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	Top Stories The ancient Sri Lankan 'tank cascades' tackling drought Sri Lanka: Kalametiya lagoon draws tourists to see native and migrant birds (photos) Sri Lanka: On Colombo's outskirts, an urban birding paradise flourishes

	Top Stories Sri Lanka: Transcendental Meditation boosts student achievement at computer institute Transcendental Meditation as an effective treatment for PTSD - Sri Lanka Guardian Sri Lanka looks to Consciousness-Based Education to create invincibility and self-sufficiency: Raja Ior Guglielmi

	Top Stories EXPLAINER: Why Sri Lanka's economy collapsed and what's next Sri Lankan Prime Minister: Island's economy 'has collapsed' Sri Lanka healthcare on verge of collapse in economic crisis
Positive Trends Short Summaries of Top Stories The ancient Sri Lankan 'tank cascades' tackling drought 1 October 2023 - A 2,000-year-old Sri Lankan hydraulic system uses natural features to help harvest and store rainwater. In a rapidly warming world, it is providing a lifeline for rural communities. (more) Sri Lanka: Kalametiya lagoon draws tourists to see native and migrant birds (photos) 11 August 2023 - Some 215 kilometers (130 miles) south of Colombo in the Hambantota district lies a unique, infrequently travelled, bird-watching location: Lunama and Kalametiya. A quaint coastal wetland, this bird sanctuary serves as a home for a range of birds -- wintering and endemic -- and other fauna, complete with swaths of mangrove forests, extensive reedbeds, scrublands, and salt marshes. (more) Sri Lanka: On Colombo's outskirts, an urban birding paradise flourishes 9 March 2022 - Sri Lanka's largest urban wetland, centered around Lake Diyawanna near Colombo, is home to around 100 species of birds, both migratory and endemic. The extensive reed beds in the marshy lands provide the ideal nesting and feeding grounds for white-breasted waterhens (Amaurornis phoenicurus) and several species of egrets, storks, and herons. (more) Sri Lanka to cease building coal-fired plants, aims to be net-zero emitter by 2050 24 September 2021 - Sri Lanka will cease building new coal-fired power plants and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in an address to the United Nations International Energy Forum on Friday [24 September]. Sri Lanka is the latest Asian country to pledge an end to building new coal-fired power, following similar moves by South Korea and Japan earlier this year. Asia accounts for a lion's share of global coal consumption. (more) Books by bike: Sri Lankan man runs mobile library for kids 27 November 2020 - During his leisure time, Mahinda Dasanayaka packs his motorbike with books and rides his mobile library -- across mostly muddy roads running through tea-growing mountain areas -- to underprivileged children in backward rural parts of Sri Lanka. Having witnessed the hardships faced by children whose villages have no library facilities, Dasanayaka was looking for ways to help them. ... He also has established mini libraries at intersections in some of the villages he visits, giving children and adults a place to share books. (more) Jackfruit: the 'vegan sensation' that saved Sri Lanka 17 September 2020 - Jackfruit is the world's largest tree-borne fruit and it has a spiky skin that changes colour from green to yellow as it ripens. While the West is now touting it as an ethical meat alternative, for centuries, this humble fruit has been revered by Sri Lankans, as it has repeatedly saved the island from starvation. Today, Starbucks serves jackfruit in wraps, while Pizza Hut offers it as a topping. The Guardian [newspaper] declared it 'a vegan sensation'. (more) Sri Lankan cafe owner feeds and shelters stranded tourists 5 June 2020 - The tourists came to see the magical waterfalls and mountain views of the lowland jungle and rainforest. But then the pandemic hit, and they were stranded in Sri Lanka. When flights were canceled and the airports shut down, Darshana Ratnayake came to the rescue. Ratnayake, a cafe owner in Ella, a former colonial hill station in Sri Lankan tea country, organized free food and shelter for dozens of stranded tourists. (more) How Sri Lanka's mangrove forests can save lives 6 February 2020 - On December 26, 2004, a cataclysmic tsunami struck the coasts of countries in South and Southeast Asia. Scientists assessing the landscape after the disaster discovered that some areas which emerged relatively unscathed were protected not by sophisticated warning systems or barriers -- but by their ancient mangrove forests. In 2015, Sri Lanka announced that it would protect all of its mangroves -- the first country to make that declaration. (more) Sri Lanka's 'Foundation of Goodness' turns around a village decimated by tsunami 16 December 2019 - When Kushil Gunasekera returned to Seenigama in Sri Lanka's Galle district days after it was wiped out by a massive tsunami on December 26, 2004, he got to work. Fifteen years on, Seenigama has risen from the ruins, in large part because of Gunasekera's efforts to re-build his ancestral village about 110 km (68 miles) from