Judicious diplomatic skills put Sri Lanka on the mat

It need not be reiterated that infrastructure development is an essential pre-requisite for development. A state of the art road, rail and sea transport system has been long overdue for this country. Noteworthy are the government’s efforts in this direction whatever be the criticism leveled against the present regime.

Sri Lanka’s poor unmoved by Australia’s new boat people policy

As Australia’s new government launches tough measures to halt asylum seekers arriving on boats, some dirt-poor fishermen and their families half a world away in Sri Lanka seem undeterred.

Editorial - Tap the full potential of the feminine genius

In the afterglow of Binara Full-moon Poya day which marks the inauguration of the Bhikhuni Sasana, the people and the Government of Sri Lanka need to reflect on the multitude of crises facing women who comprise the majority of our population and who need to play a much bigger role in the political

Syrian people crushed under pipeline and power politics

The United States and its allies which seek a regime change in Syria might do well to take a close look at what is happening in Libya, which they ‘liberated’ from the clutches of dictatorship two years ago -- and at media and intelligence reports about life under the Taliban in Afghanistan.

scenic beauty and historical significance of Delft Island

 V. Nadarajah (84) a retired Grama Seva Niladhari, a resident in Canada, returned to the Delft Island where he was born and raised. He landed in a sparsely populated island totally different to the one he had left which was bustling with activity. Despite the many changes that amazed him, he was particularly

Dilshan Boange’s Omunkashy- a complex and innovative novel

It is interesting for a Professor of Writing in Sydney to encounter literature in English from another country in what we call the Commonwealth, but what used to be called the British Empire. Our relationship, then, is historically an intercolonial one. We come together through the English language.

The great Syrian deal

One way of measuring the success of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry in forging a plan with Russia to rid Syria of chemical weapons is to think how the scenario would have been conducted if George W. Bush were still president. He wouldn’t have taken the issue to Congress.

A fire at one end, a fool at the other - Editorial

Substantial medical evidence is available today that whatever delusions may have been promoted in the past - such as smoking being a sign of masculinity – a smoker is a clear case of a fire at one end and a fool at the other. Last year the World Health Organisation (WHO) which has launched an all-out campaign against tobacco smoking and marks the World No Tobacco Day on May 31 had an important theme – “Stop industry interferenc

‘Punchi Dambadiva’

Nestled among the mist encrusted mountains of the Samanala range, a dome of the replica of India’s Bodhgaya comes into view as one gets closer to Kudawa, Ratganga area.

A CURSE IN THE MAKING

November is the month of the Budget: possibly the penultimate/final budget before the presidential election likely to be announced any time between Christmas in 2014 and Sinhala/Tamil New Year in 2015;....

dR. Shirani Bandaranayake UNRUFFLED IN FACE OF FAIT ACCOMPLI

The forty third Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake appeared in the Colombo Magistrate’s court this week when a case filed against her by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption was called for hearing in an unprecedented event in the annals of justice in the country.

‘Govt. has all reasons to embrace TNA manifesto’

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa speaking on behalf the government said that the TNA was attempting to push Tamils in the North to spread racism and separatism. According to him, the appeal to vote for the new manifesto amounted to that and nothing less.

Who abducted the Bibile draft and why? - Editorial

With health action groups and the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation making plans to mark the Senaka Bibile Commemoration Day later this month, the Health Minister announced over the weekend he had....

Editorial - Well said! But…..

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief ministerial candidate C.V. Wigneswaran’s recent comment to ‘The Hindu’ that Tamil Nadu politicians used the Sri Lankan Tamil issue for their own gains, much to the detriment of the Tamils in Sri Lanka

Don’t hesitate in the fight against tobacco use!

The following is a communiqué issued by the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) Expert Committee on Tobacco and Alcohol together with the Council of the Sri Lanka Medical Association

A combined opposition can counter the might of the regime

With the campaigns for three Provincial Council elections heating up and the government busily getting ready for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the Daily Mirror spoke to main opposition

A universal character who influenced the lives of many The life and works of a patriotic leader

Srimath Anagarika Dharmapala’s 149th Birth Anniversary falls on September 17th 2013. Although he passed away 80 years ago, his benevolent thoughts, words and deeds still remain evergreen and tend to carry a strong impact on present and future Sri Lankans.

Cigarettes Kill Over 200,000 Sri Lankan annually as a direct result of smoking

Hot on the heels of a pending Supreme Court decision regarding the display of images on cigarette packets sold in Sri Lanka, a campaign to ensure that such is included in all packets of cigarettes currently being sold in the country has intensified.

Skirting the Middle-Income Trap

Just four years after the end of the  30-year civil conflict that had impeded developmental progress, Sri Lanka is focused on policies that could speed economic growth and steer around the middle-income trap, a predicament countries might face in moving from low to high income levels.

Launch of the book “Budun Sarana Giya Prethayo” Prethas who sought refuge in Buddha

The latest work of veteran journalist and writer Halaliye Karunatillka’s “Budun Sarana Giya Prethayo” (Prethas that sought refuge in the Buddha) will be launched at the Buddhist Congress Conference Hall, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7 at 10.00 a.m. on September 22, 2013. 

405 days and counting - Editorial

It is easy to promise, propose and demand yet difficult to deliver, but this does not mean all things are hard to deliver.  Sometimes, though, things that are easy to accomplish just don’t get done, even if they are very important.

CBF 2013 set to place Inclusive and Ethical Social Development on the corporate agenda

In 1997, the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, raised questions at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Edinburgh, on how the Commonwealth should update its work given the significant and changing context in Commonwealth countries

Gang rape trial over, yet thousands of victims await justice

Miles away from India’s capital, a mother-of-two who makes a living cobbling shoes, knows nothing about the fatal gang-rape of a young woman in New Delhi and the furious street protests that followed her grisly ordeal on a moving bus.

Reason and Unreason in a Crisis – ridden World

The rise of western industrial civilization has long been hailed as the triumph of reason.  At a societal level, the establishment of modern institutions and professions to deal with various issues was expected to facilitate rationalisation of society in keeping with scientific knowledge and secular democratic values.

Editorial - Restorative Justice: Love in action

Sri Lanka marked National Prisoners’ Day on September 12 with a Presidential pardon being given to some 2000 prisoners who were in jail for minor offences or were more than 70 years of age. This came amid a crisis of severe overcrowding in prisons where in some instances as many as seven prisoners.........

WIGNESWARAN PRAISES PRABHAKARAN AT VALVETTITHURAI

The nomination of Retired Supreme Court Judge Canagasabapathy Viswalingam Wigneswaran as  Chief Ministerial candidate  for the Northern Provincial Council Polls by the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) was widely hailed  when announced in July.

Editorial - Devilry of the deceit of depositors

For the past 25 years scores of dubious finance companies offering interest rates of 15 percent to 20 percent to pensioners and other depositors have collapsed and thousands of people, mainly senior citizens, have been left to languish as paupers.

A deeper view of the motive behind UNHRC HC's visit to SL

Is the entire issue stamped with a ‘BIAS TAG?’ The Lady trudges looking like a tramp but holds a trump, being the High Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).  

Mankind’s lifestyle in the year 2250

In 1776 Adam Smith published his “Wealth of Nations” which has guided economists and political thinkers...

Editorial : Take the stigma away from suicide

Sri Lanka Sumithrayo, one of the volunteer movements doing immense service to the people without seeking...