Hypocrisy, democracy and the silence of lambs

From the time we received independence, we Lankans have been warned by the US and the UK -our former colonial master- that democracy in our country was being endangered by various acts of omission and commission of our widely divergent different governments.

The Rise of Rupee and Rise of political hopes

Can the continuous appreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee against the US Dollar since February 28 change the current political alignments among voters which were indicated by recent opinion polls is a major question one might raise these days.

Why Hindu-nationalist BJP wins in Christian-dominated Indian States

The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on a winning streak in the Christian and non-Hindu heartland of North East India comprising Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. This phenomenon....

“Though the Indian quake doesn’t pose a huge danger, remain vigilant” - Prof. Senaratne

The had an interview with Athula Senaratne, Senior Professor of the Geological Department, University of Peradeniya on the effects Sri Lanka could experience in the event the predicted earthquake-expected....

Leaders, men in rags and presidents! - EDITORIAL

These are days when we come across less affluent individuals demanding money from others who are walking on the road. Sometimes walking on the roads at present becomes annoying because a good number....

Can chess master Russia be checkmated in Georgia?

When the revolution is hijacked, people lose it. They simply become a pawn in a foreign-power-led regime-change op. It happened in Ukraine in 2014 and it is happening now in Georgia. These regime-change...

White Elephants in Kanchana’s room

Kanchana Wijesekera was all, but salivating in a tweet following trade union action launched by Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) employees. Pointing out that despite the strike, operations continued, he did obtain some traction for the government’s plan to restructure the CEB.

If we save fresh water, we are good citizens

Freely what we receive, we often tend to misuse or waste. This is the case with water, which is essential for life. We have heard the saying that little drops of water make the mighty ocean. Experts have found out that just as the superpowers like the United States have gone to war for oil, in the coming decades they may go to war to gain control of fresh water resources.

Be generous with your time too, not just money

Do we have time to talk to people? Above all, do we have time to listen to others?

Why threatened countrywide strike is Self-seeking, opportunistic and reeking of hypocrisy?

After a one-day token strike last week, which achieved nothing other than inconveniencing hapless patients in the government hospitals and holding up several ships at the Colombo port, the government....

Lankan women and International Women’s Day - EDITORIAL

Today March 8, is International Women’s Day and its time to pay tribute and recognise the contribution Lankan women make to the country’s development. The month of March is globally dedicated to honour....

Inflation, Interest Rates and Economic Depression

Inflation seems to be the only major concern for the economic policymakers shaping Sri Lanka. They include the Central Bank,

Dump politicians’ rubbish, evaluate their policies

In spite of the Supreme Court having issued an interim order preventing the Treasury Secretary from withholding funds for the local government elections from the allocations made for the purpose by the budget that was passed in December last year,

War in Ukraine, strikes in Sri Lanka - EDITORIAL

The war in Ukraine has dragged on for over 371 days. Ukraine has been laid waste. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified a total of 8,006 civilian....

Hartal ‘53, Bloody- ‘88/89’: Peaceful Aragalaya and Crocodile Tears

The above sentence was an ornament Karl Marx’ added to the beginning of Chapter One of his masterpiece, ‘The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte’, which endeavored to explain in elegant style how in times.....

The vision of a multipolar world

With the worldview crisis in Russia’s relations with the West entering a hot phase after the beginning of the Special military operation in February 2022, the future of the world order and principles of international....

Fake news fraud using Prabha and family

Members of a dozen Sri Lankan Tamil families gathered in the evening at the residence of a fellow Tamil in Switzerland in early November 2022.

There’s no such thing as a free meal

On Wednesday (1 March) a number of professional bodies, public sector trade unions, including power, petroleum, water, ports, teachers, university lecturers, bank employees and doctors unions called on their members to protest the new tax regime by taking a variety of trade union actions.

UNP fast eroding its Liberal image for power

If the relevant authorities are to go by what President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on February 23 about holding Local Government elections that had then been scheduled by the Elections Commission to be held on March 9, those elections have been laid to rest.

Why Govts. don’t want locals to think like foreigners - EDITORIAL

The number of people applying for passports and those leaving the country are of great concern these days. A pastor attached to a popular Christian Life Centre situated in the Western Province was heard....

Huwara terror: Palestinians face worse nightmares

No terrorism is more heinous than the act of condemning the Resistance as terrorism. No sooner the occupied West Bank village of Huwara was raided by marauding Israeli settlers than Israel’s....

Racism: If people can learn to hate, they can be taught to love

Economically and socially, Sri Lanka is in deep trouble and the crisis deepened with yesterday’s general strike by more than 40 trade unions including doctors,

MY GRoUSES….

Where to from here for all of us?

A tumultuous year in Sri Lanka seems to be never ending. The island lurching from one disaster to another. Looking at home from afar, it always gives you the sense that its internally perched on a precipice....

War or peace in Ukraine; Who gains, who loses - EDITORIAL

On Tuesday February 21, at a security conference in Beijing, Qin Gang, the Chinese Foreign Minister told participants, that China was concerned the almost year-long war Russia-Ukraine conflict could spill....

A wake up call to slow down

There are days when you wake up from a sound sleep. Then comes a day when you are woken up by something unexpected.Last week,

Socio-economic roots of teenage pregnancy in Sri Lanka

Colombo, February 27: In Sri Lanka, teenage pregnancy is lower than it is in most other developing countries, including South Asian countries.

Why voters in economic crisis favour demagogues?

If the elections are held now, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) is the likely winner. However, none of the political parties would manage to secure a majority, according to an opinion poll by a local think tank.

A land of impunity

Our sister paper ‘The Sunday Times’ in its latest issue revealed that an independent power producer (IPP),

Centenary of Women’s Cricket Three Johnians in 1st Intl. vs England in 1948

SLC with a record profit of Rs 6.3 billion made in 2022 could easily allocate more funds for developing women’s cricket. Times have....