How did a UNP carpenter's son become the JVP's General Secretary? In the first half of a two part series, Hiranyada Dewasiri examines the experiences, the women, and the books that made the enigmatic Tilvin Silva who he is today – possibly the most powerful man in the country.

The Easter Sunday trial-at-bar is speeding up; the trial moved to daily hearings this Wednesday. Defence counsel are unable to cope with the pace. They’re dropping out, leaving the accused to defend themselves. As a result, activists worry they may not have a fair trial.

Mashallah, we have at least one literary festival this year. The Ceylon Lit Fest kicks-off today. In the evening; toxic drama from Mind Adventures, a Bawa Trust talk on architects, spooks, and silk in Thailand,

Getting things done has been a challenge for successive governments. Despite new laws and policy reform, good ideas keep getting stuck when they reach the implementation phase. One overlooked reason is the quality of our civil servants and the exams that recruit them.

The justice minister says his ministry intends to revise the occupants protection bill, following outcry over inadequate consultations. Condominium developers are challenging the bill in court. Meanwhile, the government will move to repeal the old Rent Act.

On Friday, get schooled by Nandalal Weerasinghe on economic growth and AI, Uditha Devapriya on Martin Wickremesinghe, or Sumathy Sivamohan on education reforms. Or bunk this adult education, and go for magic box mixup at

Education reforms are underway — the most significant in the recent past. But can they reform history textbooks, which despite incremental improvements remain nostalgic, nationalist, and sometimes straight-up racist?

The attorney-general is caught in a social media storm criticising his choices in longstanding high-profile investigations. He defends his decisions to The Examiner. Meanwhile, the justice ministry awaits comments on the draft bill for a new independent public prosecutor’s office.