Niveja Assalaarachchi

Illustration of child and adult looking at each other smiling, surrounded by swirling pages and pamphlets drawn with bright hues
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Vancouver Public Library offers employment resources for persons with disabilities

Niveja Assalaarachchi July 19, 2026

In The Compass, a man named Ernest shared his story. He grew up in foster care, and at age six he started to lose his hearing. As a young man, he looked for jobs to help out his family, but got rejection after rejection. “Job after job, the hiring manager or hiring team would take one look at me with my hearing aids and a speech disability and determine before I got through an interview that I could not do the job,” he wrote.  Gaps in employment opportunities continue to emerge for people with disabilities. According to the Government of…

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Aerial view image of Strait of Hormutz in colour. The ocean is deep blue, and turquoise near land. Land is pictured in tan, brown, and muddy red.
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Memorandum of understanding for US-Israel war on Iran up in the air

Niveja Assalaarachchi July 13, 2026

On June 14, US and Iran announced they had come to a provisional ceasefire deal to end the state of conflict between the two countries. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on June 17 by US President Donald Trump…

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Photo of mossy trail on Burnaby Mountain
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New wildfire detection system opens on Burnaby Mountain and beyond

Niveja Assalaarachchi June 22, 2026

Ahead of the expected wildfire season, the City of Burnaby has opened a new wildfire detection system across different points of the city, including on Lhuḵw’lhuḵw’áyten (Burnaby Mountain). The system includes new technology such as “ground-based sensors and strategically placed…

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Wide shot of construction along Broadway and Cambie
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Road closures on Broadway causes uncertainty for local businesses

Niveja Assalaarachchi June 15, 2026

On May 6, the BC government announced the latest detour developments along Broadway in Vancouver. A road closure and a subsequent road detour is set to occur in July on West Broadway between Cambie street and Alberta street. These changes…

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Wide shot of dragonboaters in False Creek
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Annual dragon boat festival cancelled due to FIFA World Cup

Niveja Assalaarachchi June 7, 2026

Dragon boating in Vancouver is a significant part of the city’s history, dating back to 1986. The first dragon boat races were held at Expo 86, a celebration of the 100th year of Vancouver’s official colonial formation via the Vancouver…

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A collage of photos from top left to bottom right: a Buddhist altar, a childhood photo of the author with his father standing in front of two large hanging Vesak lanterns, a string of lanterns hanging outdoors from the overhang of a roof, a Sri Lankan temple surrounded by trees, a Buddhist altar inside a temple, and the Buddhist flag
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Buddhists celebrate the teachings of Vesak 2,570 years on

Niveja Assalaarachchi May 24, 2026

Vesak is a religious celebration that marks the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana (passing away) of Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha. The day is regarded as the most important religious day of the year for the nearly 506 million Buddhists around…

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A still from A Sad and Beautiful World
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War and peace through the lens of young adults in love

Niveja Assalaarachchi May 24, 2026

On May 1, the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies, Beirut Film Society and Lebanon Cinema Days Canada premiered the film A Sad and Beautiful World (نجوم الأمل والألم) by the award-winning Lebanese director Cyril Aris at SFU Harbour Centre. The…

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Photo of a SFU residential building on a sunny day.
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GSS and SFSS express concern over heating conditions in student residences

Niveja Assalaarachchi May 10, 2026

On April 27, the Graduate Student Society (GSS) and Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) issued a joint letter to SFU Residence and Housing regarding concerns over heating and cooling facilities in student residences. The letter alleged that inadequate student housing…

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Illustration depicting a red dress hung on the branch of a willow tree.
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Indigenous Student Centre observes Red Dress Day

Niveja Assalaarachchi May 10, 2026

On May 5, the SFU Indigenous Student Centre (ISC) hosted a community care circle on Burnaby Campus in honour of Red Dress Day, which commemorates Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples (MMIWG2S+) of Canada. The community care…

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an illustration of robots with malfunctioning body-parts. They’re lined up for "Renaissance Gears,” a robot spare-parts shop. The shop is in AQ in Burnaby campus.
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All consenting SFU community members have uploaded their minds to the cloud

Niveja Assalaarachchi March 30, 2026

At the culmination of a long-drawn-out process, the final consenting member of SFU’s community has uploaded their mind to the cloud. This revolutionary move has led to 90% of members of the student body and faculty being made up of…

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