April 2026

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — April 6, 2026 — The Ceylon Teachers’ Union has accused education authorities in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province of negligence in the suspension of hardship allowances for teachers working in remote island communities, saying the decision has left dozens of educators without essential support despite the challenging conditions they face. Joseph Stalin, the union’s general secretary, said a formal complaint had been lodged with the Secretary of the Ministry of Education, citing

VAVUNIYA, Sri Lanka — April 6, 2026 — Tilvin Silva, general secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and widely regarded as a key behind-the-scenes figure in Sri Lanka’s ruling establishment, said on Sunday that the truth behind the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings would “emerge very soon,” while casting suspicion on individuals promoting alternative narratives through recent book publications. Speaking at the 55th April Heroes’ Commemoration in Vavuniya, Mr. Silva suggested that some of tho

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — April 5, 2026 — Lavan Akshayan, 19, one of the top-performing Advanced Level students whose death after a sudden illness stirred grief across northern Sri Lanka, was cremated on Sunday at the Thavadi Hindu Cemetery in Jaffna, as thousands gathered to pay their respects. Mourners — classmates, schoolmates, teachers, neighbours and villagers, along with many who had come to know him only through his story — filled his home and later the cremation ground and surrounding streets

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — April 4, 2026 — A 19-year-old student from Jaffna Hindu College who had recently emerged as one of the district’s top performers in Sri Lanka’s Advanced Level examination died on Saturday after several days in intensive care, hospital officials said. The student, Lavan Akshayan, a resident of Inuvil, had been admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital about a week earlier with what was initially a wound infection. It later progressed to sepsis — a life-threatening condition in