As Sri Lanka approaches the final stages of its current US $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme, IMF First Deputy Managing Director Dr Gita Gopinath issued a stark warning in Colombo this week, stressing that there is “no room for policy errors” and that this must be the last such rescue package the island requires.

A report titled ‘From Fear to Violence: Religious Attacks in Sri Lanka’ has revealed an alarming escalation in religiously motivated violence across the island, exposing a pattern of aggression, impunity, and systemic discrimination that disproportionately targets non-Sinhala Buddhists.

 A US$1 million United Nations-funded initiative to conduct an extensive marine scientific survey in Sri Lanka’s coastal waters is under threat due to the government’s failure to finalize a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for foreign research vessels, according to media reports.

A report submitted to court by Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has revealed that 69 inmates were released under the guise of presidential pardons despite lacking official authorisation.