‘Absolute hell’: The luxury homes making London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods unliveable
ABC / Academics / Architects / Researchers

‘Absolute hell’: The luxury homes making London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods unliveable

“We’re probably walking above someone’s swimming pool now.” Roger Burrows has become used to walking on “icebergs” on dry land. In many areas of “super-prime” London, where the city’s super-rich have their homes, planning restrictions and conservation guidelines mean you can’t extend your property laterally or add floors on top. The solution? Dig down. Burrows … Continue reading

How unlocking the joys of ‘slimy, slithery and rubbery’ food can bring you joy – and improve your quality of life
ABC / Chefs / Researchers / Scientists

How unlocking the joys of ‘slimy, slithery and rubbery’ food can bring you joy – and improve your quality of life

There are some people who would be nervous to hear the food they are about to eat has “a high grapple factor”. Fuchsia Dunlop is not one of them. Dunlop is a celebrated expert in Sichuan cuisine and the author of a number of bestselling cookery books. An ingredient like duck tongue, she explains, requires … Continue reading

A Pillar Of Sri Lanka’s Economy, Garment Workers Ostracised After A Covid Outbreak At A Factory
Businesspeople / Huffpost / Politicians / Researchers

A Pillar Of Sri Lanka’s Economy, Garment Workers Ostracised After A Covid Outbreak At A Factory

Colombo, SRI LANKA — On October 4 this year, a 39-year-old woman from the Brandix garment factory in Minuwangoda tested positive for COVID-19.  By October 13, Brandix, which makes garments for global brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Gap and Marks & Spencer, was at the heart of an expanding cluster of over 1,500 cases.  Garment workers were … Continue reading

Randika Jayasinghe: Finding community-based solutions for waste management
Activists / Researchers / Scientists / The Sunday Times

Randika Jayasinghe: Finding community-based solutions for waste management

There are few people who know their way around a Sri Lankan garbage dump as well as Dr.Randika Jayasinghe. However, while you might expect the research scientist to be studying landfill composition or whether toxins are leaching into the groundwater, Randika is actually more interested in talking to the communities in the area. “I look … Continue reading

One musician’s struggle to save the distinctive culture of Sri Lanka’s Portuguese Burghers
Musicians / Researchers / Scroll.In

One musician’s struggle to save the distinctive culture of Sri Lanka’s Portuguese Burghers

Earl Barthelot loves a good Portuguese Burgher wedding. There is always feasting – keep an eye out for that wild pork curry – and singing and dancing. The women in their flowing, silken gowns, and the men, all trussed up in formal suits, mirror each other’s movements as they dance the Kaffringha, their quick steps … Continue reading

Lawyers and activists urge Sri Lanka to ban genital cutting
Activists / Doctors / Healthcare professionals / Researchers / Reuters

Lawyers and activists urge Sri Lanka to ban genital cutting

COLOMBO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Lawyers and activists representing a group of Sri Lankan women who were subjected to female genital cutting as children will meet the justice minister on Wednesday to urge a ban on the ritual. The minister called for a meeting after the women spoke out against the tradition which is practiced … Continue reading

Sri Lanka’s antivenom leap forward
Al Jazeera / Healthcare professionals / Researchers / Scientists

Sri Lanka’s antivenom leap forward

Colombo, Sri Lanka – In 2006, a Russell’s viper sank one fang into Sanath Weeraratne’s left hand. Weeraratne immediately started to bleed profusely as the anticoagulant properties in the venom took effect. He knew what could come next: more bleeding from the rectum and the gums and blood-stained vomit. The blood could seep into the … Continue reading

Sri Lankans grapple with transitional justice mechanisms
Activists / Lawyers / Researchers / Scroll.In

Sri Lankans grapple with transitional justice mechanisms

  Sri Lankan activists will tell you that the island has a commission culture. In the last 15 years alone, people have stood up and testified before dozens of committees – some, such as the Udalagama Commission, investigating human rights abuses, and others, such as the Mahanama Tilakaratne and Paranagama Commissions, looking into abductions and … Continue reading

In the field with Sri Lanka’s pioneering leopard researchers
Conservationists / Researchers / Scientists / Vice

In the field with Sri Lanka’s pioneering leopard researchers

Wilpattu, Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest national park, was once a warzone. The fighting between the Sri Lankan state and the militant separatist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that began in the 1980s had spilled over into these wild lands. Wildlife researchers Anjali Watson and Andrew Kittle remember hearing stories from soldiers stationed … Continue reading