Kalutara district MP Kumara Welgama in an interview with ‘The Hindu’ said former President Mahinda Rajapaksa should not field a sibling as the next Presidential candidate. He said family bandysm is not appropriate for the country and MR...

Rituals of ragging can be gruesome, sometimes deadly. Since 1975, there has been 16 ragging-related deaths and according to UGC, over 2000 students drop out every year in order to stay away from ragging.

Britain is on the verge of leaving the European Union. Or is it? On June 23, 2016 at the United Kingdom’s European Union membership referendum, also known as the ‘EU...

As we approach another cycle of elections, it is democracy that is at stake. And by democracy I do not only mean electoral democracy with the periodic moments of voting, even though that is also important.

Sri Lanka is again at crossroads with the presidential election due before December 9. The political drive since the newly-formed Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which swept the local government polls in February 2018

I had been invited to the home of one of Colombo’s most wealthy and distinguished families for a dana (alms-giving). They told me they were particularly interested in having a suduhamdru visit and that the man of the house had a deep interest in Dh

With Sri Lanka still suffering from the after effects of the 30-year war against LTTE terrorists and the April 21 Easter Sunday bombings by terrorists linked to the Islamic State, Wednesday, August 21 will be an important day....

Human well-being is in crisis: whether we look at the way men are these days or how women fit into the current paradigm, how children survive, how the old are treated and the way the LGBTI community....

We have read much about what potential election candidates and Pohottuwa party’s Gotabaya Rajapaksa have had to say these days. Now its the turn for these presidential hopefuls to read the minds of voters and check out their needs. Given that Sri

The upcoming presidential election is likely to be decided on one key issue – security. The candidate who the voters will perceive to be the most suitable to ensure their security and that of the country will win the election and become the preside

On the eve of the 1988 presidential election, it was rumoured that J.R. Jayewardene – who had by then assumed office twice as President – was planning to re-contest despite the Constitution introduced by him in 1978 provided for an individual to

Sunday in Colombo was Gotabaya’s day. Monday in Badulla was Sajith’s. Tuesday, it was reported, Ranil had his day with Sajith hurrying to meet his leader. Wednesday it was Poya for all to prove they are pious Sinhala Buddhists. All these days peo

There is a positive vibe generated in the political scene after the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) announced former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the party’s presidential candidate.

Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs Minister Sajith Premadasa took a step further in staking a bid for presidential candidacy- that is by holding a rally in Badulla on August 12, 2019. It is still uncertain whether he will receive nomination

Dear Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, what do you have to say about the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga (Never mind that Ranil Wickremesinghe said Sarath Fonseka was involved)? What do you have to say about white vans? Ekneligoda? Thajudeen? And how about the m

Thy famous author Ernest Hemmingway in one of his bestselling books titled For whom the bells toll, makes a challenging and prophetic proclamation which we need to deeply reflect on. He says: “I belong to humanity and every person’s death diminis

Three controversial agreements with Sri Lanka – devised by the United States –came under fire from diverse quarters last Friday. If the Acquisition & Cross Service Agreement (ACSA) – inked in August 2017, the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)

“This is no time to talk of hedges and fields, or the beauties of any country. Sadness and fear and hate, how they well up in the heart and mind!!!” Delving into Alan Paton’s ‘Cry the Beloved Country’ we certainly do have to cry for our bel

Social media is going to be one big melee towards the end of this year. With elections closing in, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have become the other frontier in Sri Lankan election campaigning, far more potent, effective and yet more vulnerable t

Another story about ragging in universities had made headlines last week. 19 senior students of Ruhuna University were remanded after being arrested over an incident where a new student from Gampaha had been inhumanly tortured during ragging. They ha

It is essential for the youth to play a key role in major issues such as poverty alleviation through a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources, the battle against global warming or climate change and disarmament especially the dismantling

The Pohottuwa’s inaugural national convention held on Sunday was plain-dealing, so to speak. Ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa took over the leadership of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and then announced that his younger brother Gotabaya woul

Jayantha Chandrasiri’s Maharaja Gemunu opens with a shot of the Ruwanwelisaya at dusk and the hero’s famous justification for the campaign he’s embarked on: “I fought a war, not because I loved the shedding of blood, nor because I believed th

On August 5, the Narendra Modi-government in India took three momentous, unprecedented and simultaneous steps vis-à-vis the Muslim-majority North Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir(J and K) having borders with hostile Pakistan and China. Firstly, i

Over the past two-and-a-half months Hong Kong, a former British colony and now a part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has been in a continual state of turmoil. Demonstrations in Hong Kong....

In the midst of rising public support for former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the SLPP’s Presidential candidate especially from sections of floating voter has attracted a few ‘clandestine’ flirtings by senior members of SLFP and UNP...

Much has been spoken and written, and much has been left unsaid about the late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, a great son of Sri Lanka the country unfortunately lost.

Colombo Mayoress Rosy Senanayake’s recent initiative to promote a cycling culture in Colombo is admirable, but if it’s to bring about any kind of change to Colombo’s notoriously conservative, unimaginative.....

People will always believe what they want to, how they want to and when they want to. The events of Easter Sunday (April 21, 2019) triggered a process in Sri Lanka which has exposed the entire Sri Lankan Muslim....

More than two thousand five hundred years ago, Gautama the Buddha promoted vegetarianism – not only because we need to stop killing animals especially cattle, but also because a plant-based diet is better and more nutritious for people.