About 10,000 people visit Kachchatheevu to honour Saint Anthony in celebrations promoted by the Diocese of Jaffna and led by the bishop of Sivagangai. The latter calls on both parties “to work together to find a lasting solution to the conflict in the sea.”
According to the Global Terrorism Index 2025, released by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the island nation is among 63 countries with the lowest level. No attacks have been reported in the last five years. In South Asia, Pakistan ranks first, followed by Afghanistan and Myanmar.
A copper and brass factory is contaminating the Kelani River in Pethiyagoda, harming the environment and the health of residents. Sri Lanka's fourth-largest waterway provides 80 per cent of Colombo's drinking water. Despite complaints, the factory continues to operate without the necessary environmental licence. Environmentalists complain that the damage is irreversible.
A hundred refugees who landed in 2022 rallied in protest in front of the United Nations Office in Colombo. After surviving genocide, they wonder if they will “now die from hunger and abandonment”. In their appeal to the authorities, they are grateful to Sri Lanka and its people, but they have had enough to live as refugees. For Rev Marimuttu Sathivel, speaking to AsiaNews, the UN should act immediately and take “responsibility for these refugees.”
Sri Lanka’s Navy and Air Force seized 1,200 acres after the civil war in 2009, removing residents who were left without rights and livelihoods. “Former governments played with us for such a long time,” a leader of the Paanam Pattuwa Protection Organization told AsiaNews.
From April, the Sri Lankan government will introduce a 15% tax on income from the export of services, affecting freelancers and companies that work with foreign clients. The measure aims to increase tax revenue and strengthen control over foreign currency flows, but it also risks incentivising informal transactions.
