Where is our country heading?

People in this country are unrelentingly exposed every day to a ceaseless media spectacle on alleged mega frauds involving well known personalities running in to millions of US Dollars.

Doctors’ Strike: are they loyal to the Hippocratic Oath?

The health service began as a vocation like the priesthood. Top priority was given to the welfare and well being of patients. Medical doctors when they pass out still take the Hippocratic Oath which says in part :

Can Imran Khan end Pakistan’s war like hostility towards India?

I haven’t played cricket with Imran Khan, the newly elected prime minister of Pakistan, but I did interview him back in 2005 when only a rare foreign journalist was interested in him despite his fame as having been the world’s best cricketer. Now he has won a handsome political victory.  

Undergrads are flowers and must bloom! - EDITORIAL

We all know that those who enter university must gear up to receive an education with breaks in-between. These breaks are not the ones that undergrads enjoy as vacations, but the ones that are caused through disruptions.

Nightmare of a US-Iran war, oil prices may soar to US$ 250 a barrel

When the United States president Donald Trump on Monday said in yet another quirky tweet that he was ready to meet the Iranian leader, the announcement generated hardly any vibe to arouse the excitement of the international community.

Yahapalana Democracy? Not even Procedural

For once Prof. G.L has said something worth discussing. He had told media last Monday, his party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) would file a petition in the Supreme Court requesting a Writ against the Elections....

Indo-Lanka Accord : DEAD LETTER

Thirty-one years ago, the first week of August 1987 saw a huge commotion especially in and around Colombo and also in some other parts of the country, with so many people being shot dead by the Police and the Armed forces.

Organic farming, a lesson from Sikkim

Agriculture has been a part if not the heart of Sri Lanka’s civilization for thousands of years. But in recent decades, the excessive use of imported chemical fertilisers, pesticides and weedicide has created a crisis where most people most of the time take a little poison with their meals. 

Opinions wrapped in saffron robes

Monks have played pivotal roles in shaping the political face of Sri Lanka. From the times of the great kings to the many prime ministers and presidents who ruled this island, the opinion, more than the advice, of the Buddhist clergy has carried weight.  

Tourism, an asset to Sri Lanka

Much hype is created these days with respect to arrival of visitors from overseas to Sri Lanka, a paradise as mentioned by many departing visitors. Have we geared ourselves to meet the growing need of travel for visitors as well as locals who wish to explore the natural beauty of paradise. Modes of transport available for visitors are bicycles, motor cycles, three wheelers, cars, buses, trains, and by air. 

Dispense ad hoc ratios and bonus seats for PC Elections

This outmoded concept founded on maintaining an absolute majority in the Council for all purposes is not in keeping with the principles of a modern democracy where all parties should contribute to arrive at the best solution favouring the Council/country after a healthy debate. 

The spectre of ‘The Outsider’ in a Presidential Election

A little over a year ago when I announced that I would be contesting the next Presidential Election, some people laughed, some took it seriously and many, including those who know me, were confused.   

This Govt. is a bad advertisement for democracy

The role of the Government as a catalyst for social and economic modernisation of the state is as old as any notion of the Government. Though the academic interest in it was reawakened in the mid 80s with the publication of ‘ Bring the State back in’, the real go-getter states existed much before. And interestingly, the majority of them were authoritarian or quasi authoritarian. 

Lessons we could learn from Indigenous people - EDITORIAL

Next week on August 9, the United Nations marks the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People -- disclosing the little known fact that there are an estimated 370 million indigenous people living across 90 countries.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE AND GOTABHAYA’S SOLUTION

In a speech to the Inter-Religious Forum on the 35th anniversary of the anti-Tamil violence of Black July ’83, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga made an impassioned plea for either a new Constitution....

It’s easy to treat patients but difficult to care for individuals

Speech delivered by President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association at the Inaugurations of the 131st Anniversary International Medical Congress on Thursday, July 26, 2018 at 6.00 pm at the Grand Ballroom, Galadari Hotel, Colombo.

Understanding Velupillai Pirapaharan’s mindset

Recent revelations on the detailed course of Eelam War IV in its last phase in 2009 made possible by Lord Michael Naseby’s extraction of the contemporary readings of the battle theatre provided by the British Military Attache in Colombo, Lt. Col.

Fate of the disabled and carer

A 67-year-old mother was reported to have murdered her 45-year-old disabled daughter after decades of torment. The crumbling shack where these two lived was displayed in ‘Lankadeepa’ newspaper on July 21.

Tragic story of betrayal of a dignified service

Ceylon Civil Service, later transformed into Sri Lanka Administrative Service, has been a dignified public service. ‘It functioned as part of the executive administration of the country in various degrees until Ceylon gained self-rule in 1948.

THE CIRCUS NEVER ENDS!!!

The circus never ends, it only keeps getting better!!! It plays to different tunes, is sometimes spread countrywide, sometimes concentrated in small areas, the characters are different, but the antics are always the same!!!

Reactivation of death sentence

 “Only one of them had a swinging time” (‘Edge’) For the layman, the death sentence has been provided in the Penal Code from time of its inception in 1883.

Strikes, protests should not deprive common man’s rights

Yesterday’s Daily Mirror reported that the Joint Opposition is to postpone “Janabalaya Colombata” (Peoples’ power to Colombo), the continual mass protest they have organized in September so that it would not coincide with the GCE Advanced Level examination. The story says that the decision had been taken after former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had instructed them to do so.   

Healing through Reparations: Canadian Experience

A source of great shame for Canadians, residential schools were meant to make indigenous children “more British”. From 1883 until 1996, the children were taken from their homes and placed in church-run schools far f

Role of Science, Scientific Literacy in Democracy and Development

When many developing countries had very low levels of literacy, international institutions like UNESCO articulated the need to improve literacy levels in these countries. In more recent years, most developi

Realistic Imran openly acknowledges military’ role in Pakistan’s governance

Waiting for more than two decades in the Opposition to grab power from established political parties like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan’s

From cricketer to Premier - Imran Khan - EDITORIAL

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Saturday emerged the single largest party in Pakistan’s 2018 general elections.

Coming Submarine Wars: Implications for Sri Lanka

Dialogues, conferences, conventions around broader themes of maritime security is shaping Sri Lanka security discourse in a grand way.

War on Drugs in Sri Lanka: Science or fiction?

“Some may think that the death penalty is too harsh a penalty. I do not think so. Many countries have come to the stage where they accept the death penalty” (Ranil Wickremesinghe, 1984).

A mother’s best gift to the world

From the cradle to the grave, maybe a cliché but it is vital and true in the case of breastfeeding. People-friendly nutritionists have found that if babies are breastfed for at least 6 months or preferably more, their immune system would be stronger, their confidence and IQ higher and they are likely to play a bigger role in making society a better place.   

Media mislead us on Trump’s press conference in Helsinki

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed in all my years of journalism such a hysterical outpouring against a presidential statement as I’ve seen the last week. President Donald Trump has even been accused of treason by prominent columnists and politicians. There’s barely a voice of dissent in the media.