Colombage Melani Manel Perera

Nationalists and police attack rally held to promote national unity and commemorate deadly anti-Tamil massacres in 1983.

He had created Sri Lanka's largest global brand, with products sold in more than 100 countries and among the top 10 tea brands in the world. Born into a Catholic family in 1930, Fernando had created his company from scratch. In recent years he had set up a foundation for the protection of forests.

Sri Lanka ranks 4th globally for destruction of primary forests. According to environmentalists, as many as 39 national parks will be affected. Infrastructure will also run through the Kelani, Kalu, Bentara and Nilwala river valleys, areas where farmers are already coping with the effects of climate change.

Convicted in early 2023 along with police and law enforcement leaders, the former president - who was in office during the 2019 massacres in Colombo - has paid the first instalment of the fine he owes. The relatives of the dead and survivors, however, received only 28 of the 311 million rupees stipulated by the court.

On the anniversary of the uprising that a year ago led to the fall of the president accused of corruption, his successor Wickremesinghe has decreed an amnesty for those who within a month return items stolen from the Presidential Palace, including the coats of arms of former governors that have great historical value.

Promoted by the National Peace Council, a network of groups seeks to prevent ethnic and sectarian hostility at the local level. One proposal would see all children learn the country’s three languages while another would develop between children in the north and the south.

In 1823 the British began to bring Tamil workers from southern India to work as cheap labour. For Cardinal Ranjith, this type of slavery “continues today”. Plantation workers should be accepted without fear, as part of the country’s lifeline. Their dignity must be protected.

Animal rights groups welcomed the decision, fearing toque macaques would end up in restaurants and labs rather than zoos. This type of monkey cannot survive long outside its natural environment. Some 30 groups turned to the courts to stop any deal.

The document was drafted by various third sector groups. Of more than 550 bodies found from the massacres carried out by the military since the 1980s, only very few have been identified and returned to their families. An activist mother: 'The witnesses of those crimes are disappearing'.

An Oblate of Mary Immaculate, he passed away at the age of 81. He met with Tamil Tigers leaders and laid the groundwork for an end to hostilities. He was also behind various educational programmes and groups promoting development and interfaith dialogue.

Last Friday, new passengaer services were inaugurated between the two South Asian countries. For Ports Minister de Silva, this will boost “longstanding ties” and “tourism”. The Sri Lankan Navy played a key role in the construction by providing manpower and expertise.

Thousands of people joined the Archbishop of Colombo at the National Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka. “Do not evaluate the life that God has given you with the standards that exist at the social level,” Card Ranjith told the children. “We are all the same in God's love”.