Syria: Worst crisis since World War II

The United States President, Barack Obama, made a wise decision when he backed off in August from attacking Syria even after he claimed US intelligence agencies had clear proof that President Bashar al-Assad had crossed the so-called red line – a reference to the use of chemical weapons.

Commercialising inventions A Technology Park for Sri Lanka

The Budget 2014 proposes new initiatives to support commercialisation of inventions. An important initiative that the Ministry of Research and Technology is believed to be contemplating is to set up a technology park in Sri Lanka.....

Stop plundering our EPF money - Editorial

Former Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who swept to office in 1956 through the now- famous people’s force of the Sangha, wedha, guru, govi, kamkaru, was a brilliant orator but thankfully he was not limited to words and was more committed to deeds, much in contrast to most of today’s leaders.

Gastronomical delights and fairness for the womankind

Shortly after Monday’s Cabinet meeting, ministers sat for the customary dinner hosted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees. Seated together at one table were Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, Housing Construction and Engineering Services Minister Wimal Weerawansa, Power and......

Politics isn’t switching jobs for more money: Madhu Madawa

Singer and actor turned politician Madhu Madawa Aravinda was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) from  the Jathika Hela Urumaya. Getting elected after a campaign without posters, crackers, polythene, treats and.......

Save Lanka, abolish executive presidency - Editorial

The day after the legendary statesman Nelson Mandela—widely revered as the patron saint of political miracle--was laid to his eternal rest in his home village, a huge statue of this hero of heroes was.....

Providence smiles on white collar criminals

Recently, United National Party (UNP) National List Parliamentarian Professor Harsha de Silva raised serious questions about the controversial investments of workers’

Lack of financial and human resources leave Lanka’s heritage vulnerable

Against the backdrop of stealing artefacts even at places like Colombo National Museum and vandalising places of archaeological value,

Use of language in its present context

Often we hear that the youth is not interested in cultured language.

Editorial-People getting sick of the Health Ministry

With more people continuing to fall sick more often due to a little bit of poison in the food we eat and growing pollution of the air and water

Governor,Chief Minister and the northern imbroglio

Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council is presently entangled in an intricate imbroglio. The newly elected chief minister CV Wigneswaran of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is at loggerheads with G. A. Chandrasiri the Governor appointed for the Province by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Neo-liberalism, Politics and Dehumanization of Society

Almost the entire world has come under the influence of neo-liberalism over the last several decades.  The Neo-liberal ideologues that include the key bureaucrats of the international financial institutions assert that the..........

Will Santa visit the marginalised and fixed income workers?

Advertisements often reveal a more realistic picture of a country situation than the statistics churned out by a government source that has lost its independent ability to produce the actual existing data.

‘I have attained Nibbana’ Able to stand aloof on any attack

Ven. Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thera turned Siri Samantha Bhadra has been the focal point in society and his recent statements and his life style as a Buddhist monk have created many a controversy. He has been accused of attempting to ruin the Buddha Sasana.

Isn’t corruption evil any more? - Editorial

Going by the barrage of criticism levelled against Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne and his Coordinating Secretary Keerthi Sri Weerasinghe for the past week or so over their alleged involvement with the largest ever heroin haul detected by the......

Towards a Buddhist Theory of Mental Illness

The Buddha’s philosophy and religion is mainly concerned about the well-being of human beings. His main sermon is on the Four Noble Truths. Here the Buddha deals with the problem of human sufferings and how they could be eliminated.

Mandela is no more, his legacy lives on

‘What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.’

I am becoming single - Mahindananda

While claiming that he is becoming a single man, Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who is currently under a cloud of allegations for threatening his estranged wife, denied accusations levelled against him.

Editorial - O! Justice, what crimes are committed in thy name

One of France’s kings was once asked about the rule of law. His infamous reply quoted for hundreds of years to define dictatorship, was “I am the state”.

No restriction to run a Casino in my hotel – Ravi wijeratne

The proposed Casino enterprise has been gathering momentum and has met with strong protests by various quarters while its main protagonist James Packer has been the talking point. Meanwhile,

Credible, transparent independent investigations

David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the formerly `Great? Britain has repeatedly not just requested but purported to `demand? that the sovereign state of Sri Lanka which ceased to be a colonial possession of Britain 63 years ago

Mandela and his economics

In the days when Mikhail Gorbachev was president of the Soviet Union, engaged in his policy of glasnost and disarmament, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize,

Editorial-The harvest is rich, the labourers few

Madeba Nelson Mandela, widely acclaimed as the world’s greatest statesman since the legendary Abraham Lincoln of the United States,

'I had absolutely nothing to do with heroin'

In a fiery scandal which erupted recently, the Coordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister was...

Are we living in times of decay?

This may be a question most Sri Lankans find absurd with the end of the war in 2009. But the enlightened...

Mandela does not belong to you unless you follow him

As word leaders deliver moving eulogies and wax eloquent on the virtues of Nelson Mandela, some...

Akashi’s international concerns and govt’s concern for imported dog food

Yasushi Akashi, Japan’s special envoy for Peace-Building, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sri Lanka, is in town again, and this is his 23rd visit to the country since he assumed his role in 2002.

iconic face of modern Buddhist monk

A ten-year-old boy from Matara was taken up to Colombo by Ven Galaboda Devananda Nayake Thera and handed over to Ven. Vacissara Nayake Thera of Gangaramaya.

A blank cheque for TNC corruption - Editorial

One of the world’s most eminent jurists, prophet of social justice and advocate of multi-religious dialogue Judge C. G. Weeramantry, in a keynote speech to mark World Anti-Corruption day, said corruption all over the world was going on unchecked largely because of a........

Can Akashi play his cards right for Sri Lanka?

The eighty two year old Japanese diplomat is back in the news in Sri Lanka, returning to the country for his twenty third visit, in an effort to assist the government in Colombo to deal with a brewing international storm over allegations of war crimes and human rights violations.