“What do you think? How’s it looking?” It was another practice session at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, and Kumar Sangakkara was as inquisitive and conscientious as ever. And very precise. He wanted his back foot to move from middle and leg to middle and off. Not forward or back – just a fraction across, which allowed his shoulders and hips to align when facing right-arm seamers.

A woman on Wednesday sat on the floor of her home as she stirred a pot of bubbling coconut oil over a small gas cooker, preparing traditional Sri Lankan sweet delicacies to be enjoyed during the South Asian country's New Year festival that day and Thursday.

Anthocyanin is a natural pigment that occurs in fruits and vegetables such as grapes, blueberries, and sweet potatoes, and is responsible for their vibrant hue.

“I trust that everything happens for a reason, even if we are not wise enough to see it. When there is no struggle, there is no strength.” Oprah Winfrey

Sri Lanka has a long tradition of sharing with our disabled citizens the state’s largesse when it comes to welfare. The state provides grants for medical expenses and self-employment, assistive devices free of cost, cash transfers to those who have low incomes and provides youth with vocational training in special institutions. The state also subsidizes homes which house children with disabilities and those special schools run only for them by NGOs and the private sector. These unfortunately reach limited numbers because budgets have of necessity to be restricted. Within our society, on our birthdays and in remembrance of our relatives who have passed on, we follow a tradition of giving alms as meals to people in residential homes and donate gifts to individuals. The state and society both see them as in need of “social services” synonymous with “charity” This has been the situation in Sri Lanka for many decades. People with disabilities are beneficiaries of goodwill and charity.

Ariyaseeli Gunaweera, known as Ari to all, is a supervising public health midwife in Sri Lanka. She is, as a result, a person of some importance.

Seven years after the end of the 26-year long conflict, on 3 March 2016, Sri Lanka agreed to accede to the anti-personnel mine ban treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention. The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) welcomes this move as a first good step towards durable solutions for those who have suffered war and violence. The northern and eastern provinces in Sri Lanka have been severely affected by land mines and explosives due to the conflict and there are a number of demining agencies working in Sri Lanka already.

Today is the International Women's Day. It is 41 years since this day came out as a result of an event the Socialist Party of America organized.