It’s Paradise Lost for tourist guides

Outsiders think of tourism as a glamour industry. Insiders know better. Those who work as tourist guides or receptionists or drivers are seen as cannon fodder by tour agents driven by the profit motive.

UNITE TO END TUBERCULOSIS

Thursday March 24 was World Tuberculosis Day and the World Health Organization (WHO) had called on all countries and partners to “Unite to End Tuberculosis” as we enter the era of the Sustainable

AN URGENT NEED TO RESTRUCTURE SRI LANKA’S FOREIGN MINISTRY

The government appears to be indulging in some revolutionary new thinking which is heartening; it is indeed time we took stock of our important state institutions such as the Foreign Affairs Ministry which 

The Herculean task of mending and paying for past sins

Securing a better future for our children and grandchildren is a huge challenge. The National Unity Government 

Tackle terrorism before it produces more Trumps

The message from Tuesday’s multiple terror attacks in Brussels is clear and loud.  It is high time that...

EDITORIAL : Let our religious founders be our guides

Today Christians the world over remember and commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. The death of...

What happened to CEB?

The peoples’ confidence in The Ceylon Electricity Board  for the supply of electricity  for their daily...

SLMC’s Day of the Jackal

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) seems to be heading towards another split, apparently due...

Inhumanity and animal-cruelty through a Brusselsian lens

The word in the local streets is ‘heat’, and it comes with ‘blackouts’, ‘unannounced power cuts’,...

Why Sampur? Saving the climate means quitting coal

From mining to combustion, coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels. Burning coal is the largest single source of climate-changing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the world, according to the environmental

TB on the move

The World TB day which is held each year on the 24th of March is intended to promote awareness, knowledge

Widening UPFA split and MR-MS animosity

The joint opposition’s Hyde Park rally marked the clear division of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).

Better water for better lives

“The availability of good-quality water affects the lives, health and livelihoods of people. Farming and industries depend heavily on water,” observes Executive Director, Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum, (

Sampur Coal Power Plant: An Environmental Doom and Gloom ?

The imminent threats to the environment of the proposed 500 MW coal-fired thermal power plant to be established in Sampur are grave in concern and are not reversible if commenced.

Occupy the Square and Colombo’s Coffee Shop Liberals

Gihan De Chickera in his analysis published last week puts forth an argument on the class dynamics of the recently-held ‘protest’...

A reply to my dear Buddhist Brother

Well-known educationist and human rights advocator Deshabandu Jezima Ismail replies to our column titled “An open letter to my dear Muslim brothers and sisters Buddhist-Muslim relationship could be warmer” written by Dr. Ranga Kalansuirya and published on February 19. While thanking Dr. Kalansuriya for his open letter, Mrs. Ismail writing comes as a “response of a Muslim to the concern of a brother Buddhist”.

Cause of recent power failures still a mystery - EDITORIAL

Unlike in the past, the recent countrywide power failures are still making headlines. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have taken this matter up seriously with Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya expected to submit a special report to Parliament today on the recent happenings in the power sector.

Good governance is not utopia…it’s making the best out of bad governing systems

Good governance…it’s more likely that those who desire foolproof and ideological-definitions-based systems of governance are immensely disappointed at the pace at which the present Government is going about establishing a more responsive system of governance. Placed against a backdrop of a disappointed public, ....

‘Radicalisation’ among Sri Lankan Muslims

A number of recent opinion pieces penned by some well-known writers have drawn attention to the growing ‘radicalisation’ among the Muslims of Sri Lanka. Among the key concerns raised are that Sri Lankan Muslims are becoming ‘exclusivist’ and ‘self-alienating’ by following a strict interpretation of Islam, manifested in particular by the growing number of Muslim women who have adopted all-encompassing ‘ali

Honour the Bhikkhu, the Inviolable

Why respect the Bhikkhu? He symbolizes the most subtle, most refined doctrine ever disclosed to man. He is the shining beacon that....

Gautama Buddha visits His Relatives in Kapilawasthupura

On the first Medin Full Moon Poya day after the Enlightenment and seven years after the “Abhiniskramanaya” or leaving the royal palace.....

The nation’s father and undisputed leader of all time

On the morning of 22nd March 1952, the first Prime Minster of Independent Ceylon, Don Stephen Senanayake went riding a police horse, Chithra on.....

Free from bonds; the Dhamma; Buddhism and relatives; visit to Kapilawastu

The message that the Buddha had arrived spread in a few minutes all over in Kapilawattu like a whirl-wind, creating an  environment in and.....

A society with its priorities mixed up

A young couple visiting Independence Square were chased away by a security guard recently. This is routine procedure at this venue, but.....

Water and jobs: Thirst for this theme - EDITORIAL

With two-thirds of the earth’s surface covered by water and the human body itself consisting of 75 per cent water, this is watertight proof that water is one....

What we do make us what we are

In Sri Lanka, there had been two insurgencies in the South, led by the JVP. And a war too that lasted 30 years....

IT IS TIME TO STOP: Deafening noise and filthy scenes in bus TV screens

The above news item appeared in the Daily Mirror on February 28, 2016. According to the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) Chairman, the driving....

SATELlITE TV AND CORPORATE BULLYING

If you care to ask around it becomes evident that satellite TV providers in Sri Lanka are playing foul by its customers. With a multitude of shortcomings in.....

India – Sri Lanka ‘‘ Shilpa Kala’’ India’s magic together with Sri Lankan heritage

From the ancient times, India and Sri Lanka have held bilateral ties, culturally, socially and politically, and have astonished the world with their rich culture.....

Why university students ‘rag’ – and academics think it’s normal

The  academics at the University of Kelaniya have reportedly suspended  teaching activities in protest against on-going ragging at the.....