media groups, rights activists and civil society organizations. Some of the concerns raised regarding the Bill include vague definitions and the fact that a gamut of offences, which already exist in the Penal Code, have been included in this new Bill with higher penalties. Many policy analysts observe th

5000 days later, Sandya still awaits truth and justice...

A cartoon of a politician removing the eyes off the common man caught the attention of the writer amidst many other black and white....

Sri Lanka: The killing field of elephants?

Eleven deaths within 36 hours. That is the alarming rate at which Sri Lanka’s elephants were killed several weeks ago. On September 27, six elephants were killed in two separate train collisions – four elephants died after colliding with a night mail train travelling from Colombo to Kankesanthurai, while another female tusker and a calf succumbed to injuries after colliding with the Meenagaya Train en route from Batticaloa to Colombo. While the n

Why Sri Lanka’s children continue to be victims of sexual exploitation

On September 8, a shocking news item revealed that a nine-year old girl from Mawathagama, was reportedly severely abused...

Voices of grief demand secrets from under the rubble

The 269 individuals who lost their lives to the Easter Sunday carnage may have never wished for such a brutal end. But their loved ones continue to live with flashbacks of the final memories they shared with the departed. Breaking the silence four years later, a chilling revelation by UK’s Channel 4 titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings’ narrates a more shocking tale of how the carnage was allegedly pre-planned. But whether the Easter Sunday carnag

Human carelessness, main cause of wildfires raging across Sri Lanka

2500 hectares. That’s the approximate extent of forests and grasslands that have been destroyed over the past seven months due to raging....