US tariffs: Unravelling the ‘rules-based’ international order

Over the years the US and the West has been in the habit of imposing tariffs, sanctions and other economic pressures on particular countries whose policies they claimed were not in keeping with a “rules-based international order.” The US has taken the lead in this sphere. It has unilaterally imposed tariffs on different states ranging from Russia to China to smaller non-NATO nations for refusal to comply with US demands.

Trump’s BOP for Gaza, may be a pie in the sky

US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace (BOP)’ for the rehabilitation of post-war Gaza could turn out to be a pie in the sky, with opposition to it coming from both hardliners and liberals.

Police lacks training in law enforcement

The Police must enforce road discipline to counter accidents. The best is a very strenuous training in prevention, detection and proper prosecution. These are the three main ingredients the Police should concentrate on if the Police is to achieve desired success.

Cyclone Ditwah: An Overlooked Environmental Tragedy

Devastation caused by heavy rains in the early hours of November 22 2025 resulting in a Kadugannawa hill top collapsing onto a roadside tea shop and several vehicles, killing 6 and injuring 4 persons, brought to my mind the lyrics of the famous song “Blowin’ in the Wind”–

THE MOUNTAIN WHERE POWER GOES TO BE SEEN

Snow is falling on Davos again, the way it does every January, turning a Swiss ski town into something between a fortress and a film set. Police checkpoints appear overnight. Temporary barriers cordon off streets. Branded chalets glow along the Promenade like expensive Christmas decorations that forgot to come down.

Sri Lanka’s bureaucratic system needs an urgent clean up!

Last week, the Daily Mirror exclusively reported of yet another foreign investor pulling out of Sri Lanka citing regulatory obstruction and arbitrary state action.

Trials-at-Bar in Sri Lanka: Use and abuse

It is reported that a Trial-at-Bar is being contemplated in respect of allegations against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding misuse of state resources for a visit to a British university on his return from attending sessions of the United Nations in New York and an official visit to Cuba.

Departure of British rulers from Ceylon left Tamils high and dry

Within a short time span since the British rulers left Ceylon, the Tamils have been subjected to a quagmire situation wherein there is no dearth of discrimination, racism, religious fanaticism, chauvinism, xenophobia, misanthropy, violence, racial riots, militarisation, state terrorism, and other wrongful acts that were exercised by successive governments in the country against the politically powerless minority Tamil community.

In retrospect and looking forward

The New Year 2026 has already eroded several days but is still in its infancy, opening up vistas of hope, fulfillment, hopeful anticipation and optimism, for “hope springs eternal in the human breast” and always at the dawn of a New Year; with the country spurring on with determination to restore normalcy in the wake of the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah and the ensuing deluge.

Iqbal Athas- a journalist much loved and much hated

If not for an exclusive revelation by a journalist in 2003 when the ceasefire agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was in force, Sri Lanka’s history between then and now would have been totally different.

Harassing Harini while we are in Ditwah ditch

Our country is like no other. A past president once described this land as the ‘Wonder of Asia’. How right he was. We as a people were able to successfully end a near three-decade-long insurgency aimed at dividing the country.

Waste management in Colombo

It’s high time that the new government takes adequate measures to resolve the waste crisis in Colombo. In some areas, the waste collection trucks arrived today for the first time after the New Year.

Hurry up! End policy uncertainty over investments

Daily Mirror, in its Wednesday edition, reported that China-based Amber Adventures (Private) Limited—the country’s first cable car venture—had officially pulled out of the Ambuluwawa Cable Car Project, citing what it called “regulatory obstruction and arbitrary state action”. It informed the Board of Investment (BOI) in writing on January 13 that it had decided to withdraw from the project due to what it termed arbitrary and unlawful actions by s

Iran’s troubles: The price of defying hegemons

Arguably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, continuous nation-states, Iran is facing yet another existential threat of tectonic-shift proportions, similar to the many challenges it has endured and overcome in its more than 3,500-year political existence.

Medical Waste -- a Greater Threat Than Polythene and Plastic?

Public attention has rightly focused on the dangers of polythene and plastic pollution, and some progress has been made through bans, awareness campaigns, and regulatory action. However, an equally serious — and rapidly growing — threat is being largely ignored: the improper disposal of medical waste.

