Confusion over Eco Certificate : Drivers bear unnecessary burden due to alleged corruption in state

The latest buzz on the road rules state that it is a must for drivers to carry the Eco Certificate along with the driving licence, Vehicle Insurance and the Vehicle Revenue Certificate. Drivers have been complaining that the police demand to see the Eco Certificate, overruling the Vehicle Revenue Certificate

Return of Onam Age-old Keralite Festival celebration organised by the Kerala Samajam of Sri Lanka an

The Kerala Samajam of Sri Lanka along with the Kerala Vanitha Samajam is organizing a function “Onam 2013 celebrations” at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, 100 Independence Square, Colombo 7 on October 12, 2013 from 5.30pm onwards. The celebrations would include a cultural programme consisting

Guitar Fest-2014

The Guitar Association of Sri Lanka will hold its eagerly-awaited Guitar Fest 2014 on Jan.  25, 26 and 27,  2014. Organisers hope to take it out of Colombo this time, and hold it in Kandy, Galle, and Chilaw as well in Colombo. Sri Lankan as well as foreign guitarists will perform at the concert which will be free of charge to the public

For lack of an alternative

The results of the election of members for the Northern Provincial Council are still a hot topic of conversation/debate among the people.  The debate on the subject centres around the question whether or not the people of the Northern Province expressed an opinion in favour of separation by giving a tremendous mandate

Showdown between RIs and Pakistan Army: Implications For India

The cacophony of Pakistani religious radicalism seems to be heading for a crescendo. The country is being torn apart between the contending power centres of Radical Islamists (RIs) and the Army, with neither of them showing any intention of climbing down.

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES

The Friday Forum keenly followed the three Provincial Council elections in the Northern, North Western and Central Provinces held on September 21, 2013. The encouraging turnout, with voters exercising their franchise in all three provinces, supported the claim that the elections were relatively free and fair.

Editorial - Global warming: Selfishness produces suicide bomb

The suicide bomb of global warming—though many people are foolishly ignorant of it or care little and do less-is growing into catastrophic if not apocalyptic proportions all over the world.Environmental analysts or prophets have warned that if this trend of the excessive emission of carbon dioxide

Editorial - Boat people; Prevent a Titanic catastrophe

It was a  day of mourning in Italy yesterday and a minute’s silence was observed in all schools in the aftermath of one of the worst ever refugee boat tragedies as recovery efforts were resumed off southern Italy

SL NEEDS A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIA

Your editorial under the caption ‘A bridge over the troubled Palk Strait” has provoked me to write this comment. It quite rightly refers to the most urgent issue that we are seized with today as the fisheries issue.

Obama-Rouhani détente could change the world

The United States President Barack Obama’s 15-minute phone conversation last Friday with Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani has a few parallels in the post-World War II history. The world stood aghast at these shocking and unexpected events.

Accord on Iran’s nuclear programme Rein in the Israelis

Now that Iran and the US have agreed to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear programme hopes are rising that a deal can be made that will end the 34- year-long mutual estrangement.

The role of Sinhala literature in the era of the ethnic conflict 

In the foreword of the Tamil book “Sinhala Literature in the era of Ethnic war in Sri Lanka: A Pluralistic Review (1983-2007)” written by M.C. Rasmin the writer has come to this conclusion:  “Looking back at the history of Sri Lanka it is clear to us that the brutal war which lasted for more than 30 years has left our country wounded.

Sinhala poets explore new territory

Poetry isn’t what it used to be. This was my initial thought as I leafed through an attractively-designed volume of Sinhala-English bilingual poems at the now concluded Colombo International Book Fair.

Hi-tech to save water

During the past few decades, wars have been fought and a heavy price paid in human, material and financial resources for the rich countries to gain control of the remaining oil and natural gas resources in the world. 

Lanka’s Mahatma Gandhi, where art thou? - Editorial

In this era where we see a criminalisation of politics and the politicisation of crime with thuggary and hooliganism including widespread sexual abuse of children being rampant Sri Lanka desperately and urgently needs a statesman for our times—someone of the calibre of Mahatma Gandhi whose 144th birth anniversary was celebrated yesterday.

Here’s a method for meaningful electoral reforms

The pros and cons, or the advantages and disadvantages, of the First-Past-the-Post (FPP) and the Proportional Representation (PR) systems have been discussed at length for several years. 

TNA’s think tank ‘hindered’ by its emotional vote bank

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leaders, who were in Jaffna, hurriedly made their way to Colombo for a meeting yesterday.   The TNA, which achieved a resounding victory at the September 21 election, is now engaged in preparing the groundwork for the country’s first Northern Provincial Council (NPC).

