Melani Manel Perera

The wife of the journalist who disappeared in 2010 has reported receiving further threats from a man who identified himself as a ‘retired army general’. She wrote to President Dissanayake, also recalling the continuous postponements of the trial against nine officers accused in the case.

Some officers were detained and suspended after Father Milan Priyadarshana was beaten while returning home from an evening service. This morning, the Archdiocese of Colombo organised a silent demonstration against police violence and abuse.

The annual festival celebrating the winter harvest with the sharing of a traditional dish has provided the opportunity to remember the injustices endured by the plantation workers community in Sri Lanka for more than two centuries. Damages caused by the recent Cyclone Ditwah has only worsened the situation.

After the floods, suspicions grew about the fate of farm animals. Health inspectors discovered illegal trafficking of chicken meat from animal carcasses: 120 kilos of meat destined for restaurants and canteens in various locations in the Puttalam district were seized.

Cardinal Ranjith and the country's Buddhist leaders marked the New Year, calling on people to overcome ethnic and political divisions to heal the wounds caused by Cyclone Ditwah. More than 270,000 people remain displaced by the natural disaster, which left 643 dead and 183 missing.

The flood hit the Free Trade Zone area hard, where textile production for global markets is concentrated. Workers, who often live in dormitories without even being registered, have lost everything. The associations that are taking care of them have appealed to the government in Colombo: “Abandoned by everyone, they need ad hoc interventions.”

The diplomatic mission will be operational by the first quarter of next year, to consolidate the growth reported at the start of the 2025 with the Lunar New Year. The People's Republic is currently Sri Lanka’s fifth-largest source country for visitors. The government has set an ambitious target of three million arrivals this year to boost this sector of the economy.

The memory of the Oblate missionary, killed on 10 November 1987, lives on in Buttala, the village where he went to live to defend the rights of the poor. According to local Buddhist monks, older residents remember the light he brought to the village. One of his confreres, Father Shanil, calls on fellow members of the clergy to “reflect upon what prompted him to live that type of life” and follow his “living testimony” today.

The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States is in Sri Lanka for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Holy See. During his visit, he has met with President Dissanayake and Prime Minister Amarasuriya. The Sri Lankan government has expressed its gratitude for the Church's work on behalf of the poor. The prelate’s agenda includes visits to the churches involved in the Easter 2019 attacks, a wound that is still open.

For more than a year, a shipment of Tamil translations of the Islamic holy text from a Saudi foundation has been blocked in a container. The detention was reportedly requested by an official from the Ministry of Defence. Muslim MPs: ‘Discrimination on religious and linguistic grounds’.

The Archbishop of Colombo made an appeal to this end during celebrations for the anniversary of the founding of the broadcaster TV Derana. Sri Lankans, who today struggle hard to earn a living, must learn to discern which influences are positive or negative, without passively accepting everything that comes from abroad.

Faced with 22,000 deaths a year linked to alcohol consumption, the Sri Lankan government has made a symbolic gesture on World Temperance Day. Former alcoholic entrepreneurs tell AsiaNews: "A scourge that leaves the poorest defenceless. Politicians must choose whether they want the revenue from excise duties or these victims."