Gender equality: Is it more a dream than reality?

Since the beginning of time, women have had to fight to be heard. Homer’s Odyssey tells the story of Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, telling his mother to “go back up into your quarters, and take up...

Ranil expelled five seniors in 2000... UNP’s Confrontational Two Decades to End Today?

Impeachment against President Donald Trump was approved by the Congress [Democratic-lead House of Representatives] on December 18. However, the majority in the Senate, who are Republican loyalist of Trump, acquitted him last Wednesday.

Liquidation of the State of Palestine - EDITORIAL

Not long after he was elected President of the US in 2017, newly-elected President Trump questioned the legitimacy of the US civil war. “The Civil War,” he said, “if you think about it, why? People don’t ask the question, but why was there the Civil War?

2019 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic

The article is based on an interview by Jayam Rutnam of the San Gabriel Valley Examiner with Dr. Deepthi Jayasekara of Glendora, California. Dr. Jayasekara is a specialist in Infectious Diseases, Foothill Infectious Diseases, Claremont, Ca., Chair, Infection Control.....

The science of gender equality

On February 11, the United Nations marks the international day to make the world aware and educate the people on the vital role that women and girls could play in science,

Safeguard judiciary to ensure democracy: YLA

The recent leaking of MP Ranjan Ramanayake’s recorded telephone conversations with top police officers and judges raised public concern over judicial independence,

We spread Dhamma to the US and Europe in 1870s

Lord Buddha told the first sixty Arahants: “Go forth, O Bhikkhus, one in each direction, preach the Dhamma for the good of many, for the welfare and happiness of many, proclaim the holy blameless life for the good of the world.” Later, Emperor Asoka sent emissaries to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Syria, Persia, Iran, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam to spread the message of Buddhism.

An Enlightened Electorate guarantees an authentic Democracy

Sri Lanka has witnessed in the recent past three major elections: two presidential and one local government. Another parliamentary election is slated for the near future. Much of national financial resources amounting to hundreds of millions of rupees,

Parliamentary elections: A one-horse race

One would wonder whether the United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) - two parties that alternately ruled the country for decades since independence - are vying for the title of ‘best loser’ at the oncoming parliamentary elections.

Our national icons

From 2013 I got the opportunity, the privilege you could say, of meeting some of Sri Lanka’s finest, most illustrious artistes: directors, scriptwriters, composers, singers and actors. I had no real purpose or objective in mind....

Coronavirus: Biological and Chemical Warfare Rampant

In the wake of the latest coronavirus outbreak, movie buffs are drawing an eerie parallel with the film Contagion, a 2011 thriller based on a lethal airborne virus called Nipah and how the world’s medical community battled to find a cure for the pandemic.

A place to agitate from, at last ! - EDITORIAL

The decision taken by the Sri Lanka Police and the Ministry of Defence to allocate an area for protesters to agitate in Colombo seems timely and a great need of the present times.

Democracy, UNP and Markar

Questions have been raised within the Green Party as to whether the party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe values the UNP styled democracy which was once present within the party. The UNP has been a party which has survived with so many internal squabbles. We remember the differences J.R Jayewardene had with Dudley Senanayake and years later when Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake combination took on Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Harvesting the Fruits of Independence - EDITORIAL

On Wednesday, February 4, Sri Lanka celebrated its 72nd Anniversary of Independence or its National Day by remembering with gratitude the untiring efforts of our founding father Don Stephen Senanayake and the political stalwarts from the Sinhala, Tamil, Burgher and Malay communities, who rallied round him in the struggle to gain our independence from British rule on February 4, 1948. Tuesday’s celebrations underlining the theme, “A Secured Nat

Political Untouchables’ will sully Gota’s vision

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, during his speech at the Independence Day celebrations, not unlike his predecessors, rolled out what could be called a ‘should-be’ list, implying that things are not in order but should be and could be corrected. He spoke of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the State and the importance of public confidence in these for a country to function efficiently and not slide towards anarchy. He sought the

Apocalypse of Locust - EDITORIAL

With Pakistan and Somalia both declaring national emergency over locust attacks on crops while a host of East African nations, Iran, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the western states of India going through one of the worst locust episodes in history, speculations are rife whether locust is becoming the biggest threat to the global food security.

