A tsunami story that brings endless tears

I am writing this article because December 26th brings great grief to me. This is because of the deaths of several thousands of innocent people caused by the tsunami, which happened 13 years ago. I managed to escape that devastation and tell my story.  

More inequality, Mr Trump?

Every so often reports emerge that attempt to measure which are the best countries to live in. The Nordic countries plus New Zealand, Holland and Switzerland, usually come out the top. Sweden is number one just for the sheer stability of life and security. Denmark is seen as the most agreeable place to live. The highest rate of longevity is found in Japan. The best schools are in Finland, New Zealand and Canada. Political and press freedom put th

Torture at universities How The Mentally Disturbed Carryout Ragging

On the first day at the hostel we were requested to come to a room wearing sarongs. The second year students who entered the room thereafter asked us to remove our sarongs.

‘Freedom Accord’ for clean and sincere Local Councils

President Maithripala Sirisena pledged yesterday good governance would continue -- without bribery, corruption or  other forms of plunder of billions of the people’s resources.

Trump’s populism: Civilisation at stake for 2018

The year that will be ending in two days is remembered for many seismic events of political significance.

‘Elephantitis’ representation is NO people’s democracy

We Sri Lankans have always been ‘talking big’ instead of ‘doing big.’ Long time ago in early ‘70s, there was this big talk of commissioning Asia’s biggest condensed milk factory in Polonnaruwa. 

SLFP Victim of a power struggle between two men

Never in the history have we witnessed a strange relationship like the one between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Maithripala Sirisena and the SLFP faction led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka-Russia tensions more than a storm in a tea cup

When Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake said that unofficial reports suggested that Russia’s restriction on the tea trade was due to Sri Lanka’s decision to ban the import of Asbestos roofing materials, it threw some light on how relations between the two countries remained strained 

Why is MoE Not Utilising Funds allocated for schools

Following our recent expose on how the Government’s procurement guidelines were brought to question by the Ministry of Education when selecting the bidder to supply computer tabs for the teachers and students associated with the Advanced Level classes, it had now come to light how the 

Let’s locate Wilpattu in the LG Elections

It’s not just another punchi chandaya or ‘minor election.’ If the local government election has by default taken on a national character then it is due to the undue importance attached to it by a government that has clearly been fighting shy of facing the voter. 

Politicians beware, 700,000 young voters checking on you

Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya -- apparently determined to ensure that the February 10 local council election will be free, fair and non-violent -- met party secretaries and representatives of independent groups to brief them on election laws and processes.   

Is the punishment considered appropriate for thecrime ?

Ex-Parliamentarian Sajin de Vass Gunawardena pleaded guilty for not declaring his assets from 2011 to 2012 and was imposed a fine of Rs.1,000 by the Colombo...

Let’s make smart New Year resolutions

With this festive week leading up to New Year’s Day on Monday, January 1, most people these days think and reflect on New Year resolutions, which are often...

Sri Lanka’s wait for Godot

Sri Lanka’s perennial quest for national leadership continues. Of late it has assumed proportions bordering on desperation. So many figureheads who....

Culture of Impunity is part of our political psyche – Dr. Deepika Udagama

The culture of Impunity is part of our political psyche. When democracy fails the Democratic Institutions crumble and they are unable to function in an...

Do local government elections really matter?

Thirty five thousand (35,000) candidates are vying for their places in three hundred and forty one (341) local bodies in the forthcoming local government....

When they are gone, we will miss them

A magnificent tusker, Dala Poottuwa to the villagers, has been callously brought down for possessing two magnificiant tusks. 

Maldives wriggles out of a sticky diplomatic situation vis-à-vis India

The Maldives has managed to wriggle out of a sticky diplomatic situation involving regional power India, thanks to President Abdulla Yameen’stimely conciliatory move, and the Indian government’s deft handling of the matter behind the scenes instead of flexing its muscles publicly.

Russian tea ban: The need to play nice with big powers

Two weeks ago, Russia slapped a ban on tea from Sri Lanka, ostensibly due to a solitary beetle allegedly found in a tea consignment.

Discover heart of Christ this Christmas

We all remember how the country was wrecked with wind and rain only a few weeks ago. Most of the people had to go through severe inconvenience of spending an entire night without electricity.

IS Sri Lanka becoming Man-Eating-Man society?

They too have gone back inevitably on their pledges. The Bond Commission unmistakably has revealed startling evidence of the involvement of key politicians.

A novel approach for land use planning

The Dailymirror interviewed H.G. Gunawardane, Coordinator - Landscape Planning and Management Component, Ecosystem Conservation and Management Project. Funded by the World Bank, the project is executed by the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment.

The madness of missiles.

The nuclear weapon missile business is contradictory, full of missteps, highly dangerous and prepared in its madness (Mutually Assured Destruction, aka MAD, they used to call it in Cold War days) to plunge the world into a nuclear war that will reduce most of the world to dust.  

Education is not examinations only

In the Vision 2025 programme for sustainable, eco-friendly and all-inclusive development, the National Unity Government has quite rightly given the highest priority to education. All students in public, 

Democracy is best practised when elections are held on schedule

Nominations closed yesterday for one of Sri Lanka’s biggest ever elections to 341 Municipal, Urban Council and Pradeshiya Sabhas. 

punishing voters for electing rogues

The television channels showed on Monday a man weeping after his name allegedly had been struck off from a nomination paper despite a promise to include him in the list by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Christmas message from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Christmas manifests God’s unfathomable love

It is the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem that we celebrate at Christmas. It is God’s entry into human history in the person of Jesus, the Saviour of the world. 

My Christmas wish for Sinhala Buddhists

Last weekend I read somewhere, the MEP that’s in tow with the flower bud (Pohottuwa) Party with Rajapaksa at its helm, has lost one of their strongest Urban Councils with nominations for the Maharagama UC among few others getting rejected.

Jerusalem: Trump plays Harod for Christmas

Pardon me for visiting you with another article on Jerusalem. 

Unplanned development Projects of Rajapaksa

We have not sold anything but only leased out. If you take Hambantota after seventy years we will become the major share holder