That noise about the Tobacco bribe - Has Minister Sirisena acted irresponsibly?

A Sept 26 newspaper carried a response from Denish Dharmadasa, Corporate Affairs Director of The Ceylon Tobacco Company, stating categorically that the company never tried to offer money to the Minister of Health or to any other individual/organisation to stop the issuance of the above-referenced special gazette notification.

Pre-school education: the very first building block

Fondly known as “Aunty Violet” among kindergarten kids, Violet Siriwardena’s whole life has been about educating and nurturing kids. Having been working as a pre- school teacher for over 44 years she has seen numerous kids getting through pre-school and growing up to be responsible adults– she says, “ I can’t imagine doing anything else other than being with kids”.

Tragedy of domestic conflict and International Intervention

The idea of tragedy, its Greek or Shakespearean conception, pertains to ‘ethical struggles’ facing individuals who commit certain actions, subsequently causing ‘tragic’ consequences. Greek tragedies like Oedipus and Antigone or Shakespearean tragedies such as Hamlet and Macbeth provide examples of protagonists who confronted with certain ethical quandary commit actions (killing etc.) causing negative consequences for them

Awards aplenty at a great literary evening - State Literary Awards 2013

“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame. (Oscar Wilde) Every year many books are published in Sri Lanka. However, out of   these creations only the best are appreciated and recognised as contenders for literary awards. The State Literary Awards in Sri Lanka for the year 2013 was recently held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo where many writer

All Parties must defend Northern Fishermen

The Government’s decision on 18th September to confiscate Indian trawlers caught fishing illegally in Sri Lankan waters and swiftly repatriate the crew (see Daily Mirror 19th September), should be welcomed by anyone committed to improving the livelihoods of fishermen in the north of Sri Lanka.

Pali shown the door in Buddha’s Land

 The Un­ion Pub­lic Serv­ice Com­mis­sion (UPSC) of In­dia re­cent­ly re­moved the an­cient Pali lan­guage from the list of pre­scri­bed op­tion­al lan­guag­es of the main en­trance ex­ami­na­tion of the In­di­an Ad­min­is­tra­tive Serv­ice (IAS), al­so com­mon­ly known as the In­di­an Civ­il Serv­ice.

LSASL receives coveted ALSA membership

Reach­ing new heights in bring­ing both in­ter­na­tion­al and lo­cal law stu­dents to­geth­er, the Law Stu­dents As­so­ci­a­tion of Sri Lan­ka (LSASL) has done Sri Lan­ka proud by be­com­ing the first South Asian coun­try to re­ceive mem­ber­ship in the Asian Law Stu­dents As­so­ci­a­tion (AL­SA), at the Asian Fo­rum held in Man

Soratha Nayake Thera: Religious leader and social activist

The de­mise of Dr. Aluth­we­wa Sor­a­tha Krir­i­we­hera Ma­ha Nayake Thera is not on­ly a great loss to the Sa­sa­na but al­so to the aca­dem­ia in Sri Lan­ka as well. Dr. Sor­a­tha Naya­ke Thera’s serv­ice was not con­fined to his rou­tine re­li­gious du­ties at Kir­i­we­hera.

13-A and its limitations

The recent Supreme Court judgment laid bare the limitations of the 13th amendment. Hon Peiris says “Having adopted the above analysis and in the light of the structure and scheme of the constitutional settlement of the 13th amendment to the Constitution

Editorial - A bridge over the troubled Palk Strait

Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan fisherfolk are in dire straits because of the illegal, unregulated and unreported poaching by Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait. According to media reports, the poaching scandal has become a multi-million-dollar industry for the Tamil Nadu state

Will UN also face same fate as forerunner ‘League of Nations’?

The Syrian Crisis at a time when a plethora of developments are taking place after the alleged usage of chemical weapons by the Syrian Government forces in the City of Jasmine – Damascus, a total of 1,429 Syrians including, 426 children, were killed in the....

Rationalisation of state sector NEED OF THE HOUR

A Commission of Enquiry that was appointed by the then government headed by the late President Premadasa in 1990, following the second JVP-led youth uprising came to the conclusion that among other things, the allocation of......

Self-censorship is not black or white

During the hustle and bustle of the Colombo International Book Fair last Saturday, two works by prominent poet Buddhadasa Galappaththi were launched. The event was highlighted by two lectures on the intricate art of writing newspaper columns in Sri Lanka.