Shot in the head when he peeked out the door

Either he is cornered by the cops and shot dead as he tries to run for his life or he meets his terrible end directly battling with the forces of good. But when the quintessential terrorist of real life, Osama bin Laden, was killed, it was a completely anti-climactic show. One day out of the blue,

Editorial - Students in blackboard jungle, Ministers must go

Police used water cannon and tear gas to prevent students from marching towards a high-security zone to protest over the latest blunders and bluff in last month’s GCE A/L examination amid serious concern over when and how the answer scripts will be marked.

Guatemala’s murderous past and belated justice

Guatemala’s claim to fame, apart from the ruins of the highly sophisticated Mayan civilization which present generations had nothing to do with, is that...

Editorial - Blunder and plunder: Deal with VIPs also

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who visited several districts where provincial elections are to be held, hit out strongly at local council politicians and...

NAM neither dead nor alive; is it a sham?

Iran has touted the Non-Aligned Movement summit which began yesterday in Teheran as a major diplomatic victory, especially for its leaders Ayatollah...

IDPs in the competitive job market currents

Unemployed graduates often complain about the government’s inability to harness the precious human resource of graduates while employers often grouse about incapabilities of graduates who cannot meet job requirements.

Mockery of justice

Israeli intransigence has no bounds. And that was squarely evident as an Israeli court refused to fault the Jewish state for the death of Rachel Corrie in Gaza at the hands of transgressing soldiers.

IS EMPOWERMENT A QUICK FIX OR A MAGIC BULLET?

The frequent questions that many people in the development arena have not adequately addressed, confronted or even evaded when approaching women’s rights and justice issues were, - Empowerment for who? What kind of empowerment?  Who takes decisions and actions for whom?   When can women reclaim empowerment in their own right?

Nimble hand of justice Justice delayed is justice denied. - Editorial

Well maintenance of law and order in a country the poper depends on the speed at which justice is meted out to the public. Be they the citizenry of the South who passed a period of terror due to the three-decade war, or their counterparts in the North who were daily witness to it, the course of justice should be evenhanded and prompt.

Justice and Equity as Pathways to National Security

The notions of justice and equity are paramount in any endeavour to establish and sustain national security. The sentiment was consistently resonant in the submissions and interventions made by a range of speakers from diverse backgrounds at the fifth annual International Symposium of the Sir John Kotelawala Defence University held last week. Accordingly, the following were among the key messages tabled at the deliberations.

Braille ballot papers in Australia ensure ‘access for all’ at elections

News from Australia confirms that not everyone will cast votes the traditional way on September 8. Those who are blind or with low vision can now register for Braille ballot papers for local government elections.

Avoiding the inevitable?

THE PAKISTANI public is not likely to get respite from the ludicrous game of hide and seek that the judiciary and the parliament are playing. On Monday, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf finally appeared before the Supreme Court for the hearing of the notorious NRO case.

Editorial - People losing confidence in the police

The Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, the leader of the Jathika Hela Urumaya a close ally of the government, has raised some bombshell questions on the widely-publicised robbery of priceless artefacts from the Colombo Museum and the recent arrest of some suspects.

Far-sightedness essential for a stable Sri Lanka

What are your views on the Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)? Do you feel that it adequately demonstrates the government’s commitment towards peace, justice, and reconciliation?

The reluctant hero

He took a giant leap for mankind when he set foot on the moon’s surface. Forty three years after Neil Armstrong awed the world by walking on the moon, the famous astronaut has passed away.

Crimes against women and children on the rise

As a senior citizen of this country I am alarmed at the statistics revealed by the Police Department that claim 900 rape cases within six months of this year, out of which 700 are of  children.

Serious issues on efficacy of drugs - Editorial

While the controversy over the fraudulent import of sub-standard fuel continues with no one being held accountable for the abuse or waste of public funds, serious issues need to be addressed about the quality of medicinal drugs being imported and the procedure for the testing or checking of the drugs and good manufacturing practices.

Sri Lanka and India - its cultural and religious ties

The ‘Kapilavastu relics’ brought to Sri Lanka from India for Buddhists across the country to pay their respects should further underline the long and continuing cultural and religious ties that have existed between the two South Asian neighbours. 

It was daylight robbery: Tilak

In one of the most explosive interviews since his resignation as Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Tilak Karunaratne speaks about the Colombo Stock Market and the events surrounding and leading up to his resignation.

A history of unfair educational practices

While agreeing with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement that “Education blunders led to terrorism” (DM Aug. 20, 2012), I am writing to correct his claim that “the arms struggle in the North began with students being unable to enter universities. This happened in 1973, 1974 and 1975.”

The Geneva nightmare - Editorial

Come October, Sri Lanka will be on the hot seat again with the UNHRC sessions and the Universal Periodical Review. 

'Mahinda Chinthana’ and the University Crisis

21 August 2012 will go into the history of Sri Lanka as a Black Day for the whole education system. The Minister of Higher Education, SB Dissanayake, has decided to close down all universities, except medical faculties, exposing the government’s complete inability to resolve, clearly, a straight-forward salary issue and a policy dispute with the academic community.

Egoism and selfishness will destroy society - Editorial

What use is there in constructing roads, providing electricity, water and other facilities if we are unable to mould responsible citizens? Parents, religious leaders and teachers should look after children more than they do at present.

Assange case: The right to information at stake

If a killer like Raymon Davis could be made a diplomat and given immunity, why cannot an alleged rapist? The question assumes much...

Get a life! Terrorists are no big threat

Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered the continuation during the Paralympics that begin next week of the deployment of anti-aircraft guns...

Editorial - Writing on the blackboard for education

The vital education sector, which decides the future of millions of young people, is facing its gravest crisis since independence, with blunders and a...

EMBRACING THE FULL MENU OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The disproportionate focus on human rights from a negative perspective has sadly resulted in detraction from understanding the role that human rights can in fact play in a post-war setting such as ours. The time is ripe for human rights to be approached positively, recognizing its value and ability to contribute to the process

The non-aligned summit in Tehran

Amidst the Western world’s psychological warfare against Iran, 42 heads of state including Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa have confirmed plans to participate in the forthcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Iran’s capital city, Tehran.

Four bones three countries

Four bone fragments of the Buddha housed in the National Museum, Delhi are on a two-week tour of Sri Lanka to enable Buddhists there to pay homage to them. They are part of the trove of 22 bone fragments that were discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the 1970s in Kapilavastu, Uttar Pradesh

Editorial - Closed until further notice

The two-month-long strike by the university academics over a few demands kept the students on tenterhooks. Though one of the demands put forward by the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) -- the salary increments-- was granted by the government,