Govt. has no mandate to enact new constitution

Constitutional Lawyer Kalyana Thiranagama spoke to the Daily Mirror on the implications of the 19th Amendment to the.....

“I can’t satisfy everybody when taking decisions” Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne

Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne denied President Maithripala Sirisena having had an official.....

Could nationalizing SAITM be the way forward?

Is SAITM a problem? Though there are several alternative solutions already in place, the authorities have shown little competence....

Compromise needed, not confrontation

The SAITM issue is still at a stalemate. Public protests, student and trade union demonstrations are gathering.....

GMOA crippled health services in Dudley Senanayake Govt.

How the Ministers of Dudley Senanayake’s National Government handled the gentlemen Medical Officers in 1967 - exactly 50 years ago. There was no strike, only ‘Work-to Rule’ campaign that paralysed the entire health services islandwide causing untold misery for two weeks from June 23 to July 8, 1967. However, the bitter lessons that the health authorities learnt was a blessing in disguise.

SAITM President wants all ministers to unite

The government faced intense heat from those protesting private medical education in the country. The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), backed by university students and their parents, in main, mounted its campaign leaving the ruling side in bewilderment. Street protests, students being teargassed and baton charged and condemnation of the alleged excessive use of force by the police became the order of day, and made headlin

Battery cage system :Exposes ‘cracks’ in conventional egg production!

The poultry industry in Sri Lanka has shown a phenomenal growth over the recent past thereby making poultry products essential food items in local menus. The demand for chicken and eggs has therefore been met by local producers. This is a story about the local egg production. Sri Lanka has a daily consumption of approximately 65,000 eggs and this consumption will definitely increase in the coming years. While most local farmers follow the conve

Uma Oya Project should be terminated forthwith-Samantha Vidyaratne

JVP Uva Provincial Council Member Samantha Vidyaratne, who also spearheads the people’s movement against the controversial Uma Oya Project, spoke about the current status of the issue and the political future of his party. The excerpts of the interview:   

No government in the country No country in the government?

The Mahanayaka Theras of the three Nikayas and other Sangha Sabhas, expressing their opinion on constitutional reform, have made it clear that they are opposed to moves that could generate crises. While calling for immediate electoral reform, this Sangha Council headed by the Mahanayaka Theras, that met in Kandy recently,

Uma Oya Debacle

The Government has started the blame game again, this time on the ill-conceived Uma Oya project which has turned into a catastrophe for the people in the Bandarawela area. Earlier it was the issues over the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), the collapse of the Meethotamulla garbage dump and the hate speech against minorities, especially against the Muslims, over which the government was blaming the previous regime.  

The jury still out Rajapaksas Inc. vs. Maithri-Ranil Combo: Corruption vs. Yahapalanaya…

To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence-

Presidency: All the Mahinda’s men

Discontent is a word weak in intensity to describe a Government fast losing support it held in 2015. The climate is not conducive for holding any election - fear of exposing an eroding vote base for the Government. 

Act swift for a greener and cleaner tomorrow!

The need for feasible environmental friendly approaches for development projects and policy planning has been felt as vital elements, especially in the facet of addressing issues related to natural disasters including garbage management in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, preserving the biodiversity of ecosystems has today become quite a challenge as illegal constructions including development projects lacking a proper EIA report are currently on the ri

WILL THE DEMONS REAWAKEN IN PARADISE?

Last week I saw the most honest, courageous and important piece of art --and certainly movie-- on Sri Lanka done by a Sri Lankan. Directed by Jude Ratnam, it is called “Demons in Paradise” and has already been screened at Cannes. It is about us, all of us. “Demons in Paradise” is a road movie, but it is unlike most road movies. 

A costly blooper

Many thought the suave and sophisticated Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, had easy way up the political ladder being the son of a two time prime minister.

Trump’s War With Media: Lessons for Sri Lanka - EDITORIAL

The blazing battle between United States President Donald Trump and the US media provides good headline lessons for Sri Lanka’s media....

Anguish expressed as Modi softens attitude towards cow vigilantes

Following adverse national and international media coverage of lynching of Muslims for eating beef or selling cattle for slaughter, India’s Prime Minister....

Victims of Crime and Witnesses Protection Act yet to benefit public

Though the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, No. 4 of 2015 was implemented last year, its performance....

In Conversation with South African Judge Dikgang Moseneke: Mandela’s comrade recalls ‘life’ on the

Dikgang Moseneke was the former Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa. He was an unswerving judge who served in the Constitutional.....

Mangala is right: Why Sri Lanka needs to relax liquor laws?

Mangala Samaraweera, the new finance minister wants to open liquor shops on Poya Days. In an opinion poll in the Daily Mirror website....

Invisible factors block pharmaceutical imports from Bangladesh - High Commissioner

Ahead of President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit to Bangladesh, Bangladeshi High Commissioner M. Riyaz Hamidullah, in an interview.....

Govt. must assure democratic space and freedom

Freedom of expression, right to a religion and attacks on minority religions have been in discussion within the last couple of days. It has raised....

SAITM and the Privatisation Push

The protests calling to close SAITM and their violent repression raise several questions. Is the Government’s insistence on....

Uma Oya project, a catch-22 situation - EDITORIAL

We Sri Lankans appear to be a bunch of lotus eaters - living dreamy lives and indifferent to important issues which challenge us...

UN peacekeeping gets tougher

The United Nations is often scapegoat for the falling short of its peacekeeping troops and deployments. Why are they not in Syria or Yemen, Libya or along the Palestinian/Israeli border? 

MSME Day: first responders to societal needs

In this era of microchips and digital technology, it is significant that the United Nations for the first time last Tuesday June 27, marked Micro- Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Day. This was because the UN says enterprises which generally employ fewer than 250 people, are the backbone of most economies worldwide and play a key role in developing countries.

Without cowing to Trump, India needs to build Asian unity

Behind the bear hug, one wonders, whether there were moves to outfox each other. By the looks of it, the awkward embrace between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump underlined India’s endorsement of US hegemony and its willingness to be part of the US hegemonic designs, especially in Asia......

Finding the missing links Between the missing persons and the culprits

While the Parliament unanimously passed an Amendment to the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) Act last week, relatives of the Tamil people gone missing during the war between the security forces and the LTTE crossed the 120th day of their sit-in protest in Kilinochchi......

Multiple fruits of home gardens

About 50 years ago, the then Finance Minister Dr. N.M. Perera proposed that Sri Lanka should grow its own nutritious food and the people should cultivate their own home gardens instead of showing a preference for imported food....

Sri Lanka out of viable political options Prof. Siri Hettige

Professor Siri Hettige secured his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Monash University, Australia in 1980. He functioned as the Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Colombo for nearly ten years, since 1987. After the establishment of the current government in 2015, he was appointed as the Chairman of the National Police Commission, but he tendered his resignation in January, 2017. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Profess