IS IT WORTH IT?

In life, there are certain absolute necessities that we must have like food, water, shelter for starters and nobody will ask if it were worth it. It is just something we need to have to stay alive. The difference is what, why and how.

Communication with a judge: Contempt of court

This is a reference to the matter of Ratnayake Mudiyanselagedara Abeyaratne Ratnayake of Kahalla in Katugastota under Section 51 of the Courts Ordinance 1889 in the Supreme Court (SC). The person charged was none other

Of oxygen, oxymoron and downright Morons: a tribute to Devani

The conversation that took place between the Gampaha District Assistant Conservator of Forests Devani Jayatillake and State Minister of Fisheries and Inland Fishery’s Industry Sanath Nishantha received much publicity on print,

Save the World from Climate Change

Though the United States President Donald Trump still insists that climate change is mainly a Chinese hoax while continuing with his despicable and dangerous measures that have upset the balance of power in the US, one of the

Education Needs Paradigm Shift - EDITORIAL

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who always asserts the application of scientific knowledge, especially the information technology in every aspect of the life of a person as well as every aspect of governance, had on February 11 discussed another similar important issue with those responsible for higher education. During a discussion with the University Vi

US travel ban on Gen. Shavendra Silva Let it pass

America’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week imposed a travel ban on Lt. General Shavendra Silva, the acting Chief of Defence Staff and the Commander of Army, and the Sri Lankan government no

Rudra Residencies Helpless residents allegedly deceived by developer

Residents of Rudra Residencies, Wellawatte claim that they have been deprived of the common facilities that were promised in their sales agreements by the developer. They also claim that the illegal and unconstitutional decisions taken by the Management Committee (MC) has affected the standard apartment owners financially.

Hypocrisy and the blame game - EDITORIAL

On 14 February, two days ago, US Secretary of State Pompeo officiously announced that the United States had designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Acting Chief of Defence Staff....

Breaking the Silence on Caste

Caste is all present in Jaffna, but a silence prevails about caste oppression. Such silence and invisibility were not always the case, where vibrant struggles against caste oppression shook Jaffna some five decades ago.

US pressure on Sri Lanka and the emerging Westlessness

Munich Security Conference, the world’s largest security conference just concluded with a series of grim notes about directions and chaos in global security. The main theme of the conference for 2020 was, “Westlessness”.

Strangled and pulverised: Dandu Monara on the Brink of Death

Dandu Monara, an ‘aircraft’ that resembled a peacock was used by Ravana, the mythical multi-headed demon-King of Lanka in Valmiki’s Ramayana. In this Sanskrit epic poem of India written in the 5th century BCE, Ravana kidnaps Seetha....

Charismatic actor-politician may have changed the nation’s destiny

The political landscape of Sri Lanka seems gloomy and desolate. Most of the actors who strut about the political stage posing as visionaries and leaders are in actuality empty vessels devoid of substance. Proverbial wisdom tells us empty vessels make most sound.

The noble vision of a just and fair society

Social justice is so vital that Pope Francis has for the past few years taken bold initiatives for all Christian denominations and indeed all world religions to come together in dismantling the structures that prevent poverty alleviation and a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources,

Who cares about industrial security in this country?

Industrial security, commonly known as PRIVATE SECURITY which originated in Srilanka in 1957 with the setting up of MIS security by two respected gentlemen namely Messers Newton Dassanayaka and Uduman,who attempted to join the CEYLON POLICE as Probationary Sub-Inspectors when they were eliminated by the Director Training at the Time, Late Mr. Sydney Soysa due to not sending their applications by post, but opted to personally hand them over with a

Split in UNP: an Inevitable Upshot

Ultimately, after several rounds of rebellion against its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe spanning almost two decades, the United National Party (UNP) split, but not with a bang, as happened in 1951 and 1991.

Of Parents, Children and Sex Education - EDITORIAL

Parents using smart phones and occasionally granting their siblings the use of such communication tools would be more concerned in the future with the news circulating that a 21-year-old man had deceived several schoolboys using social media.

MMDA Repeal Empowering Muslim Women or Endangering them?

The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) has been in the news for the past few years regarding reforms to the act. Some of the reforms presented include raising the minimum age of marriage upto 18 with no exceptions, allowing female quazis...

Can diplomacy prevent Turkey-Russia clash in Syria?

If not for the coronavirus outbreak and the US Democratic primaries, the latest phase of the Syrian war would have been the first item on international news bulletins. What with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning Syria....

University Ragging: Senseless barbarism

Yes, ragging has now become an act of cruelty and sadism committed by some of the senior students of Sri Lankan Universities on newly admitted students. Often overseen, it appears helplessly or intentionally, by the University administrations. Jaffna University senior students in Kilinochchi have taken sadism against their juniors to such disgraceful levels that their victims, as a means of escape, have resorted to commit suicide or to abandon

A Divided National Party

The United National Party (UNP) is hit by another political storm these days triggering fears whether the grand old party of Sri Lanka is teetering on the brink of another major split on the scale of the debacle that it experienced in 1990 when its stalwarts Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali defected from the party and caused a dent in its traditional vote base.

Wheeler-dealers and the games they play

Hard on the heels of the Forensic Audit Reports on the Central Bank (CB) Bond Scams covering two time slots -- one during the tenure of then CB governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, from July 1, 2006 to January 9, 2015 under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and the other during the tenure of then CB governor Arjuna Mahendran, from January 26, 2015 to June 30, 2016 under the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe government -- comes the controversial

Devanee vs Sanath:

A YouTube video going viral on social media has a state official going one-on-one with a politician. Well, not exactly one-on-one because the politician had in his corner what could be assumed was a section of his constituency. Not exactly in the corner. They were in the ring, so to speak.

A NATION’S PRIDE

The Pride of the Nation was historically displayed on 4th February, with the Tri Forces and Police taking pride of place!!! Seventy-two years of Independence are indeed cause for celebration but the question is with the country in

Armed Struggles and Pursuing ‘Kingship’

When one makes a comparison between the regime’s struggles to defeat two of the biggest rebel uprisings the names of JVP founder Rohana Wijeweera and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the present president of Sri Lanka, surface quite

We’ve taken apt measures to contain coronavirus: Chinese Ambassador

Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Cheng Xueyuan reiterated that the Chinese Government and its embassy in Sri Lanka had taken all possible measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus while accusing some of the western

Restorative justice: Can it pave the way forward?

A little over a decade ago, Sri Lanka ended a bloody civil war and yet, questions on the country’s approach to justice remain unanswered. As a result, there is a continuing cycle of hate, anger and pain. There is a dire need for

Uproot Ragging from its Root - EDITORIAL

University administrations, the so-called students’ unions in universities and the law enforcement authorities must be ashamed for their failure in stopping ragging in State universities and higher education institutions. The latest incident

Infodemic– into the virtual whirlpool

In so many ways, the outbreak of the Coronavirus is probably the first global health disaster of the social media age. The virus outbreak, its spread and all the quirky cures that have come up – drinking alcohol excessively kills the virus

The Game Changer - EDITORIAL

With a nearly 20 million people and close to 15 million voters India’s national capital Delhi is very much similar to Sri Lan

Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party may open up new vistas for Indian politics

If the Aam Admi Party (AAP), led by ebullient Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sweeps the Delhi State Assembly elections on February 11; as predicted by all opinion and exit polls, India will get a chance to establish a new norm for governance and a new way of fighting elections. If Kejriwal’s experiment in electioneering and governance is pursued seriously and consistently in Delhi and replicated