EDITORIAL - Soar higher than kites for national unity

In this week for national unity in diversity and integration, we need to reflect upon and develop a vital factor – the inner healing of memories after three decades of war and about six decades of ethnic tension.

Seed and Water: Tyranny of the TNCs

Dr. Vandana Shiva, a leading ecological agricultural specialist, environmentalist and rights activist from India delivered a lecture on ‘Right for Seed and Water; A Campaign for an alternative development model’ recently. The event was organised by the......

Why can’t Parliamentarians be like Cricketers?

Responded with spunk to take both the limited over trophies in U.K. after being humiliatingly compared to a county side. Mind you, playing on their home grounds/in their weather conditions/before cheering home crowds.....

EDITORIAL - Gagging is not the answer

The Civil Society Collective (CSC), a coalition formed by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) said last Wednesday that the move by the National Secretariat which comes under the purview of the Defence Ministry to ban the NGOs.....

Unfortunate riots were not by chance

UNP MP PalithaThewarapperuma who was an eye witness to the recent riots in Aluthgama and surrounding areas was injured after a mob had attacked his vehicle while transporting victims......

Dengue Epidemic : Causes and Consequences

The government epidemiology unit reports that the dengue cases have already exceeded the 20,000 mark in the first six months of 2014. If the trend continues in the next few months, it can exceed the 2009 figure of 32, 7000.....

EDITORIAL - Dr Diyanath Samarasinghe; Your team has done you proud

In the mid 1980s the State Television started featuring a young psychiatrist whose striking presence and intellectual vibrancy saw him carving an iconic niche for himself on screen. In no time this young.....

Spiritual power to secular power

A topic that is being discussed today is being reviewed in the light of the Theravada monastic discipline and the 2600 year history of this country. Primarily a Buddhist monk is a full time student of spiritual quest and as such the rules of moral behaviour binding him are much more rigorous.

Esala - the month of religious festivals

In the snowy peaks of Himalayas and in the valleys of Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra in Dambadiva- ancient India trees in the natural vegetation were laden with fruits and flowers during the month of Esala and it had been a festive season from time immemorial.

Pity the Children

Three Israeli teenagers were murdered on Palestinian soil. One Palestinian boy was burnt to death whilst alive in an apparent retaliation. Over the years of conflict thousands of children have been killed - many more on the Palestinian side than the Israeli.

Let all voices be heard

homas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, has said that liberty depends on the freedom of the press and that it cannot be limited without being lost. George Orwell an English author deeply committed to democratic socialism and a sharp critic of totalitarianism has....

Gaza: God forbid, Israel again plays the devil

As the Gaza Strip is being reduced to smithereens once again in what is seen as a regular military exercise for Israeli troops, genocide appears to be an art. And which country is more skillful than Israel in committing war crimes and yet drawing little or no condemnation from the international community?

Thewarapperuma, UNP maverick or activist

At a time when the opposition United National Party (UNP) has been struggling to keep its head above political waters, it is rarely that a UNP parliamentarian dominates the headlines, but somehow Kalutara District UNP parliamentarian Palitha Thewarapperuma has done just that.

When brats brawl, let us all laugh - EDITORIAL

Harin Fernando made an impassioned speech in Parliament the day Dayasiri Jayasekera resigned, formally announcing his decision to re-join his deshapalana thimbirigeya (political place of birth), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and contest the elections to the Wayamba Provincial Council.

Aren’t Sri Lankans also humans?

South Africa’s role in SL’s reconciliation process

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, accompanied by his Ministers, walked down the isle of the parliamentary chamber on Tuesday...

Marie Musaeus Higgins: Her footprints on the sands of time

The mere mention of the name, Marie Musaeus Higgins brings to the mind of everyone in this country today the prominent Buddhist school for girls in Colombo 7...

EDITORIAL-Are we waiting till they come for us?

In what appears to be a showdown battle for the restoration of democracy, justice and the rule of law...

The Need of the Hour Tolerance And National Integration

The role of the Authorities is not to eliminate pluralism but to ensure that the competing groups tolerate each other...

Come together or perish, one by one!

“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin.

EDITORIAL-The Heart of a champion

With billions of people watching the FIFA World Cup matches and the final on Sunday....

I left service due to threat on my life

Police Constable Suminda Saman, who was subjected to humiliation and bodily harm allegedly by Deputy Minister Hemal Gunasekara at the Kottawa access point on the Southern expressway, had no other alternative than to.......

Casinos: Development or social upheval

Foreign Direct Investments in Sri Lanka are governed by Board of Investment Law No. 04 of 1978 and Strategic Development Project Act No. 14 of 2008 and subsequent amendments made thereto......

EDITORIAL - The task before Ramaphosa

The South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Sri Lanka to assist the country to find a solution to the conflict which led to a bloody thirty-year-long war which ended in 2009. He is not visiting the country......

Malaka and I are poles apart

Minister Mervyn Silva’s son Malaka Silva recently stated that he would start his political journey from Matara. The following is an interview with the SLFP Party Organiser of Matara and the deputy Minister of postal services and former Sri Lankan cricketer......

Why a regime change would not help

In spite of the political rhetoric, most people in the country seem to be worried about their future prospects. This is largely due to the prevailing state of governance and the.....

EDITORIAL - The truth is in the tours

Abouquet to those backbenchers. Finally, some intelligent Parliamentarians appeared to have realised their duties as representatives of the people. Instead of being the typical Magodis Thumas, a derogatory.....

The anatomy of an alleged conspiracy

The main players - The U.N machinery 2) M/s Navi Pillay, U.N.H.C.R 3) a Norwegian puppet 4) a Kiwi puppet 5) a Pakistani puppet Aided by glorified N.G.O’s from 1) Channel TV 4 of the U.K. 2) an ex-peaceful diplomat from Norway - now having changed sides.

BIRTH AND GROWTH OF NEXUS BETWEEN THE TNA AND THE LTTE

The suggestion made  in this column last week that the Tamil National Alliance(TNA)should promote truth, accountability and reconciliation by  taking the lead in presenting evidence before the investigation to be  conducted by the UN.......

Is it time for a tobacco-free military?

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus recently announced that he wanted to end tobacco sales on all Navy installations. Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel, citing both financial costs and tobacco’s  harmful effects on.......