Colombo North & Central public transport in shambles

At the end of the COVID pandemic in 2021, the residents of Colombo North came in for a rude shock. They found that the public transport system that had served them for several decades didn’t exist anymore. The Kotahena roundabout junction had been always a busy bus terminal hub with key bus routes originating for their onward journey across the city.

Senior citizens’ dilemma

It is obvious that the majority of senior citizens too are in dire straits, since the withdrawal of their special interest rate of 15% per annum on FDs, sans any withholding tax (WHT) or advanced income tax (AIT) imposed.

Solar Dreams vs Bureaucratic Nightmares: Sri Lanka’s Sustainable Energyat a Crossroads

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted a valuable workshop on the way forward for Sri Lanka towards an enhanced renewable energy (RE) penetration in its energy mix recently, on January 30, 2025.

President AKD’s First Budget The revolutionary governs, and governs well

We were supposed to have become a rich country decades ago. At Independence many predicted that Ceylon would become the Switzerland of the East. Instead communal strife, corruption and misguided economic policy held us back.

The tragic tale of Tamil politics

The ethnic problem seems to have been forgotten even by the Tamils of Northern and Eastern Provinces. Tamils have apparently been left to themselves. Political disunity seems to have been the order of the day.

Gamini Fonseka was an artistically acclaimed, commercially valued actor

Gamini Fonseka has been my favourite Sinhala film actor since childhood. Gamini entered my life when I was about eight years old.

Damana School’s Legacy: Preserve- Logbook and Union Jack!

P. Dayaratne, the former District and Cabinet Minister who represented Ampara (Digamadulla) in Parliament for an uninterrupted 38 years, belonged to a rare and vanishing generation of honourable politicians.

This regime must embrace ‘possibility’

Sri Lanka is a country that is in search of the truth. This is because the majority of the islanders are Buddhists.

Zelenskyy’s Mr. Nothing performance: A lesson in political realism

What is common between United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Both are entertainers. Trump was the protagonist in the popular ‘The Apprentice’ television reality show that ran from 2004 to 2017. Zelenskyy played the main role of a high school history teacher in the widely acclaimed television series “Servant of the People”, which was aired from 2015 to 2019, the year in which Zelenskyy, the comedian, bec

International Women’s Day and respect for Women in Lanka

Today we in Lanka join humankind the world over in celebrating the positive role played by women in life’s different spheres. The date of March 8 has its roots in Russian history. On February 23, 1913, Russian women protested against World War I and Vladimir Lenin declared March 8 as International Women’s Day (IWD) in 1922 to honour the Women’s role during the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Is COPE a media show?

Various financial irregularities taken place at several state institutions such as the National Youth Services Council (NYSC) during the last government are being exposed these days at the ongoing meetings of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), one of the three watchdog committees of the Parliament.

Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces and ‘Rightsizing’

The President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said in the parliament on 28 February 2025 that the Number of persons in all three armed forces will be reduced while they will be made sophisticated with equipment. “Our aim is to acquire modern equipment for the forces. Almost all aircraft in the Sri Lanka Air Force are becoming outdated. Therefore, we will acquire new aircraft. The Sri Lankan Navy will also get new craft and new equipment. We will do

Security and freedom: Counter terrorism legislation in Sri Lanka

Civilisations since the dawn of history have engaged in search for the right balance between security and liberty-both elemental needs of society through dramatically changing conditions and priorities.

Healing minds matter: A revolutionary mental health initiative by Rotary

In a world where mental health struggles are often overlooked, Sri Lanka stands at a critical turning point. With an alarming suicide rate of 3,500 lives lost last year and countless others suffering in silence, the need for urgent intervention is undeniable. Addressing this crisis head-on, Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town and Rotary Club of Colombo Port City,

Transboundary air pollution the zero-sum blame game and what might help instead

Sri Lankans have become aware of hard-hitting air pollution events lately where pollutants from regional countries have negatively impacted our health.

Are women anymore a priority for the incumbent government?

Despite having as many as 21 female MPs in Parliament, the incumbent government has come under scrutiny for not condemning insults directed at fellow Parliamentarians in the House.

HEC : Time is ticking as Sri Lanka tests practical solutions

Sri Lanka lost a total of nine elephants during the first two months of 2025 as a result of elephant-train collisions. These statistics were issued to this paper by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. But records indicate that over 60 elephants succumbed to injuries caused by electrocution, hakka patas and gunshots. In February this year, seven elephants succumbed to injuries as a result of a collision with the Colombo-Batticaloa train ‘Meen

Why make it easier to pay the government?

More than two decades ago, we were kicking around ideas on what would be the most attractive e-government (e-gov) services we could introduce through the new World Bank funded e-Sri Lanka Programme. Someone suggested paying taxes electronically, but it did not tick the box of generating support for more e-gov services. Who likes paying taxes? And it was hard to do in those pre-smartphone days.

Richard, Manorani and ‘Rani’: Murky waters and a culture war

The controversy sparked by Asoka Handagama’s biopic ‘Rani’, about the lives of Richard De Zoysa and his mother Dr. Manorani Saravanamuttu, is so one-sided that I feel duty-bound to make the following comments. I hate getting embroiled in controversies. They consume much-needed energy wasted in arguments which go nowhere. But, as someone who knew Richard and Dr. Manorani well enough to visit them at their home during 1984-86, I need to say the fol

Can a timetable reduce elephant-train collisions?

In February, seven elephants succumbed to injuries after colliding with the Meenagaya train. On March 3, another elephant succumbed to injuries as a result of a collision with a train in Manampitiya.

UNHRC’s Inconsistent HR Oversight: A Global Concern

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has strongly criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for what he perceives as selective and biased scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

Does the government learn the hard way?

Never in the Sri Lankan history had a government faced such a plethora of hot issues, at once, at its beginning, as faced by the current national People’s Power (NPP) government. Similarly, never in the history had a government really wanted a “system change” including the change in the thinking pattern of politicians, officialdom, and the ordinary people.

Virakesari’s ‘News King’ Sellathurai was the doyen of Jaffna journalists

Sri Lanka, known earlier as Ceylon, has produced many journalists of a high calibre in the past. These excellent scribes writing for Sinhala, Tamil or English newspapers acquired a large readership and made their mark over the years. Some were bi-lingual too.

Trump’s disdain for soft power opens doors to China

The move to wind up USAID is a reflection of US President Donald Trump’s disdain for social welfare across the world and also the use of soft power as an instrument of foreign policy.

A change in governance and the need to stop hate speech

Corruption has permeated all levels of Lankan society. Corrupt practice rules from top political leaders to the lowly peons in government departments.

“Sri Lanka, Voices From A War Zone”: A vital reminder

We forget very easily. Even the terrors and travails of the recent pandemic are being forgotten.

The government showed up mediocre at the UN in Geneva for CEDAW

I was excited to join the Sri Lankan NGO delegation representing Women’s Action Network (WAN) at the 9th periodic Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) review.

The truth about truth-seeking

While Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath was in Geneva delivering his speech at the 58th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday,

A pall of gloom hangs o’er Lanka - EDITORIAL

On 22 September 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake leader of the National People’s Power was elected President of our country.

Till the next Talaivar comes…

When I was in my mid-teens, my brothers and I were afforded several trips to our dad’s tea estate in Bandarawela. One way of nurturing our need for boyish pranks was to pull at the sarongs that some of the estate workers wore; and lo and behold, most of them never wore underwear! But there was this one person called Kesavan, the community headman, and when we tried our pranks on him he offered no resistance.