Calculating GDP growth: A sorry attempt by some to mislead people with ‘alternate facts’

It is bad when small-time politicians make up stories to mislead village folk. It is far worse when those with professional qualifications fabricate stories to mislead a gullible nation.

Dump, dumber, dumbest

Decent Lanka 2015, a civic organisation has sent the following statement on the tragedy that took place on Friday, April 14 night, in which 26 residents were killed.....    

Ranil Wickremesinghe untangling of a socio-political parable

Since of late, there seems to be a spate of interest in our Prime Minister. Often referred to as Ranil, instead of Prime Minister, he has managed to draw unusual attention to himself; by the nineteen eighties he had already become the darling of the Colombo cocktail circuit, parallelling Lalith Athulathmudali at the time; his laidback lifestyle which emanates an aloofness beyond a mere ‘politician-ness’ of a politician has sometimes c

RANIL MAHINDA SIRISENA Are they all the same?

Aged old boys – Ranil and Mahinda need each other to keep both politically afloat. If one is to win, is it due to the unpopularity of the other? Votes come less from the dwindling party cadres: others think twice before they vote? .....

For lasting peace, dismantle weapons industry

With the United States dropping the biggest ever 21,600-pound non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan a week after 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at a Syrian Air Force base, the world appears to be on the brink of an Apocalypse with nuclear war drums also beating in the Korean peninsula....

Anandaya: The first 125 Years Ananda College not a station, but a moving train…

Ananda College, named after the principal disciple of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha is, more often than not, revered for her celebrated contributions to the revival of traditional Buddhist education, reckoned for her distinct accomplishments in non-academic fields and scorned and looked down upon by condescending social-climbers who missed the rare opportunity to attend the school

Meethotamulla tragedy

The Meethotamulla residents who filed a fundamental rights petition last year stating that there were individuals and companies who were interested in purchasing the garbage for re-cycling at their own cost without harming the environment.

SDGs – do they really apply to all of us?

In September 2015, countries gathered to agree on certain goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. All countries therefore, are supposed to implement the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs (http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/) by 2030.

The garbage menace and its innocent victims

The collapse of the Meethotamulla garbage dump on Sinhala and Hindu New Year day on which Good Friday also fell was not a natural disaster, nor was it something unexpected. What neither the people nor the authorities knew was the date and the time of collapse of the 300 foot high mountain on the poor residents who are not responsible for the problem.  

Where was the root of the problem?

Since independence, Sri Lanka has never planned for a long term. In that pervasive sense of short-termism, garbage was the least of the problems, as long as it could be dumped somewhere. One of those mammoth garbage mountains collapsed on the Avurudu eve burying an unknown number of residents and 150 houses in Meethotamulla

‘Because He Lives, Hallelujah’

The Choir of St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa, presents An Evening of Easter Reflection in Music titled ‘Because He Lives, Hallelujah’ at the college chapel on April 22 (Saturday) at 6.30 p.m.    A strong combination of about 80 male voices consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass will sing traditional hymns along with the music of Mozart, Vivaldi, Handel and William Henry Monk.

Kim’s nukes warms Asia

As Sri Lankan’s enjoyed the festive season last week, from policy makers to media personalities voicing thoughts of optimism, about....

Housing Robbery

A house to shelter from the heat and rain and work for sustenance are two basic demands of resettling communities. Not only.....

The Politics of garbage and the need for recycling plants

If a country is not able to manage its own garbage, that creates serious questions about its citizens’ discipline, respect for natural...

Meethotamulla; a disaster that could have easily been avoided - EDITORIAL

The National New Year’s day and Good Friday Meethotamulla mayhem or massacre reminds us of callous disregard or irresponsibility....

Visualizing DUDLEY SENANAYAKE Through the eyes of a forthright public officer

Dudley Senanayake’s 44th Death Anniversary falls on 13th April 2017, which signifies the dawn of a New Year, though popularly....

Whatever happened to the R2P cheerleaders?

There’s sabre-rattling in Washington. There’s sabre-rattling in Moscow. Tit-for-tat talk. Rattle-for-rattle. Neither the USA....

National New Year: Let us focus on sun power - EDITORIAL

One of history’s great lessons is that there is power in unity -- the power to face any personal crisis, social or national....

Wijeweera and Prabhakaran: Two sides of the same coin

Rohana Wijeweera was a remarkable man. At the height of the cold war in the international arena, when the United States of America....

SRI LANKA Still at square one

We got Independence from the British in 1948. I vaguely recall as a tiny tot, when my late father was reading a newspaper....

A hobby-turned-perk for all ministers?

Recently the government sought Parliament approval for spending a total of Rs.288.2 million in order to purchase vehicles....

TRINCOMALEE AS AN INDIAN ENCLAVE: WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe is about to give Trincomalee to the Indians. According to the Political Column of a respected.....

Use space research for the common good of all - EDITORIAL

Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight celebrating the beginning of the space era for the people. The United Nations....

The Vasantha Obeyesekere we never knew

Sanjeewa Pushpakumara, in a Facebook tribute posted the other day, made the following observation: “Vasantha Obeyesekere tharamata....

Why Sri Lanka had too many revolutions?

Forty six years ago on April 5, the JVP launched its first rebellion, which was quickly extinguished though at a hefty cost of....

Collapse of school roof: Passing the buck won’t help poor students - EDITORIAL

Those who continue to agitate against the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) in the name of free....

Difference of opinion among the rulers - Patali

There are many who foresee an explosion of the government close at hand. In this interview, the Minister of Megalopolis and Western Province Patalie Champika Ranawaka deals with this matter and other allied crucial subjects.  

The US missile strike on Syria

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump ordered US warships in the Persian Gulf to launch 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a scarcely used Syrian airbase in Idlib from which Syrian warplanes purportedly carried out chemical attacks which killed numbers of civilians including children.   Charges of past chemical attacks against the Syrian people by the Bashar al-Assad regime led to past US President Obama to draw a redline threatening military

Trump’s Tomahawk Diplomacy

Last week’s main international story should have been the most anticipated meeting of the two global heavy weights, President Trump and President Xi. Many global leaders and analysts were keen to see how the two men both at their zenith of power, yet having quite different world views would interact and the fallout that may define global relations for years to come. This landmark meeting was overshadowed by key developments in Syria. Syri

Wanted: Presidential Commission on GMOA

These views are aimed at addressing public interest issues affecting the socio-economic development of Sri Lanka. Becoming an....