Mother Earth sacred, don’t pollute her

Just as there were traitors in small developing countries which were militarily invaded...

IS monster and Middle East mayhem

President Barack Obama has taken his war on terror to another Arab country. Syria is the...

UNP buoyed while UPFA gripped by political tremor

His security officer picked the mobile phone, and brought it to him to answer the President who was on line. Jolted out of his nap, he answered the phone.

Progressive Realization of Human Rights and Domestic Obligations

Many states have undertaken, as part of their international obligations (especially under ICCPR) to implement and enforce the rights enshrined in the Conventions...

eDITORIAL-Enter the Dragon

In the aftermath of the Rajapaksa Government’s worst-ever political setback at last Saturday’s elections to the Uva Provincial Council,...

uva Beginning of a change?

What materialized at the elections held on Saturday, September 20 was the possibility number 3 as reasoned out in my last week’s column:

GBV: How can we end the scourge?

There are many problems which pervade society, problems which have existed from long ago, and will exist long into the future,...

Rise in Price of Rice: Who Do We Call?

In 2013, Sri Lanka earned close to US$6 million exporting 50,000 metric tonnes of rice on the back of a bumper harvest during the year producing 4.6 million metric tonnes.

eDITORIAL-Good governance vital for economic growth

Sri Lanka has come a long way since the war ended in 2009. The country has seen a massive development in its infrastructure which includes highways,..

Ashraff’s mystique still lingers among Eastern Muslims

This is a period of  time in Sri Lanka which is referred to as “Ashraff season” in lighter vein  by observers of the Sri Lankan Muslim political scene. The Country witnesses a series.......

Uva releases many messages

The Uva Provincial Council is a rehearsal for the coming Presidential and General elections. Winning three electorates and increasing the vote base and closing........

‘Lands of extremes’ and the plight of their masses

The Nigerian extremist rebel group Boko Haram  massacred several hundred villagers in north east Nigeria last month. Unfortunately, this follows the unprecedented kidnap of over 300 schoolgirls on April 14 in the troubled north. Some.....

EDITORIAL - CAN unqualified MPs pass laws requiring qualified MPs

Matara District United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian Buddika Pathirana last week revealed an important fact about his colleagues, the legislators of Sri Lanka. According to Mr. Pathirana 142 out of the 225 members.......

What of the marginalised in our land?

Many years ago studying Shakespearean drama one heard of the remark made by Marcellus in “Hamlet.” Act I, Scene 4: stating that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”  Perhaps it appears to our politicians, especially in the ruling party, that  a similar occurrence has taken place with the.....

Protecting the cradle - EDITORIAL

With Sri Lanka preparing to observe Children’s Day on October 1, the main focus this year will be on the disturbing increase in the number of abductions and abuse of children, especially girl children.

A new Cold War?

A couple of days ago I was on the Moscow Metro. In the interchange I asked two women the direction. Then they asked me did I like Russia? I asked them the same question and they said “no”.

Every child must gain equal access to education

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that was inaugurated on November, 1989 proclaims that a child must be raised in the society with the essence of peace, tolerance, decorum, equality, freedom and solidarity.

US war on IS: Real target is Syria

Cartoonists in the United States and Britain are giving a spit and polish to Barack Obama’s claim...

How fair are the elections? - EDITORIAL

After what most election monitors see as a campaign marred by a relatively high degree...

eDITORIAL-Ice bucket and green chilLi challenges won’t ease suffering

Imagine a situation where President Mahinda Rajapksa has agreed to take an ice bucket bath or to eat ‘amumiris’ (green chillies) before TV cameras after...

Indian army: General dogsbody in any catastrophe

India’s Jammu and Kashmir is in the throes of the worst natural disaster in its history.  Unprecedented rain, swollen rivers,  indiscriminate deforestation,...

We belong to one nation, the Sri Lankan nation

Today we see the coming together of the Muslim community representing various professions and organisations, from diverse backgrounds.

Classical evenings and bizzarre past

It was a very pleasant Friday evening. The Chamber Music Society of Colombo, a symphony orchestra was playing film music opposite the World Trade Centre...

Mervyn de silva prophet and jester

Friday (Sept 5) was the 85th birth anniversary of Mervyn De Silva, doyen of journalism in Sri Lanka. In this article published in the Sunday Observer on June 27,...

The big crises NATO and protestors fail

Violence should have had its day. Look at its non-achievements: The US/British/French invasions of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

eDITORIAL-Conflict of interest in battling kidney disease

Major but seldom spotlighted issues relating to professional ethics, integrity and conflict of interest came up on Thursday.

STREET HARASSMENT of women by the bucketful

An issue that has been referred to as ‘street harassment’ became a hot topic in the country last week. A  team that thought it was an opportune moment to listen to the views of women on the subject were in for a great surprise; around ninety- nine per cent of women said  they had been subjected...........

Pakistan: The politics behind Imran’s bouncers

Imran Khan appears to be in a mighty hurry to form a government in Pakistan, though undemocratically.  The speed...

EDITORIAL : Who should be blamed?

On Monday the electronic media reported the heart-rending story of a six-year old girl from...

Returning to our roots in education

If education is the soul of the society as a wise man once said, then what about the practices involved...