Examination

Adults think they know what kids are up to on social media. They don’t. How do children and teenagers actually use the apps, and what do they think of plans to ban them? Seventeen-year-old Nadia Nagpal asks her fellow teens to find out.

The narcotics division at the government’s forensics lab is struggling. Drug wars under Wickremesinghe and now Dissanayake led to drug samples doubling in four years. The lab’s over six months late to test 25,000 drug samples so a third of the prison population is stuck in remand, awaiting bail.

Bimal is bullish but effective. Anil Jayantha consults everyone for everything. Harshana has no vision. Meet the cabinet’s cast of characters, and the shadow cabinet that keeps a close watch.

From passports and driving licences to drugs and fuel, the civil service struggles to deliver. Even though it’s overstaffed thanks to politicians, the government is “always breakdown”. A key problem is the quality of top civil servants, who are paid a fraction of their Indian counterparts.

“We were appointed to do the JVP cadres’ bidding, not to do what the village needs,” says a former Praja Shakthi chair. The opposition argues that the poverty eradication programme is “capturing the state” and leading to “one party rule”. The NPP says Praja Shakthi law is “still under discussion”.

Ragging has been illegal for almost three decades. The Supreme Court has issued strict anti-ragging orders. Universities have marshals and hotlines. But students continue to suffer serious injuries.

Around the world, tea estates are turning to drones and harvesting machines to manage labour shortages. But high equipment costs, hilly terrain, and concerns over quality will make the transition for Sri Lanka especially difficult.

Monks striving for a “Buddhist renaissance” occupy over 2,000 acres in Trinco’s Kuchchaveli. They believe “pooja bhoomi” gazettes give them land ownership, but the physical planning department insists the land's state-owned.

Over the last two decades, rice barons have reshaped the industry. Fueled by credit, they’ve bought expensive machinery and built vast warehouses. As small millers are running out of business, the industry is becoming an oligopoly, and controlled prices are regularly flouted.

Hayeshika Fernando, an influencer-tutor, helps grade five students crack the life-changing scholarship exam by relying on a combination of love-bombing and well-executed teaching. Controversies surround her, but many seek her out. In some parents’ books, she’s become a modern-day guru devi.