The night the Ambalangoda Lion roared defiance

Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, Sri Lanka’s one and only Field Marshall is very much in the news these days. The former army chief who was once described as the “world’s best military commander” by former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa....

Case for including health as a fundamental human right in new Constitution

Sri Lanka, though recently categorized as a middle income country, has achieved very good health statistics for several decades at a relatively low cost ....

Radio: The signature tune must be unity - EDITORIAL

Switch on your radio today, though it is difficult to tune into the correct station because there are about 75 channels in Sri Lanka alone. Today is the annual World Radio.....

An ode to radio on ‘World Radio Day’

Today is ‘World Radio Day’ - a day to cherish the distinctive quality of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe. Radio is ubiquitous, reaching listeners on-air, online, on site and on demand......

National anthem sung in Tamil a step in reconciliation?

The singing of the National Anthem in Tamil not only brought tears into the eyes of many Sri Lankans...

Sarath Fonseka and parliamentary politics

Even his strongest critics will admit that Sarath Fonseka was THE MAN to lead the Army in the...

Prince Al Hussein offers concession but with difficult conditions

From whatever angle we look at it, there were positive as well as negative aspects in the statement...

Good governance and constitutional reforms

Arising from my recent presentation to the ‘Public Committee on Constitutional Reforms, I wish to...

EDITORIAL - Peaceful youth revolt in the US

At the primaries for the United States presidential election in November this year, an unprecedented...

Don’t compromise on the ‘country first’ policy

When President Maithripala Sirisena came out of a virtual nowhere to be elected as the Executive President in the people’s silent revolution of January 

G-Key Sri Lanka’s second largest financial

Recent news on Lalith Kotelawala being summoned before PRECIFA, and the Bill Gates of Lanka arriving there on a Wheel chair, 

Sri Lanka – Cost of Inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the Public Sector?

The governments in the past could no doubt meet the challenges in economic,   institutional and ideological changes in the country.  There is a perception that moral and ethical standards in public sector personnel

I have a Democratic Right to be an MP

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, the newly appointed Member of Parliament, took oaths yesterday under the UNP’s’ elephant symbol to fill in the national list position left vacant following the passing  away of the late Minister M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardene.  In a candid interview with the Dailymirror, Field Marshal Fonseka expressed his views on the appointment, his eligibility to be an MP and his political  caree

Mayhem in yellow robes or true patriotism?

He is in the news again. Parading in yellow robes, portraying himself as a martyr of the present day and saviour of Sinhala Buddhists; Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thero, a Buddhist monk whose credentials are more of a homage to a defeated regime of corruption and deceit than a parade of a victorious army, played another one of his infamous ploys, and this time too, came out a loser.        

Servant leadership: walk the talk - EDITORIAL

As we move into the eco-friendly, all-inclusive development year 2016, Government leaders need to be conscious of some of the main dangers or temptations facing them. It applies to religious, business and civic society leaders also.  

Constitution should unite people and reflect social contract

The Constitution of any State is the organic and the supreme law of that State. It explicates, regulates and articulates relationship and cohesiveness between the State and its people, people and people, State and institutions, institutions and people and also it directs and governs the State’s relationship with the rest of the world.  

Kidney racket Wake-up call for patients

‘Health is wealth’ -  a popular saying of yesteryear could be replaced as ‘Health equals wealth’ in today’s context. In an unexpected turn of events,a case was filed by the Telangana police against six Lankan doctors who were alleged to have conducted kidney transplants on Indian patients charging a sum of 60 lakhs for one transplant. In an attempt to identify the loopholes in the healthcare system that gives ri

Today is ash wednesday

Compassion, forgiveness and redemption: the important precepts in the life of a Christian that our Saviour Jesus Christ preached and commanded us to follow for which he died on the cross to redeem our sins.   

Education: the only weapon against poverty

I had the rare opportunity to attend and appreciate the annual book donation programme of the Dehiwala – Ratmalana Development Foundation and the Lalith Athulathmudali  Commemorative Foundation. The programme kept its promise to over 1000 children in the divisional secretariat division of Maha Oya, in addition to their regular book donation programme to 3000 students in Dehiwala- Mt. Lavinia area. The organizers have supported the chil

Money laundering is a serious crime : Eran

With the arrest of Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the topic of money laundering has resurfaced.  In a candid interview with the Daily Mirror , Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise Development, EranWickremaratne

Post Independence Sri Lanka - Key challenges and policy responses

We celebrated the 68th anniversary of the country’s political independence on the 4th of this month. The period that we have completed is as long as the average life span of a Sri Lankan citizen today. Some of us.....

These are not mere numbers, but human lives - EDITORIAL

Tamil leaders in the North, according to media reports had requested the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Prince ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein who was currently on a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka to.....

Using elephants for school parades Are we being human?

Compassion for all beings is a message which is conveyed by all religions to the society for every living being on this earth has a right to live. Not only human.....

‘The Dream’: An initiative dedicated for children with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination which don’t become intense with time.

APPOINTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice (1970–1977) and an expert in Constitutional Law, Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama who strongly believes that the vacant position of the Attorney General should be filled with the senior most officer in the.....

Mahinda Rajapaksa was ‘70 percent right, 30 percent wrong’

Finally, the Joint Opposition, a euphemism for the cronies of the ex-President in Parliament, has turned to God. If the legend in Sinigama lives up to its fame, the  hundred thousand coconuts they smashed at the Devalaya there during the.....

Illegal fishing by Tamil Nadu fishermen - Gone with the trawlers

Sri Lanka lost US$ 40 million worth of sea catch a month to Indian fishermen who trespass the Sri Lankan Maritime Boundary to fish, a seminar was told in Colombo recently at the National Library.

Hela Bojun: Real taste of paradise

Today’s food market is without doubt dominated by fast food. Asian countries like Sri Lanka are caught in the fast food trap, with more and more people getting addicted.  However, it is a well-known fact that fast foods are......

Media make the innocent guilty; the guilty innocent - EDITORIAL

The media are the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that is power, because they control the minds of the masses.

Tamils Hail Mother Lanka as “Sri Lanka Thaayae” in Their Mother Tongue

“Sri Lanka Thaayae, Nam Sri Lanka,Namo, Namo, Namo,Namo Thaayae..” (Sri Lanka Mother, our Sri Lanka,we salute,salute,salute,salute thee)