There was a time when the only mental health illness most Sri Lankans knew anything about was psychosis or insanity. Common mental health conditions, like depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia, were relatively unheard of by the masses – not because these conditions did not exist, but because there was so little awareness about them. However, recent years have seen an increase ...
Not for the first time, the Lakvijaya coal power station at Norochcholai suffered a breakdown last week, resulting in power cuts across several parts of the island (Colombo being an exception). According to authorities, Sri Lanka’s largest power station, the Lakvijaya power plant (often referred to as the Norochcholai plant), has suffered over 20 breakdowns since it commenced in 2011. ...
You’ve all heard of child-lock and were probably subject to technology training wheels at some point in your life, especially if you still had considerable growing up to do in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. You probably grew up with phrases like “always on the internet/phone,” “chatting chatting chatting,” “doesn’t listen to a word I say when he/she is ...
Since the Open Air Zoo in Pinnewela was declared open last month, there’s been much speculation about what it looks like and how it functions. Stories floated around about how the visitors were in cages and the animals out in the open, and about visitors walking through tunnels. So we at Roar.lk decided to investigate. Presenting the zoo Currently the ...
As 2016 comes to a close, it’s not hard to imagine that a lot of people will be muttering “good riddance” under their breath, all too happy to see the back of a year that’s been grievously unkind in many respects, both locally and globally. Even where there was no damage of any real significance, we can all agree that it’s been ...
Last week’s killing of two Jaffna University students by the police has sparked protests in the North, with shops and businesses in Jaffna shutting down yesterday (October 25) and students on strike boycotting lectures. The two Jaffna University undergraduates were killed on Friday (October 21) after being shot at by police at a roadblock near the Kulappidi Junction in Kankesanthurai. ...
Whale watching makes up one of Sri Lanka’s many tourism attractions, but the majestic mammals which many are eager to spot in the seas are constantly under threat from shipping vessels. Busy shipping lanes off the southern coast are known to have witnessed injury and even death among our whales, and this has been an increasing cause for concern. In ...
The answer to the question “how many prominent Sri Lankans have been assassinated?” should always be “too many,” but there have been a handful of politically-motivated killings that well and truly changed the course of this nation, for better or for worse. While all of them are important in their own way for any number of reasons, in the interest ...
If you’re a Sri Lankan active on Twitter, chances are you’ve heard of #TweetupSL at least once in the past five years. It’s become so ubiquitous in the SL Twittersphere (yes, that’s a thing) that you can barely go a month without someone bringing it up. Such is the popularity of this once-niche event, that people – and businesses – are ...
In late 2003, then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was in Washington D.C., visiting US President George W. Bush, when he received the news. His own president back home, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, had taken over three key ministries ‒ namely, Defence, Media, and Internal Affairs ‒ effectively sealing the fate of the increasingly unpopular United National Front government led by Wickremesinghe, ...
Three years ago, Sri Lanka sent a record 293,105 men and women abroad as migrant labour, and the number is bound to have increased today. Sri Lanka’s migrant workers are also known to be one of the biggest contributors of foreign remittance. During the latter period of last year, Sri Lanka earned USD 6.4 billion in foreign worker remittances ‒ ...
The doe-eyed girl with a steaming cup of coffee on the Coco Veranda logo – that’s Isuri Dayaratne’s illustration. Cartoony and captivating, her illustrations are appealing to children and surprisingly, adults as well. The universal appeal of her illustrations is attested by work she has been commissioned to do – the young illustrator has drawn up cartoons for Echelon; a ...
While the divorce rate in Sri Lanka isn’t as alarming a statistic as it is in some other countries, it is on the rise. The social stigma attached to divorce, however, has resulted in access to the basic laws governing the divorce procedure being extremely limited, making it near impossible for a person considering a divorce to gauge the legal ...
“Colombo is urbanizing rapidly, which is why this is a good time to create a landmark that will set a benchmark for further development in the capital.” – The architect of Altair, Moshe Safdie The Colombo Skyline has seen very few skyscrapers in the past years. The World Trade Centre, built in 1996, has towered over most of Colombo unchallenged ...
In the jungle, the mighty jungle… four felines of varying shapes and sizes sleep tonight. Yes, you read that right – between the leopard, fishing cat, rusty-spotted cat, and jungle cat, Sri Lanka is home to four distinct species of wild cats, three of whom are all too often overshadowed by the bigger, more widely recognised leopard. Each of these ...
Instameets are a way for Instagrammers to meet and take photos together in real life. They’re hugely popular across the world. While Instameets most likely started off organically as a phenomenon created by users, Instagram quickly saw the advantage in mobilizing around the idea, and now has an annual festival of sorts called World Wide Instameet (WWIM). So by popular demand Slave ...
Reporting from Welikanda, Polonnaruwa In the South Asian subcontinent, nobody goes to the bathroom without some water handy. Toilet paper is, as many Sri Lankans both rural and urban will tell you in disgust, the recourse of the uncivilised. It sounds obvious, of course, but water is a crucial component of the entire process; and for most of us brown ...
“People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the ...
