Breathalyser tests standardized Guild wants pilot reinstated

Breathalyser tests are administered to ensure the safety of airline, the passengers as well as the 

The truth after tall-stories about coconut oil

Some decades ago, transnational food corporations apparently sponsored studies by some world food scientists who claim that our good old coconut oil which has kept us healthy for centuries could 

UNP AT THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN

The Grand Old Party has just celebrated its 70th anniversary, a historic event attended by President Sirisena and former....

Inauspicious VAT and Press Takeover Bills - 52 years Apart

The VAT Bill was placed before Cabinet for approval. Earlier the Supreme Court blocked the attempt to legalize the...

Beware Don’t invest hard-earned money on some broke pyramid scheme

Pyramid schemes are illegal and perilous ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes that can end up costing you a lot of money. You may....

Godage Literary Awards 2016 a surge in applicants

Dr. Harischandra Wijayathunga, Pannamaththu Kavirayar and Padma Edirisinghe were this year’s Godage Literary Award....

GMOA: Doctors are more equal than others

The grade- one school admission is high-stake business. Parents play every magic and trick to get their kids to a good...

Hypocrisy at its best - EDITORIAL

The just-concluded 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Margarita Island in Venezuela, has placed a....

Elephants take top berths as status symbols

“Social status can be determined in two ways; one way is through personal achievements and the other is through....

Enforce death penalty

On September 10 the Daily Mirror reported that between January and August this year a total of 334 murders had taken place....

They get corrupt as value system intrinsically weak

Since Independence, we have not been able to make a tangible improvement in the Public Sector. At the same time....

Kathikawath must be formulated by monks of each Nikaya

The government stated that the Bill was brought forth in order to address several 

Time we tell mea culpa - EDITORIAL

The International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. The United Nations General Assembly.....

Party anniversaries over; What’s good in them for People?

Anniversary celebrations of the two main political parties were held in two consecutive weekends this September. Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in Kurunegala on Sunday 4, and the United National Party (UNP) in Colombo on Saturday 10. The UNP was formed in 1946 to take over from British colonial rule, celebrated 70 years. Bandaranayake and his Sinhala Maha Sabha clan broke off from the UNP in 1951 to form the SLFP. The party thus celebrated 65 yea

Battle global warming the way we saved the ozone layer

Yesterday September 16 was a vital day for the world but unfortunately most people were not even aware of it though at one point it meant life or death for millions of people. In 1994, the United Nation’s General Assembly proclaimed September 16 as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. It marked the date of the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.   

J.R. A revered statesman, an iconic gentleman

The declaration of Martial Law and imprisonment of National Heroes in 1915 intensified the political struggle for national independence in Sri Lanka. 

Aspects of Buddhism as I understand them: The five precepts and the four Brahma Viharas

When I was small, my grandfather would read and explain poems to me. One day, we were both having a nice time doing poetry, when a mosquito landed on my little arm. My immediate reaction 

It is the power that matters

The two leading political parties - the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) - undoubtedly overshadowed the usual practice followed by them throughout the past six 

9/11: The beginning of bad world order

It may be a cliché to say that the world will never be the same again. But it needs to be said again to 

Talking spiritual abilities of women as envisaged by Buddha - in ‘...Binara mahe meda’

“O Gotami,” said the blessed one, “perform a miracle in order to answer the misconceptions of those badly informed men who do not recognize the spiritual abilities of women.”  

Work harder and promote religious unity

The Ven. Galaboda Gnanissara Thera, chief priest of the Gnagaramaya temple, has urged Sri Lankans to work hard, honestly and with commitment in whatever they do and to be ready to work 

Democracy is a vehicle for discussion for and by the people

Eminent social and political thinker, Ernest Barker, in his ‘Social and Political Theory’ describes political democracy as a system of government by which each citizen lays his/her mind alongside other minds in a voluntary process of common debate and mutual persuasion. This is the principle of toleration and compromise which form part and parcel of political democracy. All the citizens put together their views and values relating to

‘Unnecessary’ fear and tall-tales about constitutional reform

The Mahanayake of the Malwatte Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya, the Most Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera was spot on about proposals to change the constitution. The Venerable Thera is reported to have observed the following: ‘Causing unnecessary fear among the people on the Constitutional proposals and then saying tall tales is unacceptable and unhealthy.”  Correct.  

Medical student’s death: Was it exam pressure or a mystery

There can be many possibilities as to what happened to medical student Harindra Seneviratne, who was found dead on September 11 in his room at the Medical faculty hostel in Maradana.  But the tragedy that occured will hover in everyone’s mind especially in that of   Harindra’s parents, who are trying hard to come to terms with what happened that day.  

Democracy: A just and inclusive society

Today is the International Day of Democracy with the theme this year being Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The link between democracy and all-inclusive development is vital and challenging.  

‘Colombo International Financial City’: Can SL prevent money laundering ?

The controversial Chinese funded ‘Colombo Port City’ project has been re-christened also without public consultation as ‘Colombo International Financial City’ to establish an offshore financial centre as the centrepiece of the re-claimed land adjoining the Galle Face Green. It is said to “fill the vacuum between Singapore and Dubai” and touted as a “major income earner and an employment provider for Sri L

Same wine in the old VAT

After a Cabinet meeting with much deliberation, the government approved the proposal to reintroduce the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, more or less, identical to the original one aborted on a court ruling.  

Chances of a UNP breakup are 0%; the SLFP’s more than 50%

“There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there 

The road from Nandikadal: A NEW REVIVALISM

Would India have allowed Ban Ki moon to travel to Kashmir and have a political dialogue with strident 

Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation relocated in Battaramulla

Cerebral Palsy, a group of permanent movement disorders which appear from an early childhood, has