Have you ever known a government that benefited from the postponement of elections; one that didn’t pay with heavy interest for such postponement? Why buy time when time isn’t working in your favor?   

If one is the swan the other is the dark horse. One is the graceful classical aggressor while the other is endowed with brute force with muscular aggression. One is feted the most stylish and sophisticated player in any sport ever while the other i

MP and COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti responded to questions posed to him by our sister paper ‘Sunday Lankadeepa’ on the dragging on of the Central Bank Bond scam and the developments in the political scene. Following are excerpts of t

If the Aung San Suu Kyi government in Myanmar is sticking to its defiant stand on the Rohingya issue despite worldwide condemnation of its atrocities against the Rohingyas, it is because her government is backed by the powerful Myanmar armed forces c

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live, and probably the biggest story we have ever told ourselves is ‘The scientific story’ and we always think of science as this ultimate truth, but science is just a story”.  

The National Unity Government was consolidated last week when the two major parties -- the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) -- worked together in a thrillingly secret way to get a two-thirds majority to pass the Prov

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPAPED) is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations. This Convention aims to prevent forced disappearances defined in international la

Given Sri Lanka’s recent history as one of the main sources of refugees during the three decades of ethnic conflict and the JVP’s 1988-1989 insurgency, the recent protests against the Rohingya refugees are downright hypocritical. However,

As the US government engages in the complicated process of approving its budget for Financial Year 2018, we are told that the Trump administration had requested US$ 3.4 million in foreign assistance for Sri Lanka.

Amid the backdrop of the fight against the Islamic State (IS), where Kurds play a leading role in the US-backed war against the IS, Kurdish Peshmergha have defeated IS troops in many regions of Iraq and now control those territories, which includes t

Elected representatives are supposed to represent the wishes of the citizens in a country. In this respect, holding fair and free elections is paramount. Free and fair elections does not merely include holding elections which are unbiased and un

People, Peace and Decent life for all, was the theme of 72nd UN General Assembly (UNGA), yet what stood out from the interventions of some key global leaders was antithetical to the theme.

The much awaited G.C.E.(A/L) Examination concluded the other day leaving a lot to ponder on. It has proved again and again that the system has many a loophole to attend to. Examinations are 

“It’s not over until the fat lady ends her song”- so goes the adage, referring to the often overweight soprano who sings the last aria in Wagner’s opera, Gotterdammerung.   

Monday, September 25, being World Pharmacists Day as declared by the International Pharmaceutical Federation, it would be a healthy move to reflect on how the national unity government is implementing the Seneka Bibile Policy to make quality medicina

“Sri Lanka would perpetually be a united undivided and indivisible country in keeping with the basic and Supreme Law of the country, and on the basis of the free will and consent of all its people”- Sampanthan

Yesterday was the United Nations International Day of Peace with the theme being ‘together for peace, respect, safety and dignity for all’.  

Traditionally, the United Nations Secretary General’s office informs ambassadors that their heads of state should confine their speeches to about 15 minutes when they address the General Assembly’s annual session.

Many communities living in the vicinity of natural forests are directly and indirectly dependent on the natural ecosystems. Despite conservation efforts, deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss continue in Sri Lanka.  The average

I have been given many epithets for trying to promote a decent and a civilised “North-South” dialogue for a common and a shared future with due respect to each other’s cultural identities.   

The Yahapalana Government seems to be fond of being caught in unnecessary troubles and controversies. It could have got the two recent Bills on Provincial Council elections- the 20th Amendment to the Constitution and the Provincial Councils Elections

The presumption of innocence until and unless proven guilty is one of the foundational and sacred principles of the judicial process. So let us not be presumptuous. However, let us state some established facts. 

Sri Lanka’s two major political parties are likely to work together at least until 2020 or even until they achieve the goals of Vision 2025 though they will contest separately at the upcoming provincial and local council elections.   

“Dictators, unlike Democrats, depend on a small coterie to sustain their power. These backers, generally drawn from the military, the senior civil service and family or clan members, have a synergistic relationship with their dictator

Globalisation is a concept that dates back to ancient history. It started with the cross-border trade and engagement during that period. The concept thrived on the added dimensions in the modern current era with the United States of America being at

With the residence of the sister of Sudesh Nandimal De Silva, a former inmate of Welikada Prison and a key eyewitness of the 2012 prison massacre which left 27 inmates dead, coming under attack while he was held there, 

The Bill on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution has been so controversial that the Joint Opposition is said to have planned a “mass cross over” from the Government to the Opposition, when it is taken for debate in Parliament this wee

Senior retired state official and former Auditor General Sarath Chandrasiri Mayadunne in an interview with our sister paper ‘Deshaya’ aired his views on the proposed Audit Bill, the incident relating to Anusha Palpita and Lalith Weeratu

Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is on the war path against the Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayaka - an ardent opponent of bribery and corruption who campaigns with a vociferous voice and powerful activism to eradicate Bribery and Corruption.

“… The Bar Association of Sri Lanka notes with concern the undue and unwarranted attacks on the law enforcement authorities, the Attorney General’s Department and now the judiciary….”