The lion among the jackals

Although Ranjan Wijeratne’s system of public relations might be construed as confounded exposition by some

A mine free world and the status of Sri Lanka

Around 60 countries around the world are contaminated by AP landmines. The International Mine Action 

Towards Greater Economic Productivity and Social Sustainability

Production and application of knowledge, development of techniques of all forms and the adoption of more efficient organizational forms have helped...

How dengue will lose its sting - EDITORIAL

As the week long national dengue prevention week ended yesterday, stinging figures were given by the Epidemiology Unit. 

Focus on and Classics

“Focus on Vintage and Classics”; veteran photojournalist Bandula Alahakoon’s third photographic exhibition of vintage and classic vehicles was held at the Public Library Auditorium

Islam betrayed by unholy extremists

The second chapter of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, says believing in the previous scriptures is...

EDITORIAL - Sports, money and human rights in Qatar

During the past 40 years the noble values of sports also have been sacrificed to the deity of money...

RTI Licence to fight

Exactly 14 months after January 20, last year, the date on which the Right to Information Bill was to...

The real Chava bomb is in Colombo

There’s nothing funny about explosives and explosions. Nothing to salivate about. And yet, we are...

Kuda Hora turns 60!

The opening lines of Sybil Wettasinghe’s Kuda Hora or Umbrella Thief, resonating the Kosgama...

SLAVF to support development and economy in the country

The SLAVF is a collective name for the reserve units and the Sri Lanka National Guard of the Sri...

President hit by power cut again;

Unannounced power cuts have become the norm of the day rather than the exception now.  Even events attended by

Moulding the youth for challenging jobs

In a major step towards moulding the youth, the next generation, to take over the leadership of the country,

‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to zoos and safari parks?

Hambanthota is 500 acres in extent. She said that the park which is located close to the hot wate

Gamini Dissanayake, ‘the Miracle-Maker’… the Robert Kennedy of Sri Lanka

Gamini Dissanayake’s birth anniversary fell on March 20. Commenting on the assassination of John Kennedy in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder of the Children’s Defence Fund stated thus: “So much of the deep lingering sadness over President Kennedy’s assassination is about the unfinished promise, unspoken speeches, unfulfilled hopes, the wondering about what might have been.” Those wo

Denying ragging does not take it away

Stories about ragging in universities are again making headlines. Seventeen senior students of the Allied Health Faculty of the University of Peradeniya have been suspended from attending lectures because they are alleged to have ragged freshers. The official responsible for discipline in the University, Senior Lecturer Dr. Ashoka Dangolla, had said after inquiring into allegations of ragging it was decided to suspend the miscreants from March 23

THE SLFP BETWEEN HYDE PARK AND MAY DAY

There were things that Mahinda Rajapaksa did right, there were things he did wrong and there were things he didn’t do which he should have. Therefore, the electorate decided that it needed a post-Rajapaksa Sri Lanka, building upon the best of Rajapaksa. 

I do not wish to be involved in party politics

The Chairman of the Hela Urumaya and Member of Parliament, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera who played a leading role in toppling the Rajapapksa government is now involved in another revolution-- to create chemical-free food in the country. Amidst rumours about splits in the Hela Urumaya, Ven. Thera says that he does not wish to continue in party politics but to serve the country as an independent MP. 

The politics of Greed

Greed, which has been  obvious in all sections of society in the past few decades has been responsible for the ruin of our nation. Greed for power is even more dangerous, and I fail to comprehend how those who were at the helm of the ship of state for two terms, cushioned by the grandeur, perks and privileges of their position, and should never have contested for a third where they met with rejection which they cannot accept are still clamou

truth behind the USD 6.361 loans of the present government

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been repeating ad nauseam over the last few weeks that the present government has taken USD 6,361 million in foreign loans in its fifteen-month lifespan thus far but hadn’t even built a culvert with that money. He says that he could have built two Mattala airports, one Hambantota port, one Norochcholai coal power plant, one Colombo-Matara highway, one Colombo-Katunayake highway, not one, but two Colomb

Budget or bludgeon

The Government’s new budget proposals impact significantly on every segment of society. The implications of these proposals, and their practical effect, are worthy of serious reflection.

National Unity vital for a new Sri Lanka

In an apparent move to give the people a full and balanced report on vital issues in the country, President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday night made a rare appearance on a television talk show to answer probing questions. The President reiterated that the priority issues of the National Government were to find a just, fair and lasting solution to the ethnic conflict, bring about a just society with a more equitable distribution of wealth and res

Why does the ‘coffee shop’ liberal care?

In a cynical analysis of a recent protest at the Independence Square, Hafeel Farisz dubbed the protesters involved as “coffee shop liberals”. He certainly didn’t mean this as a compliment. He was not referring to the influence that coffee houses had on the Enlightenment or the liberals who ushered 

Colombo’s Coffee Shop Liberals and the New York Radical

Although born and bred in the Island of Serendib, ‘Serendipity’ is a word I picked up from the New York ‘left’. It was on an afternoon in Cooper Square, in the famed and fabled East Village in lower Manhattan that I met Ryan.

Can Gotabaya be the unifier of SLFP?

Last  week, there was this tantalizing proposition from  an anonymous member of the Joint Opposition, who was

All that cough is not TB

There were around 12,000 Tuberculosis (TB) patients recorded each year in Sri Lanka, while there could be another

Culprits know best

British utilitarian Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832) advocated the view “greatest happiness for the greatest number”

Mother Lanka’s call; Use less power, less water

Necessity is not only the mother of invention but also initiative. As we sweat and struggle through the hottest ever 

Looming Loons

Google, the world’s largest information service provider, will carry out Project Loon, listing Sri Lanka as the first 

Human-elephant conflict Suggested solutions

The entry of elephants into human habitats, chiefly small villages that are close to forest territory where elephants live