Major stories in the Sinhala and Tamil press: Mar.10 – 16

Signposts the differences and nuances in reporting between Sinhala and Tamil language newspapers.

Over the past week the Sinhala and Tamil press converged in relation to five main stories. The five stories were on the: (i) issuance of a warrant to arrest Deshabandu Tennakoon; (ii) alleged rape of a doctor at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital; (iii) 2025 Budget; (iv) preparations for the local government elections; and (v) tabling of the Batalanda Commission report in parliament. There were two stories featured exclusively in the Sinhala press. Those were on the: (i) reported re-emergence of organised crime in the country and (ii) misuse of public funds by former MPs. The Tamil press exclusively featured two main stories, and they were on the: (i) protests by the relatives of missing persons and calls for justice and (ii) ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session.