Looming preventable Covid crisis: Let experts handle or else…

Sri Lanka’s health sector is on the verge of collapse. Hospitals are over-pouring with patients. Dedicated Covid wards have split into corridors. The number of patients relying on lifesaving oxygen has increased by 75% over the past week. An inevitable furthe

Plantation workers have progressed but still have a long way to go

Her death ought to shine a light on the plight of the plantation workers’ community to which she belonged

BROKEN SYSTEM DRUG CONTROL, DETENTION AND TREATMENT OF PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS IN SRI LANKA

People who use drugs or have a drug dependency are demonised and dehumanised and portrayed as a public threat

New counter terrorism law will deal with crimes related to cryptocurrency -Ali Sabry-

Justice Minister Ali Sabry takes questions regarding the process of amending the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act and others. In his interview, he also responds matters related to cases under the PTA. The Excerpts:

Sabre rattling in the ME – it’s all about oil - EDITORIAL

The ‘Middle East’ as we know it today (awash with its vast reserves of petroleum resources), was once part of the Ottoman Empire. The redrawing....

“Blind Spots”, Black Holes and ‘Olympics’ in the Vaccine Roll Out

The continued mismanagement and mishandling of vital issues by the government is causing chaos and disorder. The contradictory....

“Shelly Aiya”: Courageous Politician with Enlightened Principles

Shelton Ranaraja known to many as “Shelly Aiya” passed away on August 11, 2011. Shelton or Shelly Aiya was a politician for whom I have the greatest respect.

Sri Lanka’s COVID - forex vicious circle

The Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Asela Gunawardena on August 5 had confirmed the occurrence of 94 COVID-19 related deaths on the previous day. This might be the highest number of such deaths on a single day in Sri Lanka since the pandemic began to spread in the country in March 2020.

Enforced disappearances: brutalisation of society

Enforced disappearance has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror and tyranny within the society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole.

COVID-19 cases surge, but Govt. not in a position to lockdown

COVID-19 cases are rising again, triggering fears over the capacity of the health sector to cope with the daily...

Are our teachers shortsighted? - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is a nation which has seen many rebellions staged against the state or the government. These rebellions suggest that....

From Sri Lanka to Tunisia: Democracy under threat

A scorpion wants to cross the stream and asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates because it is afraid the scorpion will sting....

Dismantling a child labour structure brick by brick

Children give us so much hope, but have parents and guardians done their part for these children? We can raise so many questions regarding their welfare and safety.

Tsunamis: Medical and otherwise...

Dr. Padma Gunaratne, President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) warned a few weeks ago that the country is heading toward what she called ‘the first phase of the Covid-19 fourth wave outbreak.’ Doctors, as we know, are playing a wonderful role in combating the pandemic. What doctors say should be taken seriously.

Get vaccinated; don’t let the virus catch you napping

Amid the increasing number of Covid-19 patients and Covid-related deaths, the Sri Lankan Government, which began its battle against the Covid-19 virus in March last year, has now been compelled to fight against its various mutations, the latest being India’s Delta variant, which is said to be more virulent and easily transmissible than those that initially invaded this country.

Way to avoid Non-Communicable Diseases

A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. These are the result.....

Immunity to people and a booster to the economy

COVID-19 has changed our lives introducing “new norms” at least for the next decade. During good old days, when we went to school....

Eviction of Palestinians - Ethnic cleansing by other means - EDITORIAL

The UN-created problem in Palestine -the arbitrary setting up of the state of Israel- on Palestinian land continues to fester to this day.....

Addressing the core issue of “trust deficit” in Indo-Lanka relations

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner-designate to India, Milinda Moragoda, has communicated to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa...

Government and health sector at odds

Is Sri Lanka at the threshold of fourth wave of COVID-19 or has it already entered through that threshold? We have to pose this question as the nature of the current surge in the number of COVID-19 patients during the past week is not clear.

The story beyond Ishalini’s tragic death

The suspicious death of a domestic help at the residence of former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has momentarily unmasked the ugly truth of an exploitative affair that many a Sri Lankan middle-class family takes for granted: having a maid, predo

Is Sri Lanka in Vaccine Olympics?

The euphoria that followed the sudden announcement that a 24 hour vaccination centre has been set up in the Vihara Maha Devi Park for Astra Zeneca booster vaccine, prompted me to write this. From a distance it may appear to be the

Covid-19 and the vaccine wars - EDITORIAL

Covid-19 is short-form used to describe the dreaded pandemic, caused by a new strain of coronavirus, ‘CO’ standing for corona....

Commercialising Education and the Great KDU Bailout

There is a common myth promoted by the ruling classes backed by finance capitalists that privatisation and commercialisation....

A Sapphire Cluster Amidst Politico-Guru Clusters & Ministers’ ‘Olympic’ Cluster

I refer to the Daily Mirror -28th [online] photo report, captioned, ‘Protest dishonouring health guidelines’, “… several member....

Money printing is like drastic treatment to a major illness - Ajith Nivard Cabraal

State Minister of Money, Capital Markets and Public Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal, in an interview....

Sivaji Ganesan was a World class Actor

Sivaji Ganesan, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and Gemini Ganesan comprised the triumvirate that dominated Tamil cinema in India from the fifties to the seventies of the 20th century.

Hishalini: only for political and media consumption

On 15 August 2009, the bodies of two girls were found floating in the Torrington canal at Baudhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07. How many of us remember this incident now?

We have lost the wisdom of the indigenous people

In most countries indigenous people are marginalized if not outcast though they have a rich culture of their own. For instance,

Lawmakers can learn from filmmakers - EDITORIAL

A political party presenting a manifesto and winning an election is simular to a film director working according to what’s written....