The “Weeping Widow” who Became the World’s First Woman Prime Minister

History was made 65 years ago in July 1960 when 44 year old Sirimavo Bandaranaike assumed office as the prime minister of Sri Lanka known then as Ceylon. Sirimavo shattered a glass ceiling by becoming the world’s first elected woman prime minister. It is said that the British press coined a new word “stateswoman” after Sirimavo became PM.

Human-Elephant conflict Assam’s story is an eye-opener

Sri Lanka is at the forefront of the human-elephant conflict (HEC), with 130 people and 380 elephants dying as a result last year. This is the highest HEC death toll reported from anywhere. But we are not the only country affected by this issue, and this is an attempt to take a comparative look at other affected countries.

People of Kalmunai urge govt. to ‘act fast’against coastal erosion

The coastal areas of Kalmunai city are being destroyed to a large extent due to sea erosion. This phenomenon has affected the livelihoods of many fishermen

Rights group demands justice for civilians buried in Chemmani mass grave

At least 65 bone fragments, skeletons and human remains were unearthed during the Chemmani mass grave excavations that commenced in June this year. Many of these bone fragments were said to be of infants, women and girls who were allegedly killed by the military during the height of the ethnic conflict. In an attempt to demand justice for atrocities committed during the height of the ethnic conflict, and for civilians buried in numerous mass grav

“A peace-building front-liner’s work often goes unnoticed” -Pushpi Weerakoon

Pushpi Weerakoon, a specialist in Peacebuilding, Transitional Justice, Migration Management, Development, and Diplomacy, recently made history as the first Sri Lankan to win the Rotary Alumni Global Service Award. This award recognises one outstanding Rotary alumnus from around the world and is presented to individuals whose service activities and professional achievements exemplify Rotary’s ideal of Service Above Self, often impacting lives inte

How ‘Sri Lankan English’ adapted, borrowed and blended into the Oxford English Dictionary

Be it asweddumized fields or mallung in a rice and curry meal, kiribath for a special occasion, sizzling kottu, scrumptious watalappam or a happening baila song – each one of these examples provides a glimpse of Sri Lanka in a nutshell.

Bradman the Man for all seasons!

“Sir Donald George Bradman was, without any question, the greatest phenomenon in the history of cricket, indeed in the history of all ball games”.

SLMC in the spotlight Sudden changes to ERPM spark outrage

Following the controversial changes brought by the Sri Lanka Medical Council to the Examination process to register for Medicine Practice in Sri Lanka, a wave of concern is sweeping across Sri Lanka’s medical professionals.

Healthcare waste, a burden for residents in Anuradhapura

The healthcare waste management crisis at Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital surfaced once again when media reports indicated massive piles of waste dumped in an adjacent land named ‘Paldoruwa’. Medical experts point out that the non-inclusion of a healthcare waste management system – which is an integral part of any national health system has been a major drawback in national planning policies. Environmentalists have cautioned the potential impact o

Jaffna MP Shritharan’s Insidious Campaign Against his own party ITAK

Retiring Supreme Court Judge Gamini Amarasekara made several important observations while addressing court recently.

Bureaucratic inefficiency slows down NPP Govt’s targets: Samantha Vidyaratna

Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyaratna, in an interview with Daily Mirror, shares views on challenging confronting the National People’s Power (NPP) government and development plans in the pipeline. Excerpts:

Krishanthi Kumaraswamy case and Chemmani mass grave : A landmark case and a prosecutor’s call for accountability

Ongoing excavations at the Chemmani mass grave reveal harrowing atrocities committed during the war. But this mass grave site would have been a secret buried under Lankan soil if not for a statement made by a death row convict. The convict, who is the main accused in the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy case, revealed the Chemmani mass grave in 1998 upon being sentenced to death. Recently, the Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by this convict and oth

STRONG GOVERNANCE GIVES CONFIDENCE TO INVESTORS - ITC CHAIRMAN

Sanjiv Puri, the immediate past President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Chairman and managing Director of ITC Ltd is in Sri Lanka leading a delegation of a dozen Indian business leaders for high level engagements.

Attachment to the machine and detachment from family

It’s time we move beyond the once-revered motto from Silicon Valley to “move fast and break things”. This quote-turned-operating mode is widespread across the world; you might even see it on the office walls of some IT companies in Colombo. The result? The digital products rolled out fueled by this idea have successfully broken our societies, democracies, planet, and our willingness to experience life or, at the extreme, to live at all. Yet, thes

Downside of tourism: No support for local tourists

Discrimination against Sri Lankan visitors was reported recently from Ella area, a former backwater whose tourism potential was suddenly discovered 15-20 years ago.

