Human Rights Watch Sri Lankan authorities continue to use the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to target perceived opponents and minority communities without credible evidence to support the allegations despite repeated pledges to end the practice, Human Rights Watch said today. While some victims have suffered years of arbitrary detention and torture, others are persecuted even after…
Saskia Fernando Gallery is pleased to present Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s annual memorial exhibition, Meta-Real. Acting as a bridge between the past and the present, Meta-Real offers a distant contemplation of the socio-political developments of the nation since the 1980s. Coinciding with the anniversary of the 1983 Anti-Tamil pogrom on July 23rd, the exhibition continues the artist’s…
Star Garments, a subsidiary of Charles Komar & Sons, has secured a $15 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to establish a new garment factory in Togo, marking their first venture into Africa. This factory, to be built in the Plateforme Industrielle d’Adétikopé near Lomé, will adhere to Leadership in Energy and Environmental…
Sri Lanka is embarking on a strategic initiative to map all its tree species as a precursor to joining global carbon credit markets. This comprehensive project, announced by Senior Presidential Advisor on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardene, aims to quantify the island’s carbon sequestration capacity, with a focus on both forested areas and mangrove ecosystems. The…
Amaranath Thennakoon, Director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Information, stated that people in Sri Lanka spend around 6 billion rupees daily on arrack and beer. He shared this information during a recent discussion with journalists at the Sarvodaya Institute in Kegalle. Dayarathna Bandara, reported this to Dinamina newspaper, highlighting the significant financial burden…
The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay, has arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The Director-General of UNESCO, accompanied by a delegation, reached the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake this morning (16). She is visiting the island on an invitation from the Government of Sri Lanka. During…
The question mark that hangs over the presidential election due in October this year is not going away. The answer to it keeps getting put off. The latest is the government’s proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate ambiguity in the term of the president from six to five years. The Supreme Court has thrice affirmed the…
Chethana Gomis Pakistan has narrowly averted a severe economic crisis by heeding lessons from Sri Lanka’s financial collapse and engaging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a timely manner. While Sri Lanka faced controversy and criticism for its early declaration of bankruptcy, Pakistan proactively sought IMF support, securing a staff-level agreement on a 37-month Extended…
Ajith Parakum Sri Lanka faces significant challenges in bringing escaped criminals back to the island to face justice. As many as 45 Sri Lankan criminals, red-noticed by Interpol, are currently stationed overseas, mostly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they continue to orchestrate organized criminal activities back home. The complexities of this issue lie…
A fundamental rights petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, asserting that holding a presidential election without the proper enactment of the 19th Constitutional Amendment into law violates the fundamental rights of the people of Sri Lanka. Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna clarified the legal arguments underpinning the petition. The petition, filed by Unawatuna, requests…
