STORY | Sri Lanka refused US request to land warplanes: Dissanayake Sri Lanka refused permission for the US to land two of its warplanes in the island’s southeast, Mattala International Airport, in early March, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament in Colombo on Friday. Dissanayake said that two US warplanes from Djibouti asked for permission to come to Sri Lanka on March 4 and 8. "Both requests were rejected," he said. “We want to maintain our neutrality despite many pressures. We won’t give in. The Middle East war poses challenges, but we will do everything possible to remain neutral,” he said. “They wanted to bring in two warplanes armed with eight anti-ship missiles from a base in Djibouti to the Mattala International Airport, and we said no,” the Sri Lankan president said. Dissanayake’s statement comes a day after his meeting with US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor. The two leaders discussed US efforts to safeguard vital sea lanes and secure ports, reinforce mutually beneficial trade and commercial ties, and advance a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific, a statement said. READ: ptinews.com/story/national/s…

I'll be talking about the Mahaweli Development Project and some of my research tomorrow at SSA - please come if you're interested and have time 🙏🏾

❗#Gaza is under full blockade for the third month. 70% is now within Israeli-militarized zones, under displacement orders or both. People are dying. @UN and partners are ready to scale up their principled aid again as soon as the blockade is lifted. #OpenUpGaza

Analysing #climateadaptation interventions in #SriLanka's dry zone in #PolityLK this week @nethmisachy turns a #feministpoliticalecology lens to expose the nuances these projects miss. polity.lk/victims-or-saviour…