Harshana Thushara Silva
@harshatsilva.bsky.social
Digital Verification Journalist at @afpnews.bsky.social
🗞️ 📰Once a full-time newspaper journalist | Edward R. Murrow Fellow | GerisNet Member | #MeridianMediaFellow
🗞️ 📰Once a full-time newspaper journalist | Edward R. Murrow Fellow | GerisNet Member | #MeridianMediaFellow
Sri Lanka's government announced plans on Thursday for $1.6 billion in extra spending in 2026 to fund the country's recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, which killed more than 640 people.
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Sri Lanka plans $1.6 bn in cyclone recovery spending in 2026
Sri Lanka's government announced plans on Thursday for $1.6 billion in extra spending in 2026 to fund the country's recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, which killed more than 640 people.The natural disaster...
www.yahoo.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Sri Lanka's government announced plans on Thursday for $1.6 billion in extra spending in 2026 to fund the country's recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, which killed more than 640 people.
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
As Cyclone Ditwah brought heavy rains and triggered deadly floods in Sri Lanka in late November 2025, a video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed a vehicle being swept away by raging waters.
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:35 PM
As Cyclone Ditwah brought heavy rains and triggered deadly floods in Sri Lanka in late November 2025, a video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed a vehicle being swept away by raging waters.
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Reposted by Harshana Thushara Silva
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 132, with another 176 reported missing.
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh86
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh86
November 29, 2025 at 11:00 AM
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 132, with another 176 reported missing.
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh86
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh86
The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has risen to at least 334 people across Sri Lanka, with nearly 400 still missing, the Disaster Management Centre said on Sunday.
www.barrons.com/news/sri-lan...
www.barrons.com/news/sri-lan...
November 30, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has risen to at least 334 people across Sri Lanka, with nearly 400 still missing, the Disaster Management Centre said on Sunday.
www.barrons.com/news/sri-lan...
www.barrons.com/news/sri-lan...
The worst flooding since the turn of the century occurred in June 2003, when 254 people were killed.
www.barrons.com/news/floods-...
www.barrons.com/news/floods-...
Floods Hit Sri Lanka's Capital As Cyclone Deaths Top 200
Low-lying areas of Sri Lanka's capital were flooded on Sunday after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, killing at least 212 people and leaving many more missing.
www.barrons.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:21 PM
The worst flooding since the turn of the century occurred in June 2003, when 254 people were killed.
www.barrons.com/news/floods-...
www.barrons.com/news/floods-...
ලබාදෙන උපදෙස් පිළිපදිමින් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් හැකි ඉක්මනින් ඉවත්වන්නැයි රජය මහජනතාවගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියි.
November 29, 2025 at 9:25 AM
ලබාදෙන උපදෙස් පිළිපදිමින් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් හැකි ඉක්මනින් ඉවත්වන්නැයි රජය මහජනතාවගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියි.
ආපදා කළමනාකරණ මධ්යස්ථානය සහ දිස්ත්රික් ලේකම් කාර්යාල ,ප්රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාල දිගින් දිගටම ඉවත් වන ලෙස දැන්වුවද ජනතාව ඇතැම් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් ඉවත් නොවන බව වාර්තා වී ඇති බවත් එම නිසා උපදෙස් පිළිපදිමින් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් වහාම ඉවත්වන ලෙස රජය මහජනතාවගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියි.
November 29, 2025 at 9:24 AM
ආපදා කළමනාකරණ මධ්යස්ථානය සහ දිස්ත්රික් ලේකම් කාර්යාල ,ප්රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාල දිගින් දිගටම ඉවත් වන ලෙස දැන්වුවද ජනතාව ඇතැම් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් ඉවත් නොවන බව වාර්තා වී ඇති බවත් එම නිසා උපදෙස් පිළිපදිමින් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් වහාම ඉවත්වන ලෙස රජය මහජනතාවගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියි.
Reposted by Harshana Thushara Silva
🇮🇩 🇹🇭 🇲🇾 The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Southeast Asia has climbed past 370 as clean-up and search and rescue operations got underway in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh8m
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh8m
November 29, 2025 at 9:20 AM
🇮🇩 🇹🇭 🇲🇾 The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Southeast Asia has climbed past 370 as clean-up and search and rescue operations got underway in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh8m
➡️ u.afp.com/Sh8m
The Disaster Management Center urges residents in low-lying areas to remain extremely vigilant and follow all safety measures due to the prevailing disaster situation. Stay alert and comply with official instructions to ensure your safety. #lka
November 27, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The Disaster Management Center urges residents in low-lying areas to remain extremely vigilant and follow all safety measures due to the prevailing disaster situation. Stay alert and comply with official instructions to ensure your safety. #lka
November 17, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Harshana Thushara Silva
⚡Syrians furious at major hike in electricity prices
Syrians share their frustration following a recent decision to massively hike electricity prices, even as much of the country continues to face extensive outages.
Syrians share their frustration following a recent decision to massively hike electricity prices, even as much of the country continues to face extensive outages.
November 12, 2025 at 12:20 PM
⚡Syrians furious at major hike in electricity prices
Syrians share their frustration following a recent decision to massively hike electricity prices, even as much of the country continues to face extensive outages.
Syrians share their frustration following a recent decision to massively hike electricity prices, even as much of the country continues to face extensive outages.
