Colombage Melani Manel Perera

The Mahara Prison incident report blames the riot of 29 November on food shortages, difficulties in communication with families, and lack of COVID-19 testing.

Rev Marimuttu Sathivel speaks out on International Human Rights Day. Many people are in jail for political offences. The prison system holds 34,000 prisoners in facilities with a capacity of 12,000. Prisons should be places of rehabilitation, not torture.

Sri Lanka’s first state-owned wind farm is inaugurated. It is expected to generate 100 megawatts and save 20 billion litres of diesel in 20 years. A Chinese company will build a car tire factory near a port operated by a Chinese company. The country's dependence on Beijing is growing.

The online meeting was attended by 150 professors and students from the "Christian Study Circle" of the University of Kelaniya. The papal encyclical as a "new way of thinking about regional and international relations". “Fratelli tutti appeals to all nations, ethnic groups, and religions. We cannot marginalize it to onely for Christians”.

The goal of the BCI Campus is to extend educational opportunities to a wider segment of the community, says Cardinal Ranjith. Thus, many students will be able “to receive the higher education they deserve, and make it affordable without compromising the quality of content and delivery.”

The authorities take contradictory decision. Schools, villages and districts open one day only to close another. So far, 22,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in the country with 99 deaths. However, about 64,000 people are in quarantine.

Activist groups issued a warning on World Fisheries Day. About 175,000 people are involved in small-scale fishing in Sri Lanka. Rumours that coronavirus is spread via fish should stop. Advocates call on the authorities to enforce FAO and ILO conventions.

Young and old workers, men and women, are still on silent strike for the fourth consecutive day, over lost wages and jobs. For the Labour Department commissioner, workers must be paid their full salary without deductions. But it won't happen anytime soon.

The problem is more acute in the North, where many Tamil women are war widows. After the lockdown, many companies forced their employees to work at a faster pace until 1 am. For President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Deepavali (Diwali) is an opportunity for reconciliation and harmony between religious communities.

Thirty-three years after the priest’s murder, Christian groups hold a videoconference to remember him. Committed to defending the weakest and the oppressed, he was not afraid of speaking out against abuse and oppression. For many, he introduced "a new way of being Christian".

Restrictions remain in place in some districts of the Western Province. The country has reported more than 14,000 cases and 36 deaths. Police in particular have been affected. For Bishop Asiri Perera, closing everything is not the solution, for people must live whilst respecting health rules.

Sales collapsed after a viral outbreak at a Colombo fish market. Activists urge the authorities to counter public disinformation. Fishing industry workers are unable to pay debts. Advocates want the government to provide refrigerated sites and buy unsold stock.