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

The Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) known in English as the Federal Party (FP) is the premier political party of the Northern and Eastern Sri Lankan Tamils. The ITAK/FP was formed on 18 December 1949.

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

Sri Lanka’s 2024 budget, presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in November 2023, comes at a crucial juncture in the country’s history. The island nation grapples with the aftermath of the 2022 economic crisis, a result of a decade of unsust

Veteran scribes who have been enriching journalism for decades are like great oaks that leave lasting voids when they fall. Gamma was unarguably one of them.”

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....

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.

Today November 11th is observed in many parts of the World including Sri Lanka as Remembrance Day or War Memorial Day.

As stated last week, one of the CID officers quizzing me on the fourth floor had told me confidentially that I was going to be detained indefinitely to prevent me from reporting on the fighting between the Indian Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tam

For Yasodhara Pathanjali, co-founder Independent Collective School (ICS), Sri Lanka’s first formal educational establishment for alternative education, homeschooling and alternative education has laid the foundation for herself as well as her child

The first and second parts of this article published on 14 and 21 October respectively narrated the story of how I was arrested by the CID in October 1987 and detained on the 4th floor for having exposed....

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....

As stated last week, the CID director DIG Bennet Perera showed me the letter written by Defence Secretary Gen. Sepala Attygalle instructing the Police to question me for information regarding the murder of four Rupavahini employees in Jaffna.

On October 13, the Kumbukgete Police Station had received a complaint with regards to an incident of grave sexual abuse. The victim is a 15-year old girl. She had become the victim in this unfortunate....

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

Thirty-six years ago in October 1987, I was arrested by the Sri Lankan Police and detained at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Office on the fourth floor of the Police Secretariat in Fort, Colombo.

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

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

The first part of this article was published in the Daily Mirror of 16 September 2023 under the heading Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana the Whistleblower on Channel 4?.

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

The first part of the article titled Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana the Whistleblower on Channel 4? Was published in these columns last week. Even as I was writing the second part of the article, I received some interesting information about an event in

Britain’s Channel 4 TV aired the documentary Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings in its Dispatches programme on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at 11. 05 p.m.

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 ye

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is an independent United States government agency that was established in 2004. Its primary goal is to reduce poverty through economic growth in developing countries. The MCC provides funding and technical a

The Tamil cinema firmament has produced a galaxy of stellar comedians over the years. Arguably the greatest comedian ever seen in Tamil cinema was Nagesh.

Sri Lanka, known for its scenic beauty and rich cultural heritage, has long been grappling with economic challenges that have hindered its growth potential. With the effects of the global pandemic exacerbating its pre-existing issues, Sri Lanka faced

Sri Lanka’s one and only Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka is very much in the news lately. The Gampaha District MP and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Chairman launched a People’s Revolution protest campaign against waste, corruption, irregularities

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

The conduct and pronouncements of some prominent Sinhala Buddhist monks have in recent times contributed greatly towards the deterioration of inter-ethnic amity and inter-faith relations in this country. It is indeed a matter of grave concern that th

In recent times, the skies above SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, have become clouded with concerns expressed by pilots and their union. As the aviation industry continues to deal....