After more than seventeen years of fighting in Afghanistan, the US and the Taliban insurgents appear to be closing in on a peace deal, as per reports in the Western media. 

However, the chaos and destruction that followed the defeat and removal of the regime has generally been interpreted as revealing an important technical ‘lesson to be learnt’ by the state building, this issue is not as a political probl

President Sirisena has over the past few months shown a penchant for pulling surprises on our people during weekends. The first major surprise occurred on Friday, October 26, 2018, when he appointed former President and incumbent MP for Kurunegala

700 days is a long time for a day and night protest outside an Army camp. Since March 1, 2017, the people of Keppapulavu, located in the Mullaitheevu district in Northern Sri Lanka, have been doing just that. They have had to brave the alleged inti

Although it is high time to put the recent unprecedented constitutional crisis behind us without brooding over it too much, yet it would be useful to probe into the lessons we can learn as a country from that sad episode. Was it a result of defecti

In recent months, several parts of Sri Lanka had been battered and bruised by a series of catastrophic droughts, torrential rains, floods and landslides, which left tens of thousands of people homeless, their houses damaged or destroyed and housed in

The Algerian philosopher and revolutionary writer, Frantz Fanon wrote, “Africa is shaped like a gun, and Congo is its trigger. If that explosive trigger bursts, the whole of Africa will explode”.    

The reason for the early hype among the political parties and the media on the Presidential election which is not at hand is very clear.

Provincial Council (PC) elections withheld for far too long by both the Government and the Elections Commission (EC) not wanting to take responsibility is leading to a major political conflict yet to break into an open debate and public protests.

Sri Lanka’s agriculture and dairy industries are experiencing plagues and the entire country went into alert mode by early Thursday. 

The double whammy that jolted journalism this week exposed the wide gap between what journalism is and what it should be. In an ideal sense, journalism is a noble vocation, the voice of the voiceless and the watchdog or the fourth estate.

Major (Rtd) Ajith Niranjan Perera has seen war. He was in the first batch of the Special Forces, set up in 1985 led by Major General (Rtd) G Hettiarachchi, numbering 38 men and two officers. He has fought to ensure the security of the citizenry,

The much hyped Indian movie, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ which hit the theatres two weeks ago has ended up as a dud both in content and at the box office. This all apparent attack on India’s first Sikh Prime Minister Manmohan

Sri Lanka’s efforts to curb drug use in the country could turn out to be harder than instilling some discipline in its lawmakers.  Just days ago President Sirisena was full of confidence when stating that he would bring the drug tra

It’s the time limit encompassing the prime period of the National Unity Government between the United National Party (UNP) and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).  After   he fell out with the UNP leadership and

Of course! Words do get things done! Change the words, alter the discourse – presto – world around you start to change.Yes, discourse is strategy, and communication specialists call it STRATEGIC DISCOURSE.

The recent fracas over a Lyceum International School student gaining first place at a local exam makes me realize how confused the public is by the International School system.

The service station of the car company was flooded with brand new luxury Jeeps and SUVs of a particular model and brand. A year ago, speaking to an official of the company, I learnt that they have sold over 150.....

PROCRASTINATION is the name of the game, a game that is well played in our island country home!!! Whether it be Politics, Elections, Bringing Criminals to Justice, Building Bridges, or Planning...

The latest challenge to man’s existence comes in the form of Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWS) also referred to as killer robots,  which attack the target without human assistance.

The terms of office of three councils in the Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces have lapsed in September and October 2017, and those of another three councils in the Central, Northern and North western Provinces expired in September la

Federalism and devolution of power are bogeys that spook the Sinhala South; yet objectively, they need not. They are effective tools of countering, frustrating and defeating secessionist tendencies and....

The name ‘United Nations’ (UN) was coined by US President Roosevelt and grew amid the ruins of World War II at a time the people all over the world wanted peace. The UN, as we know it today, is an inter-governmental organisation tasked pr

These words, ‘where every prospect pleases and only man is vile’ written long ago about our country by Bishop Reginald Heber, were resented by me when I first read them, as a schoolgirl, as I felt they were unfair. But when one looks at h

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa’s press release for Thai Pongal drew the attention of Jaffna District Parliamentarian Abraham Sumanthiran.  The release states that Raja

It is disconcerting to read that Sri Lanka has sought the help of the Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte to control the drug menace in the island when it is well-known that Duterte’s lawless and murderous approach has been condemned b

The two centres of Western powers are experiencing crises of policy decisions that were adopted in 2016. The simplistic narrative would be the desire for Trump administration to keep people out across the US Mexico.....

The Economist’s Intelligence Unit Democracy Index which provides a snapshot of the state of democracy globally has ranked Norway on the top of the list as a Full Democracy. 

On 11 January hundreds of US Federal Government employees who were sent on compulsory leave, and out-of-work, the US Government contractors both of whom were victims of the US Government partial shutdown, protested outside the White House.  

The protests staged outside certain media institutions last week by a group of civil society activists with the sinister warning ‘We are watching you!’ is a subject for some speculation.