It is said that the government is planning to enlarge the Cabinet again from the current 30 to 48 and increase the number of non-Cabinet ministers to 45, on the basis of the ruling United National Party (UNP) having formed a National Government. Sri

In 2013, the UN member states adopted a resolution which designated July 30 as World Day against Trafficking in Persons. The declaration of such a day was necessary to ‘raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the pr

The sun seems to be shining on the Sri Lankan voters after a long period of uncertainty. There was a time when it looked like that no political party was interested in elections and the country would drag on like a ship without a destination.

Mahinda Rajapaksa is an extraordinary individual. His passion for power seems to have overrun all plausible limits; his determination to cling on to something that is very tangible that comes in the guise of sheer ‘power’ saw to it that his polit

With apologies to John Steinbeck, I’d like to begin with a quote from his famous book ‘THE GRAPES OF WRATH” “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for the Great Depression,” in our case, not the Great Depre

Patriotic trolling, sounds a bit odd, but it is a very real, very common phenomenon. The last example from Sri Lanka was not so long ago. A woman complains on Facebook and Twitter that she would not support the car-free day, simply because she feels

Last week the world was plunged into shock when it heard the news that dozens of bodies had been recovered from the Mediterranean Sea, a day after the shipwreck that caused the deaths of up to 150 migrants. Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes in

These days, there is a rather peculiar interest in the educational qualifications of the prospective contenders for the forthcoming presidential election. Minister Champika Ranawaka, an Engineering graduate from Moratuwa university has said the UNP w

In its ‘White Paper on Defence’ released last week, China has listed the principal defence and security issues facing the country. Surprisingly, the bor

In 1788, James Madison, the primary author of the US Constitution, wrote in the Federalist Papers: “The aim of every political constitution, is (or ought to be), first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern....

“Behind the SOFA” is an English pop culture phrase relating the frightened reaction of hiding behind a sofa to keep away from seeing startling parts of a TV drama, with the sofa offering a hiding place, to avoid the screen....

In the run-up to the US presidential election of 2017, then candidate Trump berated all past US Presidents for involvement in wars around the world. He lambasted past US presidents....

In this short note, I wish to share the views of many who have spoken to me about the controversy over the Easter Sunday suicide attacks. Most of them do not write to newspapers; neither do I, as a general rule.

One of history’s best known boxers Muhammad Ali, besides achieving the fame of flying like a butterfly and stinging like a bee, is also a sort of a philosopher. For instance, he has said friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain - it

It 32 years since The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed in Colombo on July 29, 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene amid political turmoil in Colombo and military advances in the North. Becau

The eighth Sri Lankan presidential election is expected to be held on or before December 7 this year. Although dates have not been announced yet, many names are being bandied about as potential candidates. Among them is Hambantota District Parliament

When the country goes for Presidential polls in a few months time, people will be compelled to make an analysis on how a certain older generation of political leaders had fared during the last 30 years.

We can draw ugly parallels between the United States President’s racist politics and what is happening in Sri Lanka. First let us examine Donald Trump’s racist rants which he liberally unleashes.....

When Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who was in the north last week, told the gathering at an event held to mark the 125th anniversary of the Kandarodai Skandavarodaya Vidyalayam in Chunnakam that a lasting political solution to the ethnic proble

Has any presidential hopeful spoken about the tragedy on city roads? About city roads with parked vehicles with running engines, that hardly move? Almost a fortnight ago on Sunday, July 14, there was a campaign for a “Car Free Colombo”. It was in

The United National Party (UNP) is an entity that has grappled with internal revolts throughout its history. None of them stood in the way of its current leader Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ever since he assumed leadership way back in 199

The resources that Sri Lanka has can make any other country envy this island. From the beautiful beaches that can help promote tourism to the scenic views that a tourist can enjoy of the mountains in the central hills, Sri Lanka has much to offer as

My friend, the oft philosophical Zalmi Fazeel, has a habit of posting wisdom-drops in social media. Some of it is not all that new, but he puts it in new ways. Makes me think. Makes my day(s). This morning’s dish came thus: ‘Tip your server. Retu

The week ending Sunday, July 21 marked two contrasting anniversaries. The first was on Saturday, July 20. It was a day of ecstasy and elation when the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing on a day such as this in 1969.

The so-called Sudu Juliya (White July) campaign initiated by the UNF government, could not have been named worse. Not only is the tag so insulting to the sensitivities of the Tamils who lost their loved ones, property , homes and in some cases their

Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has opened a Pandora’s Box on Sunday by saying that he did not have faith in any of the investigations carried out into the terrorist attacks on Christians on their holiest day, the Easter Sunday whic

When, in 1956, S W R D Bandaranaike unleashed the power of the saffron robe, he did not realise that he was setting free a cultural force that Ceylon did not know it had within itself, a force that had total control over the generally docile mind of

The Vishwamithra Column of July 17, 2019, is a reflection of backward and reactionary feudal values. When addressing the timely issue of the next Presidential Candidate from the United National Party, the Columnist portrays ‘his conviction’ that

I write in response to US Ambassador Alaina Teplitz’s comments in the article headlined ‘US wants military cooperation pact with SL to tackle red tape’ published in the Daily Mirror of July 2. In my opinion, the envoy’s comments are an insult

Loud whispers ominously infer Chandrika is about to submit another ‘COMMON CANDIDATE’ for the forthcoming presidential election. God save us all! The first one she gave us has left no room for more; no, no, definitely no! He has left us REPLETE,