Will Israeli PM Netanyahu be Convicted of Charges of Corruption?

It is no secret that US president Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are both members of an exclusive mutual admiration society.

Environmental groups demand accountability for Plastic pellet pollution along Sri Lankan shores

When questioned about the spread of plastic pellets following the recent shipwrecks, Prof. Sanath Hettiarachchi, Chairman of the National Aquatic Resources and Research and Development Agency (NARA), said that they started observations as soon as the incident occurred. “We have noted that areas such as Jaffna, Mannar and Puttalam were affected around seven days after the incident. The plastic nurdles are drifting towards Delft, Nagadeepa and Pung

LIOC dealers blow fumes as commission margins are slashed

Petroleum dealers of Lanka Indian Oil Company PLC (LIOC) are up in arms against its management for the failure to ‘raise the dealer commission’ that was pruned, despite gaining profits in billions of rupees annually. Following the new scheme implemented by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to withdraw the 3% dealer margin, paid over the past several years as and when the retail price was determined, LIOC too followed suit although the other

The Four in one man Frederick Forsyth: Pilot, Journalist, Spy and Writer

Is there a connection between popular English novelist Frederick Forsyth who breathed his last on 9th June 2025 and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that was militarily defeated by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May 2009?

Displaced families in Northern Muhamalai return following landmine clearance project

Rasadurai Rasendram (64) from Intherapuram, Muhamalai, was displaced with his family of 9 on multiple occasions, once in 1996 and then again in 2000 as a result of the protracted civil war.

Trump’s Madman Theory fuels Iran-Israel war

Will the United States join Israel’s war on Iran? This is the biggest question today, as Iran and Israel continue their war of attrition. On the eighth consecutive day of escalating hostilities—with missiles and drones striking each other’s cities—the US president’s decision could alter the course of the conflict. It could either de-escalate tensions or add fuel to the confrontation that risks engulfing the entire region for months to come. Which

What went wrong with Air India plane that crashed Veteran ex SriLankan pilot responds

Days after the crash of an Air India flight, former SriLankan Airlines pilot captain Sri. Segaram speaks to Daily Mirror on the possible causes that might lead to an air crash.

SAC ART Amsterdam Bridging Europe and South Asia with contemporary and modern art

In the heart of Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, lies a cozy art space dedicated to South Asian Contemporary Art.

Iran-Israel war a looming storm for Sri Lanka’s economy and national security

The recent, dramatic escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel - with reports of 200 Israeli fighter jets striking Iranian military and nuclear facilities on June 13 and Iran responding with 100 drone attacks and vows of harsher retaliation - signals a perilous new phase in Middle Eastern geopolitics.

Sumanthiran Goes to Court Over Gazetting of 5941 Acres Northern Lands Issue

A controversial issue of grave concern to the Tamil people of the northern and eastern provinces in recent times has been the seizure of privately owned lands by the Sri Lankan State and some of its organs.

Sri Lanka’s pharma ambitions take shape, the largest plant set to take off

In the post-independence era, Sri Lanka achieved a lot in terms of social development compared to other countries in the region. Sri Lanka is way ahead of countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal in South Asia in this regard. The country can be proud of its achievements in terms of its progress in quality healthcare and high literacy level.

Govt. attempts to rectify ‘systemic failures in addressing child abuse cases’

A month has elapsed since investigations commenced to determine the actual cause behind 15-year old Dilshi Amshika’s suicide.

Right of Reply: JAAF responds to Our Thought on apparel sector workers

The following is a Right of Reply sent by the Joint Apparel Association Forum of Sri Lanka in response to Our Thought titled ‘Apparel sector workers are humans too’ published on May 22, 2025:

Sri Lanka joins global fight to protect maritime waters

Sri Lanka recently became the 109th signatory to the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) in February 2025.

CHINA TACKLES “relative poverty” after eradicating “extreme rural poverty”

Despite the negative impact of COVID-19, the government of China announced in 2020 that it had eradicated “extreme rural poverty” by lifting 800 million out of it.In 1981, 97% of China’s rural population lived in extreme poverty with an income below $1.90/day, as per 2011 Purchasing Power Parity. By 2020, this had dropped dramatically to being below 1%, with official claims of near-zero extreme poverty by 2021.