Random 📷 ✨
November 10, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Random 📷 ✨
Sri Lanka has repeatedly tried and failed to bring back to the country a former central bank chief accused of insider trading, but an old video shared online does not show his extradition. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Sri Lanka has repeatedly tried and failed to bring back to the country a former central bank chief accused of insider trading, but an old video shared online does not show his extradition. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Second player to do so — Laura Wolvaardt scores a hundred in the Semi-Final, and now again in the Final.
November 2, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Second player to do so — Laura Wolvaardt scores a hundred in the Semi-Final, and now again in the Final.
Long-simmering religious tensions between Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority and Muslim minority are fanning false claims that Muslim politician Muneer Mulaffer was named deputy minister for Buddhist affairs. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Long-simmering religious tensions between Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority and Muslim minority are fanning false claims that Muslim politician Muneer Mulaffer was named deputy minister for Buddhist affairs. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
The last time former President Ranil Wickremesinghe's case was heard in court, social media was flooded with unrelated photos and videos.
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:35 AM
The last time former President Ranil Wickremesinghe's case was heard in court, social media was flooded with unrelated photos and videos.
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
A winner of this year’s Nobel prize in economics warned Monday that artificial intelligence offers "amazing possibilities" but should be regulated because of its job-destroying potential. www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Nobel economist warns of AI dangers
A winner of this year’s Nobel prize in economics warned Monday that artificial intelligence offers "amazing possibilities" but should be regulated because of its job-destroying potential.
www.france24.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:24 AM
A winner of this year’s Nobel prize in economics warned Monday that artificial intelligence offers "amazing possibilities" but should be regulated because of its job-destroying potential. www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Sri Lankan leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake met President Donald Trump on his first official visit to the United States in September 2025, where the two had a "cordial exchange".
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Widely circulated image of US, Sri Lanka leaders is doctored
Sri Lankan leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake met President Donald Trump on his first official visit to the United States in September 2025, where the two had a "cordial exchange". But a widely shared im...
www.yahoo.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Sri Lankan leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake met President Donald Trump on his first official visit to the United States in September 2025, where the two had a "cordial exchange".
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Sri Lanka's wildlife agency refuted widely shared online claims that suggested a dead sea cow has recently washed ashore on the island nation's western coast.
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Sri Lanka's wildlife agency refuted widely shared online claims that suggested a dead sea cow has recently washed ashore on the island nation's western coast.
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Some researchers are now opting for more neutral language -- words, and at times, technical jargon that are less likely to inflame or derail vital public discourse about falsehoods flooding the internet.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...
www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...
MSN
www.msn.com
September 23, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Some researchers are now opting for more neutral language -- words, and at times, technical jargon that are less likely to inflame or derail vital public discourse about falsehoods flooding the internet.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...
www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...
Singapore shipping company tells AFP it will refuse to pay Sri Lankan court-ordered damages of US$1 billion for causing that country's worst case of environmental pollution
Singapore shipping company tells AFP it will refuse to pay Sri Lankan court-ordered damages of US$1 billion for causing that country's worst case of environmental pollution
u.afp.com/SW3K
u.afp.com/SW3K
September 23, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Singapore shipping company tells AFP it will refuse to pay Sri Lankan court-ordered damages of US$1 billion for causing that country's worst case of environmental pollution
Reposted by Harshana Thushara Silva
"Disinformation" is fast becoming a dirty word in the United States.
The label is so contentious in a hyperpolarized political climate that some researchers who study the harmful effects of falsehoods are abandoning it altogether and opting for "more precise" language
u.afp.com/SWUq
The label is so contentious in a hyperpolarized political climate that some researchers who study the harmful effects of falsehoods are abandoning it altogether and opting for "more precise" language
u.afp.com/SWUq
September 23, 2025 at 3:38 AM
"Disinformation" is fast becoming a dirty word in the United States.
The label is so contentious in a hyperpolarized political climate that some researchers who study the harmful effects of falsehoods are abandoning it altogether and opting for "more precise" language
u.afp.com/SWUq
The label is so contentious in a hyperpolarized political climate that some researchers who study the harmful effects of falsehoods are abandoning it altogether and opting for "more precise" language
u.afp.com/SWUq
Sri Lanka to ban four species of predatory ornamental fish, including Piranhas, that have escaped into rivers and lakes, devastating native species
u.afp.com/SPhE
u.afp.com/SPhE
September 17, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Sri Lanka to ban four species of predatory ornamental fish, including Piranhas, that have escaped into rivers and lakes, devastating native species
u.afp.com/SPhE
u.afp.com/SPhE
Reposted by Harshana Thushara Silva
Sri Lanka to ban four species of predatory ornamental fish, including Piranhas, that have escaped into rivers and lakes, devastating native species
u.afp.com/SPhE
u.afp.com/SPhE
September 17, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Sri Lanka to ban four species of predatory ornamental fish, including Piranhas, that have escaped into rivers and lakes, devastating native species
u.afp.com/SPhE
u.afp.com/SPhE
Reposted by Harshana Thushara Silva
Israel's army says it has opened a temporary new route to allow people to flee Gaza City, a day after launching a major ground assault aimed at crushing Hamas
u.afp.com/SPhv
u.afp.com/SPhv
September 17, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Israel's army says it has opened a temporary new route to allow people to flee Gaza City, a day after launching a major ground assault aimed at crushing Hamas
u.afp.com/SPhv
u.afp.com/SPhv