Infoloop

A joint 2022 study by the UGC and UNICEF reveals widespread incidents of ragging and violence affecting students across state universities in Sri Lanka.

From verbal harassment to psychological and physical abuse, the findings highlight a deeply rooted culture of fear, intimidation, and silence—with some faculties reporting especially high levels of severity.

As per the Fragile States Index 2024 by The Fund for Peace, Syria is the highest-ranked Asian country with a score of 108.1, followed by Yemen & Afghanistan at second and third, respectively. Sri Lanka stays at 9th place in Asia while 33rd in the global ranking, which shows a 3-place improvement relative to the 2023 index.

The Fragile States Index (FSI) is a tool developed by the Fund for Peace (FFP) to assess the vulnerability and stability of countries around the world. It measures a country's resilience and susceptibility to collapse or conflict based on a wide range of social, economic, political, and security indicators. According to the Index, higher FSI scores indicate greater fragility and risk of instability or conflict, and lower FSI scores indicate stronger resilience and stability.

In an era where the AI is making a huge impact on the job market, the majority of the employees worry about the job losses due to the AI. Meanwhile, company leaders are concerned about the hidden talent shortage. As per the study conducted by Microsoft and LinkedIn for their 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report, 55% of leaders have said that they are concerned about having enough talent to fill roles in the year ahead. The percentage is higher for the leaders in sectors such as cybersecurity, engineering, and creative design.

Employee well-being is the new workplace imperative. Globally, employee engagement and well-being remain very low, and it’s holding back enormous growth potential. Considering the daily negative emotions of the employees, globally, 41% of the employees say they feel stress a lot during their working day.

The highest regional percentage of daily stress is recorded in the Middle East and North Africa, at 52%, while 31% of South Asian employees experience stress regarding their working day. Among the South Asian countries, Sri Lanka has recorded the highest regional percentage of employees with daily stress, which is 62%, showing an increase in the percentage relative to the last year.

In Sri Lanka, spirituality deeply intertwines with daily life, shaping the beliefs and practices of its people. The fabric of faith is woven intricately into the culture, with a substantial majority, approximately 90%, embracing the belief in gods or unseen beings. This reverence extends further, with 88% acknowledging the concept of karma, recognizing the influence of actions and consequences.

Within this vibrant tapestry of beliefs, about 85% of Sri Lankans hold a belief in fate, perceiving life's events as predestined or guided by a higher force. This sense of destiny often coexists harmoniously with individual agency, creating a balance between divine intervention and personal choices.

Moreover, religion holds a paramount position in the hearts and lives of 92% of Sri Lankans, emphasizing its significant role in guiding moral values, societal norms, and personal conduct.
Yet, amidst this rich spiritual landscape, around 54% acknowledge the potential influence of spells, curses, or magic on people's lives. This acknowledgement of mystical forces illustrates a nuanced relationship between tradition and modernity, where ancient beliefs and practices intersect with contemporary perspectives.

These data have been collected by a survey conducted by Pew Research Center from June 01 – September 04, 2022, among adults in six South & and Southeast Asian countries including Sri Lanka.

As per the 17th edition (2023) of the Global Peace Index (GPI) released by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), global peacefulness has deteriorated for the 13th time in the last 15 years. The GPI covers 163 countries comprising 99.7 per cent of the world’s population and measures the state of peace across three domains: the level of Societal Safety and Security; the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarisation.

According to the report, Iceland has become once again the most peaceful country in the world & it has remained at the top since 2008. Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand & Austria are other countries in the top five. Afghanistan has ranked at the bottom of the index preceded by Yemen, Syria & South Sudan.

Among the 163 countries, Kazakhstan is the most improved country compared to its rank in the peace index 2022. In 2022, Kazakhstan was the most deteriorated country in the index & has regained its position this year. Oman, Côte d'Ivoire, Azerbaijan & Thailand are the other countries which have improved significantly this year.

Meanwhile, Ecuador has dropped by 24 places by being the most deteriorated country compared to the rank in the last year. Equatorial Guinea, Sri Lanka, Haiti, & Eswatini are the other countries which have shown significant drops in their ranks this year. Sri Lanka was one of the fast climbers in the 2022 index but has lost its rank due to the economic decline, violent protests and the ouster of the government last July.

The Human flight and brain drain indicator considers the economic impact of human displacement (for economic or political reasons) and the consequences this may have on a country’s development. The higher the index, the greater the human displacement. According to the Index, the Highest value in Asia has been recorded by Palestine which is 8.8 followed by Syria which is 8.1. The Israeli–Palestinian conflicts, Civil wars in Syria & Afghanistan, Armenia–Azerbaijan conflicts, and Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Border Clashes, have affected the brain drain in Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, Armenia & Kyrgyzstan. The economic crisis in Bangladesh, Laos, Yemen, Sri Lanka & Burma has affected their index values adversely.

Jonny Bairstow is the leading test scorer of 2022, with 994 runs in 16 innings, while his teammate Joe Root ranked at the 2nd position with 927 runs. Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal has progressed up to the 4th position after successful test tournaments with Australia & Pakistan. Currently, He holds the highest batting average among the top 50 test scorers which is 102.71. Surprisingly, there are no any South African batsmen among the top 20 of the list although they lead the test championship 2022/23.