TRADITIONS!

Our beloved country has always been steeped in traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation!!! Sri Lanka is a land of mystery, a land whose history, culture and traditions remain even today; they are some of the most exquisite yet remain totally alien to the world at large. Perhaps it is correct to say that one simply has to be Sri Lankan in order to

Looking back on 72 years of independence

The day on which we got Independence is a long way back on memory lane for me , in a genteel era far removed from the world which is ours today. As a child it meant little to me then, I think I must have been far more interested in getting my own independence, freedom as a new teen, living in an age where we were protected and brought up like hothouse flowers which we

Post-war defence budget ‘inefficiently’ overspent, study reveals

Ten years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, the country still seems to be spending its defence budget similarly to that of conflicted-affected states, a new study reveals. It also states that spending is significantly higher than its regional, island and population-size peers. The study done by Daniel Alphonsus, who had served as an advisor to Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister with

Don’t discriminate against Chinese

Yesterday’s Daily Mirror reported about Chinese government’s concern over the incidents in Sri Lanka where its nationals having been refused to be entertained by shops and taxis, subsequent to the worldwide media hype over the outbreak of 2019-nCoV disease caused by a novel coronavirus since last month, mainly in China. Earlier too local newspapers had published pictures of a restaurant having put up a notice saying it had temporarily shunned Chi

Seventy-two years since the independence Sri Lanka at the crossroads, yet again

The critics of the government base their criticism primarily on symbolism and prejudice. That is the wrong choice for analysis. The shattered hopes of a half a decade of Yahapalayana, heralded as a sea change, is proof. Five years ago, by electing the Yahapalanaya, Sri Lanka surely halted a dangerous slide into authoritarianism. But, the political leadership failed the economy and national security with devastating c

Who took tea plantations to the brink of collapse?

If the tea industry is on the brink of collapse now, it is not because of the rise in workers’ wages but because of the big plantation companies’ failure to replant periodically to increase the yield, asserts Ramiah Yogarajan, a trade unionist who had represented the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) and the United National Party (UNP) in the Sri Lankan Parliament. Yogarajan, who cut his teeth in tr

Strengthen readiness to respond to New Coronavirus

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region must continue to strengthen their readiness to respond. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The highest level of international solidarity and cooperation is needed to protect health and keep people safe. Since the novel coronavirus emer

Polarisation, Consolidation and Fracture

Politics in many parts of the world today are polarised. The tremendous division with forces supporting and opposed to Trump in the US and the Brexit divide in the UK reflect such political polarisation.

Forensic prompts Cynics; Ignores Basics: Nation Faces the Music

In Forensic Audit, the term ‘forensic’ means; ‘pertaining to, connected with, or used in courts of law or public discussion and debate’; ‘application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation’; ‘use of knowledge and techniques derived from various sciences....

72 years after independence, where are we now?

The Fourth of February is a special day for all Sri Lankans. Most of us will eagerly take a break from our daily schedules, watch the Independence parade on TV, read a few feature stories about our Independence in the newspapers and, maybe, have a chitchat with friends about the current political scenario over dinner.

From Brexit to Coronavirus: SL battles global complexities

International media is inundated with reports, analysis and future projections from two different shocks that are continually shaking the global system. One is political by design, the second a viral outbreak, both with serious human....

BRITAIN HAS LEFT THE EUROPEAN UNION - EDITORIAL

Brexit has happened. At 11 pm on January 31, 2020, the UK officially left the European Union (EU) after 47-years of membership and three years after it voted at a referendum to leave EU.

Defusing the ethnic bomb before it goes boom

Conspiracy theories come a dime a dozen these days. So does fake news. You can count on Facebook and to a lesser extent Twitter for diminishing the space for truth. And yet, strange as it may seem,

Tale of Ravana and Vijaya: Reality or fabrication?

Prof. Raj Somadeva had recently made a controversial statement that any archaeological evidence was not available to establish the story of advent of Prince Vijaya in Sri Lanka. Prof. Somadeva has been for the last several years pursuing archaeological research on a pre-historic civilisation in Sri Lanka.