Opinion & Analysis - Jaffna Monitor

From Remittances to Investment: Rethinking the Tamil Diaspora’s Role

The Tamil diaspora has long been an integral part of Jaffna’s social, economic, and cultural landscape. Spread across countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and parts of Europe, this global community has maintained strong and enduring ties with Northern Sri Lanka. These connections have been expressed through family relationships, financial support, cultural exchange, and political engagement. During periods of conflict and immediate post-war recovery, diaspora contributions p

Guest Column OP-ED

Colonel Nalin Herath

Apr 6, 2026 — 5 min read

When machines think: Reframing the ethics of Artificial Intelligence in the global south

Mahesh Nirmalan MD, FRCA, PhD, FFICM and Roshan Ragel PhD Professor Mahesh Nirmalan is Associate Vice President for Responsible Research Practice at the University of Manchester, UK and Professor Roshan Ragel is Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka How we choose to conceptualise Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the cornerstones of the current debate on the ethics of AI. In this context, do we see AI as a tool that has been developed by humans

April 2026 Guest Column

Prof. Mahesh Nirmalan

Apr 4, 2026 — 8 min read

Sri Lanka Fuel Price Hike Defended by CPC Chief, but Data Raises Questions

COLOMBO, March 10, 2026 The chairman of Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), D.A. Rajakaruna, appeared before the media on March 10 to defend a sharp retail fuel price increase that took effect the same day. The explanation he offered centred on two claims: that global oil prices had risen “nearly 100 percent between the 1st and the 27th” of February into early March, and that a domestic panic-buying surge had drained reserves far sooner than anticipated. Both claims conta

Economics March 2026

Jaffna Monitor Economic Desk

Mar 11, 2026 — 4 min read

Sri Lanka Raises Fuel Prices Despite Month-Long Stocks, Sparking Transparency Debate

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — March 10, 2026 Sri Lanka’s decision to raise fuel prices this week, despite government assurances that the country holds more than a month’s supply of petroleum products, has sparked renewed debate about how domestic fuel prices are determined and how transparent the system is. The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) announced the increase effective from midnight on March 9. Under the revised rates, Petrol 92 Octane rose by 24 rupees to 317 rupees per litre, whil

March 2026 Opinion & Analysis

Our Special Correspondent

Mar 10, 2026 — 5 min read

The Promise and Limits of AI in Mental Healthcare

Artificial intelligence (AI) today permeates almost every sphere of modern life, from finance and defence to education and healthcare. While its recent explosion has captured global attention, the roots of AI stretch back several decades. The intellectual groundwork was laid in 1950, when British mathematician Alan Turing posed a revolutionary question in his paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”: Can machines think? A few years later, in 1955, computer scientist John McCarthy formally co

Article Opinion & Analysis

Dr Ruwan M. Jayathunga

Jan 12, 2026 — 9 min read

Business Cycles: Why Balance Sheet Economic Truths Should Guide Sri Lanka's Recovery

Modern economic discourse is often fractured by ideological debates that obscure a more fundamental, mechanical reality. Beneath the surface of political agendas and economic schools of thought lies an immutable operating system: the universal framework of double-entry accounting. This is not merely a corporate bookkeeping tool but the fundamental grammar of all economic activity. Every transaction, from a local purchase to a sovereign debt issuance, creates an inseparable duality—an asset for o

Opinion & Analysis October 2025

Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa

Oct 16, 2025 — 9 min read