News stories by Amantha Perera

COLOMBO, Jul 18 (IPS) - Journalists and media activists have cautioned against Sri Lanka's newfound press freedom as the country heads to the polls in 2020. Separate incidents of hate-speech against a Muslim minority—and the subsequent shutdown of social media platforms—and the harassment of reporters critical of the country's opposition have led some to believe that the changes in media independence could reverse.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Feb 20 (IPS) - It was a shutdown that was emblematic of the instability plaguing the Maldives in recent months.

On Feb. 8, Raajje TV, an opposition aligned TV channel in the atolls, suspended broadcasting due to lack of security.

PERIYAKULAM/ADIGAMA, Jan 05 (IPS) - Last year was an annus horribilis for 52-year-old Newton Gunathileka. A paddy smallholder from Sri Lanka's northwestern Puttalam District, 2017 saw Gunathileka abandon his two acres of paddy for the first time in over three and half decades, leaving his family almost destitute.

COLOMBO, Feb 15 (IPS) - Sri Lanka's long-awaited and much-debated Right to Information (RTI) Act became law this month without much fanfare.

COLOMBO, Jan 25 (IPS) - The warnings are stark, the instructions, for a change, clear.

BERAGAMA, Jan 09 (IPS) - Beragama is a typical Sri Lankan rural village, with lush green paddy fields interspersed by small houses and the village temple standing at the highest location. Despite being close to the island's second international harbour and its second international airport, Beragama appears untouched by modernity.

COLOMBO, Dec 14 (IPS) - Sri Lanka's upcoming 69th Independence Commemorations will be of special value to the island's media - that is, if everything works as planned.

KATANKUDDI, Nov 07 (IPS) - It is a Tuesday afternoon and only a handful of devotees have flocked to the Meera Grand Mosque in Katankuddi, about 300 kms east of the capital Colombo.

POLONNARUWA, Sri Lanka, Oct 13 (IPS) - Sri Lanka is literally baking these days.

MANNAR, Aug 24 (IPS) - As Sri Lanka readies to begin the grim task of searching for thousands of war missing, those doing the tracing on the ground say that they still face intimidation and threats while doing their work.