Colombo. Once a successful businessman ... the 63-year-old has rebuilt homes, taught vocational skills to young people, and pushed them to take up sports -- in short, he has helped breathe life back into the village. (more) The war widows protecting Sri Lanka's mangroves 5 June 2019 - Sri Lankan women who lost husbands in the country's 25-year conflict are now protecting the country's mangroves. In Sri Lanka, intensive fishing, pollution, and rapid coastal development, especially in tourist hotspots, have all contributed to loss of mangroves. This is proving disastrous for the ecosystems the mangrove lagoons support, and damages the livelihoods of local people who rely on them as a source of food and income. Mangroves also sequester vast amounts of carbon ... They also protect coastlines from soil erosion and natural disasters. (more)
Success of Maharishi's Programmes Short Summaries of Top Stories Sri Lanka: Transcendental Meditation boosts student achievement at computer institute 3 September 2011 - Many students and faculty at a computer institute in Sri Lanka have learnt the Transcendental Meditation Programme, which has contributed to their academic success, as demonstrated at an international conference. (more) Transcendental Meditation as an effective treatment for PTSD - Sri Lanka Guardian 12 April 2011 - The Sri Lanka Guardian recently published an article titled 'Find the best way for combating PTSD in the Sri Lankan military'. The article explores the value of using meditation to reduce post-traumatic stress suffered by active duty military personnel and veterans. Citing research findings that different meditation practices have different effects on the brain, and lead to different benefits, the authors encourage research on the Transcendental Meditation Technique--which has been shown by extensive scientific research to reduce stress--as a promising treatment modality for PTSD. (more) Sri Lanka looks to Consciousness-Based Education to create invincibility and self-sufficiency: Raja Ior Guglielmi 18 July 2009 - On 11 July 2009, during a series of special presentations following the global Guru Purnima Assembly in MERU, Holland, Raja Ior Guglielmi, Raja of Invincible Sri Lanka for the Global Country of World Peace, reported trends towards the establishment of national invincibility in his domain through education, building construction, and agriculture. (more) Offering Invincible Defence in Sri Lanka: Eliminating the root cause of violence, terrorism, and war 10 May 2009 - Lasting peace can be achieved through group practice of Yogic Flying, which effectively removes collective stress--the breeding ground for violence, terrorism, and war. The principles of Maharishi's Invincible Defence were featured last month in the Sri Lanka Guardian as part of an interview with Colonel Gunter Chasse, International Deputy Minister of Invincible Defence for the Global Country of World Peace. Col Chasse is a retired German Air Force officer with 40 years of decorated military experience. (more) Buddhist monks enjoy Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Programme 24 January 2008 - Reverend Koji Oshima, a Buddhist monk from Japan, has reported outstanding achievements from Sri Lanka and Thailand, where thousands of Buddhist monks have learned Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Programme. (more)
Flops Short Summaries of Top Stories EXPLAINER: Why Sri Lanka's economy collapsed and what's next 11 July 2022 - Sri Lanka's Prime Minister said late last month that the island nation's debt-laden economy had 'collapsed' as it runs out of money to pay for food and fuel. Short of cash to pay for imports of such necessities and already defaulting on its debt, it is seeking help from neighboring India and China and from the International Monetary Fund. (more) Sri Lankan Prime Minister: Island's economy 'has collapsed' 22 June 2022 - Sri Lanka's debt-laden economy has 'collapsed' after months of shortages of food, fuel, and electricity, the Prime Minister told lawmakers Wednesday [22 June] in comments that underscored the country's dire situation as it seeks help from international lenders. ... Lawmakers from the two main opposition parties are boycotting Parliament this week to protest Wickremesinghe, who became Prime Minister just over a month ago and is also finance minister, for failing to deliver on his pledges to turn the economy around. (more) Sri Lanka healthcare on verge of collapse in economic crisis 17 April 2022 - Doctors across Sri Lanka say hospitals are running out of medicines and essential supplies as the country's economic crisis worsens. They fear a health catastrophe if international help doesn't arrive soon. Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in history. The country imports around 85% of its medical supplies. But with foreign currency reserves running low, essential drugs are now difficult to obtain. (more) 'Nurdles are everywhere': how plastic pellets ravaged a Sri Lankan paradise 25 January 2022 - Sri Lanka's golden beaches have turned black as debris released from a sunken ship continues to wreak environmental and economic havoc. The X-Press Pearl caught fire in May last year and eventually sank, spilling its cargo -- which included chemicals and plastic pellets -- into the sea. The charred fuel oil and burnt debris were from the wreckage of the container ship, and littered among them was perhaps the worst hazard of all: tiny plastic pellets called nurdles. Millions or even billions of nurdles have been washing up along the island's coastline for hundreds of miles, from Mannar in the north to Kirinda in the south. A UN report called the incident in May 2021 the 'single largest plastic spill' in history, with about 1,680 tonnes of nurdles released into the ocean. (more) Elephants dying from eating plastic waste in Sri Lankan dump 14 January 2022 - Conservationists and veterinarians are warning that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants in the region, after two more were found dead over the weekend. Around 20 elephants have died over the last eight years after consuming plastic trash in the dump in Pallakkadu village in Ampara district, about 210 kilometers (130 miles) east of the capital, Colombo. (more) Sri Lanka braces for environmental disaster as ship sinks 3 June 2021 - Authorities in Sri Lanka were trying to head off a potential environmental disaster Thursday [3 June] as a fire-damaged container ship that had been carrying chemicals was sinking off of the country's main port. The Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl started sinking Wednesday, a day after authorities extinguished a fire that raged on the vessel for 12 days. ...Such a disaster could devastate marine life and further pollute the island nation's famed beaches. The ship's operators, X-Press Feeders, say the fire destroyed most of the ship's cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals. But there are fears that remaining chemicals as well as hundreds of tons of oil from the vessel's fuel tanks could leak into the sea. (more) Sri Lanka's flood survivors threatened by dengue, disease: aid workers 29 May 2017 - Thousands of survivors of devastating floods and landslides in Sri Lanka are at risk of potentially fatal diseases such as dengue fever, charities warned on Monday [29 May] as the death toll from the disaster continued to rise. Torrential rains over the last four days have sparked widespread flooding and triggered landslides in southwestern parts of the Indian Ocean island. At least 177 people have died and almost half a million others have had their lives disrupted. (more) Mystery kidney disease killing Sri Lankan farmers 18 January 2015 - The cause of a deadly mystery kidney disease, which affects an estimated 70,000 to 400,000 people in Sri Lanka's rice basket, has baffled doctors and researchers for two decades. Even the World Health Organization hasn't been able to pinpoint what's killing as many as 10 people a month in Konketiyawa village in Padaviya, as it creeps farther and farther into neighbouring areas. The disease mirrors equally confounding conditions plaguing thousands of farmworkers in parts of India, Egypt, and Central America. Suspected causes include chronic dehydration and the heavy use and misuse of agrochemicals. In Sri Lanka, fertilizer use is among the heaviest in the world. The latest paper blames glyphosate, the country's top weed killer that's well-known worldwide as Roundup. That hypothesis, published in a little-known open access journal last February, suggests the agrochemical, introduced by US-based Monsanto, forms a bond with heavy metals in food and drinking water that eventually destroys the kidneys. Glyphosate has been detected by the WHO in 65 per cent of those sickened by the mystery kidney disease. (more) Questions and answers about Sri Lanka mystery kidney disease 18 January 2015 - A mystery kidney disease is killing Sri Lankan farmers. The first cases surfaced some two decades ago in the country's North Central province, the main rice-producing area. Since then, the disease has killed up to an estimated 20,000 people on the Indian Ocean island nation. As researchers work to unravel the cause, and doctors continue to diagnose new patients, here are a few questions and answers about the illness. (more) UN says Sri Lanka illegally returning Pakistani asylum seekers 2 August 2014 - Sri Lanka must stop deporting Pakistani asylum seekers, a practice banned under international law, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Saturday. Sri Lanka began arresting asylum seekers and refugees on 9 June and has since detained 214 Pakistanis and Afghans in two asylum centres, UNHCR said. Authorities in Colombo said the influx of illegal immigrants in the past year had become a burden on state resources and potentially compromised state and regional security. The Sri Lankan government also blamed people trafficking networks for the recent rise in asylum seekers reaching its shores. In the past two days, Sri Lanka had deported 18 people, with another 10 deportations expected on Sunday, UNHCR said in a statement, adding that the repatriations breached a 'no forced return' principle. (more)