“We are committed to reform the Prison system”

The Minister in charge of  Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, D.M. Swaminathan yesterday called for an urgent status report on the of 992 prisoners condemned to death and to the provisions regarding the accessibility of media to prisons.   

“SLFP supporters fall victims to cunning politicians”

Not really. For the moment we are in good shape, providing uninterrupted power to the entire country mainly due to the low cost hydro power generation of 40% and coal power of another 40% of the total 

Defying Dengue Hospital sees steady rise in dengue patients this June

Dengue and viral fever have been taking its toll on the country this season while Dengue is said to be at its peak during the month of June. The Lady Ridgeway Hospital which is deemed to be the prime 

Yahapalanaya has unshackled the people and crippled the country

Typical effects of good governance (Yahapalanaya) are slowly but surely taking root in our country. The mindset

Between Brexit and BEIJING

One belt, one road’, China’s blueprint to tie together Asia and Europe into one vast trading network, could reshape geopolitics and the world economy– The Economist (UK), June 30, 2016    

LAB TESTS: HIPPOCRATES TURNING IN HIS GRAVE

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne last week said that his ministry would ban patients undergoing treatment at State 

Photos of animal torturers go viral on social media: Animal cruelty, weapons and national security

Animal cruelty, be it torture, slaughter or even caging for that matter has become a growing concern from around the world. At a time when animal rights.....

President, PM act in great understanding - Kiriella

Highways and Higher Education Minister Lakshman Kiriella in an interview with Daily Mirror said the government is stable. He said.....

Surely, People Deserve a Better Deal

Sri Lanka has just started recovering from one the worst catastrophes of this century, the recent devastating deluge, that witnessed....

Curbs on fizzy drinks; consider natural alternatives - EDITORIAL

Health and nutrition are vital for Sri Lanka’s sustainable growth and the Health Ministry is taking one important step from August 1 though attention today.....

A ministerial ego flutter and the bombshell of a billion-plus rupee OK for luxury limos: Gurus call

In the recent past it appeared that the country and its people were paying dearly for past sins. While the cost of living kept soaring, nature too was.....

Remembering a trailblazer

Dudley Senanayake, one of the trailblazers in the Sri Lankan political arena of all time is remembered for the exemplary service he.....

Round and round the bush

The then President R. Premadasa on October19, 1989, using the powers vested in him appointed Professor Lakshman Jayatilleke, Chairman, Professor G.L.Peiris.....

Judiciary: Quis custodies custodat?

We of the unofficial Bar take great pride and satisfaction at your appointment as a judge of the apex court of our land. This is more so, as we have....

Yahapalanaya and CB governor

President Maithripala Sirisena finally brought a stalemate between him and the Prime Minister to an end, appointing respected economist Dr. Indrajit.....

New CB Governor for a fresh start - EDITORIAL

In what most analysts see as a just and fair middle path solution to an administrative crisis that had gripped the National Unity.....

SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem Faces Political Challenges in East

The Central Bank Governor crisis has been dominating the political landscape at a national level for the past few weeks. However other issues too have surfaced at sub-national level. For instance the question of Muslim political leadership has been causing much controversy at a regional level in the Eastern Province. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is the acknowledged premier political party of the Eastern Muslims. Rauff Hakeem - Minister of

No toxic chemicals for green Sri Lanka - EDITORIAL

One of the important moves for which the National Government is being widely praised is the three-year mission to produce the nutritious food we need in Sri Lanka itself and make Sri Lanka a ‘Wasa Wisa Nethi’ country. An important step in this is the gradual reduction of the use of expensive imported agro-chemicals, some of which are toxic.   

Violin wizard from Medawachchiya

Chandana Ruwan Kumara, who teaches violin at two universities -- Kelaniya and Sri Jayawardhanepura -- is a dedicated researcher into music and the arts. A prolific journalist on the subject, he has produced three books so far. This soft-spoken, extraordinary young man owns four violins and little else apart from his much loved musical instruments and books.  

‘Laylat Al-Qadr’ - A night equivalent to a thousand months

‘Laylat Al-Qadr,’ or the Night of Decree, is a night equivalent to a thousand months. It was in this night of destiny that the very first verses of the glorious Al-Qur’an were revealed to the last and final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). They were indeed manifest signs of guidance and distinction between right and wrong to the whole of mankind.  

NATO’s dangerous expansion

NATO has just announced a plan to send troops to the alliance’s eastern flank, close to the Russian border. NATO says it is attempting to deter potential Russian aggression.   

Human rights: The force and the farce

The United Nations Human Rights Council is in session. As expected it is assuming the moral high...  

EDITORIAL : Nations are built by people-power not politicians

More than one and half years after the people’s silent and peaceful revolution of January 8, 2015 major...

SL has come a long way since president’s election in 2015: Swire

Sri Lanka has come a long way since President Sirisena’s election in January 2015. I have been...

Is Prince Al-Hussein’s report a warning?

The report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein...  

Right To Reconciliation: Seven Years On

It is seven years since the end of the brutal civil war in Sri Lanka and yet reconciliation...

While we plot SL exit…

In November 1917, as Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Republic, Leon Trotsky was tasked to negotiate the nature of the peace accord with the German Imperial High Command. The delegation led by Trotsky, even as it was negotiating the terms of the peace treaty with the German Government in Brest-Litovsk that December, distributed leaflets to the German troops urging them to revolution. The Brest-Litovsk Treaty cost the Soviet Republic Fi

Imaging India and strategizing Indo-Sri Lanka symbiosis

Having returned from India after a premature recall as High Commissioner, I am pleased to make my first public talk at the BCIS. Yet, it is also associated with a sad memory. We had a final meeting at this very hall at a ceremony to launch the journal on International Affairs edited by Tissa Jayatilleke for BCIS published by Sage India. After most guests departed, Lakshman Kadirgamar along with Tissa, Her Excellency Nirupama Rao and I, had a plea

Needs consensus of general masses for its success

Allegations on Human Rights violations and war crimes set out in Joint UNHRC Resolution are considered only an strategy adopted by contenders of those allegations to achieve their own objectives. UNHRC, US and her allies in the west, India, Tamil Diaspora, those who sympathise course of action carried out by LTTE in this country and local politicians who agitate for separatism are the main contenders of those allegations.  

The UNP stands for the abolition of the executive presidency

President Maitripala Sirisena committed to abolish the executive presidency when seeking office at the election in January, last. But, he is reportedly in a dilemma now as to how it should be done. First, his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is not for its total abolition at the moment. At the recent Central Committee meeting of the party, the matter was taken up for discussion. The seniors put forth their views in this direction.