SLTB vs. private - travelling to Negombo by bus

On Christmas day, I headed to Negombo for a much needed break. A friend who lives by the lagoon invited me for dinner and a quiet night of discussion and reminiscences. I wanted to travel by train. But his home is closer to the Negombo bus station than the railway station, and I decide to go by bus. It’s three in the afternoon, and I got into a parked Fort-bound Route No. 103 at Borella. It took half an hour to get to Pettah, four kilometers away

Paddy farmers too, deserve to dream big

Even though rice is the staple diet for most Sri Lankans, purchasing a few measures of rice has become a luxury today. Enjoying a meal of premium rice varieties such as keeri samba or basmati has now become next to impossible. With rice becoming the staple food of the country, the paddy business became politicised over the years. Today, it is a known fact that several large scale rice mill owners are directly or indirectly involved in manipulatin

Why Domestic Tax Failure Distorts Trade Policy

Sri Lanka’s import tariff regime is dysfunctional by design. Tariffs are among the highest in the region and highly complex, with importers required to pay multiple para-tariffs in addition to Customs Duty, such as CESS and the Ports and Airports Levy (PAL). The result is higher prices and reduced consumer choice, inflated and unpredictable input costs for domestic firms, and investment diverted into inefficient, protected sectors, entrenching a

Education Reforms Must Begin with Equity

Education reforms in Sri Lanka are both necessary and long overdue. Few would dispute the need to modernise curricula, teaching methods and assessment systems. However, the manner in which reforms are conceived and implemented is as important as the reforms themselves. Regrettably, current proposals appear to overlook the educational realities faced by the poor, the underprivileged and the rural population.

English module fiasco exposes Govt’s limitations despite house majority

The government’s retreat on education reforms proves that even a record-breaking parliamentary majority cannot override Sri Lanka’s deeply rooted religious and cultural ethos.

Can a song created by an AI app have copyright?

AI apps that allow music generation has taken the world by storm. It creates music which sounds similar to an original creator. While the users may be happy using AI to make the song they want, a pertinent question has been raised as to what would happen to the performer (that is the singer), the composer and the lyricist and for that matter the Record Labels and the Music recording industry itself.

Nuwara- Eliya worst affected by Ditwah: ROAD CLEARING REMAINS A FORMIDABLE TASK

Nuwara-Eliya District, the worst affected by the Ditwah cyclone followed by floods and landslides, looks like a wrecked landscape with mounds of earth and rocks obstructing the main highways and access roads leading to places of tourist attraction

The death throes of Ayatullah: The theocratic regime of Iran is killing for its survival

As of early this week, the Islamic Republic of Iran had slaughtered over six hundred protesters, terrorising with brute force into submission another cycle of widespread protests against the repressive theocratic regime. The regime sources put the death toll as high as 2000.

North and East cannot be left behind forever

Nearly sixteen years after the guns fell silent, Sri Lanka’s North and East remain trapped in a quiet but devastating crisis. It is not a crisis of war, but of neglect.

Education Reforms call for more responsibility

The ongoing debate on the proposed education reforms has generated considerable public attention—and rightly so.

Education reforms and the privilege gap

The education reforms which have been presented by the National People’s Power (NPP) Government has eclipsed everything in politics in the country, with Opposition parties demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya who is also the Minister of Education.

Preventing de-dollarisation Trump’s aim in Venezuela and the world too

US President Donald Trump had several objectives in invading Venezuela and taking its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife hostage. One of the key aims was to prevent the de-dollarisation of Venezuela’s foreign trade and to warn other countries against abandoning the US Dollar in favour of other currencies, especially the Chinese Yuan. In 2018, Venezuela had announced that it would “free itself from the dollar” and started accepting Yuan, Euros,

Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit is an opportunity for Socialists!

From the 14th-century voyages of Zheng He to the 1952 Rubber-Rice Pact, China has acted as Sri Lanka’s stabilizer. Prof. Samitha Hettige argues that as the Dissanayake administration navigates IMF targets, the Belt and Road Initiative offers a blueprint for glory, transforming the island into a regional logistics powerhouse.

Beware of Bogus Elders Homes

This is a warning to readers about an elders’ home in Sarikamulla, Panadura with its owner conducting unethical activities under the guise of religion.

Why We Listen: How Podcasts Became the Most Human Medium of Our Time

Most mornings, before the inbox floods and before the day’s competing demands announce themselves, I am out walking the dog in west London. I am a working mother, a wife, and the CEO of a global communications consultancy. My phone is in my pocket, not my hand. My eyes are on the pavement and the people passing by.