Now an acute shortage of domestic gas

Reality cannot be ignored except at a price; and the longer the ignorance is persisted in, the higher and the more terrible becomes the price that must be paid

Shortage of essentials, rising costs and street protests - EDITORIAL

Our country is in the midst of one of the worst crises to hit since independence in 1948. Tourism and remittances of expatriate workers.....

Life in a perpetual electric storm where truths and fakes clash

Every conflict throws up lasting images. Like the Tankman of Tiananmen Square. We still don’t know who the lanky man was......

Trade union actions and opportune times

Trade unions in the health sector have put off their strike last week which they had been continuing for several weeks. They have been making several demands including one to rectify the anomalies in their salary scales. They might have been encouraged to launch a strike at this juncture by the recent successful trade union action by the principals and teachers

Mismanagement or Wheeler-dealing: Where did all bond money go?

The country descended into darkness as thermal plants ran dry. Sri Lanka’s monthly oil bill is around US$ 400 and would go higher as crude oil hit US$ 110 a barrel due to Russia’s war in Ukraine

Why is the West targeting Russian oligarchs? It is part of a larger politico-economic agenda

The US and its Western allies have sanctioned top Russian businessmen dubbed ‘oligarchs’ as part of their campaign against Russian President Vladimir Putin. On March 3, the White House, in coordination with Allies and partners, tar

March 8- International Women’s Day Women and War: Who labelled them ‘Weaker Sex’?

Women have already surpassed men in terms of high school and college graduation rates, globally, as well as in Sri Lanka. Women have outshone men in the fields of Finance, legal, Medicine and even encroached the Engineering field in recent years

Inequality and fallacies in the law - EDITORIAL

‘Equality before law means, that among equals the law should be equal and should be equally administered, that like should be treated alike. Sadly this description is not always followed in international.....

Repealing PTA

I often reflect on the tumultuous years of the late 1970s and the paths not taken that may have determined a different future for our country. Emergency rule and then the enactment.....

SVB spearheads an island-wide support system to eliminate violence against women - Hirunika Premachandra

The Samagi Vanitha Balawegaya (SVB), the women’s wing of Samagi Jana Balawegaya has spearheaded several initiatives to address issues faced by women and children at grassroots.....

ECONOMIC CRISIS: RECKLESS BEHAVIOUR OF DECISION MAKERS

When the debt keeps piling up, it can seem like you’re sinking into quicksand and often when you struggle to stay afloat and escape your situation, it can lead to poor decisions, and even more problems.

When we drink water, think of its connection with the forests

Human beings are expected to be good stewards of nature. Instead what have we done especially during the past few decades? Eco-friendly social analysts will tell us of the vital importance of forests, the animals, thousands of species of plants many of which have medicinal properties, insects and hundreds of other small creatures which combine to make a spectacular display of biodiversity.

Sri Lankan hospitality welcomed by Russians and Ukrainians - EDITORIAL

Ukraine is in shambles and it reminds us of the last stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka back in 2009. Russia is such a power that it has bulldozed its way into Ukraine claiming that it has to protect the Russian....

Ukraine: Zelenskyy’s own goal in a cruel sport

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has apparently ignored one of the key principles in international relations and is now paying a costly price for it, with Russian troops moving towards....

For how much longer will people have to suffer?

The main news items in yesterday’s Daily Mirror warned readers of 10-hour power cuts this month.

Ukraine Unfrilled Blood, hypocrisy, myopia and bucks

War is about or can be about a lot of things. A common enough reason for war that cuts across territory and time is profit.

A common minimum programme that responds to Sri Lanka’s current crisis

The following is an article compiled by a group of professionals headed by Prof. Rohan Samarajiva aimed at finding solutions to the island’s economic issues, how to improve on the existing debt management and deal with the dollar crisis.

Russian invasion of Ukraine and grim realities and entitlements of great power politics

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin, tore apart the de-facto - post World War II convention and invaded a sovereign democracy....

Ukraine war and the ‘international community’ - EDITORIAL

The war in Ukraine today enters its fifth day. The civilian death toll according to Ukraine’s Health Ministry on February 28, stood....

Putin – just another military adventurer?

Russia finally did the unthinkable by invading Ukraine. Russian president Vladimir Putin is making a big mistake, but no one....

Sanctions from West will drive Russia and China into each others’ arms: - Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

As Russian troops continue to battle their way towards Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, naval tensions continue to escalate.....

UNHRC and the way forward

The 49th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) commenced its sessions yesterday in Geneva and it will continue till April 1. If some of the Sri Lankan political and military leaders are not facing any threa

STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES SOEs / SOBEs / SSOBEs

Much talk these days with respect to Ailing State Owned Enterprises SOEs. A new terminology has also been created as State Owned Business Enterprises SOBEs and Strategic State Owned Business Enterprises SSOBEs. The state has a long

There’s no effort made by youth to regroup for militancy in the north - Northern Governor Jeevan Thiagarajah

Northern Province Governor Jeevan Thiagarajah, who has inherited the task of resolving the issues faced by the people in the Province, is making an effort to see that State services in the Province function smoothly....

Why does a country need a clear “Mineral Policy”?

Scientifically some substances are named as ‘minerals’, if it satisfies certain requirements: 1. Naturally Occurring, 2. Inorganic (chemically)....

Bread Basket Attacked! ‘Three Monkeys’ and Lessons for SL?

“See no evil-- hear no evil-- Speak no evil”: UN, the US, and the West [UK/EU] the champions of human rights, who make a huge noise at ‘the drop of a hat’ in a small country, are Blind, Deaf and....

Ukraine - a pawn in big power rivalries - EDITORIAL

After months of growing tension between NATO countries and Russia over a build up of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine, war has finally broken out. The war....

H. R. Jothipala: Sinhala Cinema’s Most Popular Playback Singer

I begin this column this week with an apology to readers. I had written a two part article titled “Sinhala Buddhist Strategist N. Q. Dias was feared as the “Tsar” in the “Daily Mirror” last week (Feb 19). Unfortunately I am unable to write the second part this week as planned because I am yet in the process of gathering some vital information necessary for writing.

Russia’s War on the Breadbasket of Europe and its global ramifications

On 24 February Russian backed long term strongman Peter Yanukovych was ousted as Ukrainian president through a political upheaval backed by the West called the Maidan revolution in 2014.

Those who have wisdom have all: Fools with all have nothing

Since 1952 Sri Lanka has suffered a devastating blood bath largely due to racial issues. The ruling United National Party’s(UNP) then frontliner S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike quit the Government and formed a new party and claimed that the main principle of his party was a Sinhala only policy but analysts believe he was unhappy over the then Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake’s decision that his successor will be his son Dudley Senanayake.