Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church is seeking the canonisation as “Heroes of Faith” of nearly 200 innocent churchgoers who died in the horrific Easter Sunday attacks five years ago today, hoping the move will pave the way for an international probe. S. Rubatheesan sundaytimes.lk/240421/news/sl…

Persuaded by local “agents” that they’ll get non-combat jobs with hefty salaries, citizenship and residency for their families, #SriLanka ex-military are flocking to #Russia only to find themselves deployed to the front lines. via The Sunday Times (SL) sundaytimes.lk/240428/news/in…

Excellent journalism from mimi alphonsus & S. Rubatheesan "Mannar has hundreds of acres of land with unclear ownership or disputed cases.... As a result, communities that have lived and worked there for generations are vulnerable to land grabbing." sundaytimes.lk/240616/news/au…

Heartbreaking thread from Dimuthu Attanayake. While coping with a huge personal loss, she raises critical qsns about #SriLanka's public health system & its Suwaseriya ambulance service in the wake of the enduring economic crisis.Dr. Yasuni Manikkage had raised similar concerns recently.

Malayaga Tamil or Indian Origin Tamil? Divisions around labels emerged as the recent census allegedly misidentified many in the community as "Sri Lankan Tamils." S. Rubatheesan covers the history of a people and identity. Read more: sundaytimes.lk/250309/news/fr…

They bid again for papavarine; this time it's 49,000 rupees a vial. You can get ten in India for 75 INR. Margins are acceptable. But this? Three previous tenders were rejected, also because of price. #SriLanka

Here is the link: gofund.me/1ad627a2

Journalist Namini Wijedasa of Sri Lanka receiving the Secretary of State's 2025 International Women of Courage Award. Congratulations, Namini Wijedasa! ♥️ #LKA #SriLanka #Journalism

This is a SERIOUS issue, flagged by my The Sunday Times (SL) colleague, Sandun Jayawardana. The Right to Information Commission is struggling. The NPP govt's main partner, the JVP, is an original backer of independent commissions. Action is needed. sundaytimes.lk/250427/news/th…

The reopening of a mass grave in Chemmani, Jaffna, raised mixed hopes among the war-affected communities in the North, particularly the relatives of enforced disappeared persons. by S. Rubatheesan sundaytimes.lk/250615/news/ch…

Sri Lanka's Counter Terrorism & Investigation Division (CTID) has summoned leading Tamil journalist & rights defender, Kanapathipillai Kumanan, informing him to appear at CTID Sub-station in Alampil, Mullaithivu on August 17th for an 'inquiry'. RSF CPJ Asia IFJ Asia-Pacific

TID summons Mullaithivu based journalist to record statement northeasternmonitor.lk/2025/08/tid-su… Kumanan #Journalismisnotacrime #Media #Tamil #lka

This is the story The Sunday Times (SL) broke today about the NPP government minister being investigated by the Bribery Commission. #SriLanka #corruption #bribery sundaytimes.lk/250817/news/br…

பிரதான வீதியில் வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு இலங்கையில் பெய்து வரும் கனமழை காரணமாக கொழும்பு - யாழ்ப்பாணத்தினை இணைக்கும் எ9 வீதியில் வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. #SriLanka #SriLankaRains

My colleagues, S. Rubatheesan, reports this week that the new anti-terrorism bill is ready. Titled “Protection of the State from Terrorism Act, No. of 2026″, it has been published by the Ministry of Justice and National Integration to replace the current Prevention of Terrorism Act

The proposed bill also defines an offence of terrorism as “any person who, intentionally or knowingly, commits any act that will result in either provoking a state of terror; intimidating the public or any section of the public; compelling the Government of Sri Lanka, or any...

...other government, or an international organisation, to do, or to abstain from doing, any act; or propagating war, or violating territorial integrity, or infringing the sovereignty of Sri Lanka or any other sovereign country, commits the offence of terrorism.”

Full story in The Sunday Times (SL) sundaytimes.lk/251214/news/ne…

"Under the proposed Terrorism Act, those who commit an act of terrorism will be handed hefty penalties ranging from a twenty-year jail term with fines to life imprisonment after a High Court trial." S. Rubatheesan reports sundaytimes.lk/251214/news/ne…

“We were told to be careful, but not how serious it would be.” How Sri Lanka’s Tamils face repeated disaster warning failures. Commissioned this reporting by Tharushi Weerasinghe & S. Rubatheesan from Colombo & Jaffna. thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2…