Of late I talk to an AI chatbot; and I love it

ChatGPT is the publicly available AI model unveiled in November last year. It has any one overseeing word-based content in a twist because of its plagiarism capacities – anyone can just get ChatGPT to write....

War in Ukraine; who gains, who loses? - EDITORIAL

CNN reported on January 30 - an elderly woman and three other people had been killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Ukraine. According to the ‘voanews.com’, around....

75th Independence Celebration: Where do we go from here?

Tomorrow, we move into a new month and a special one because on February 4 we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our independence. The government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) are taking practical, but difficult steps to revive the socio-political and economic crisis since independence. The Pres

Brazen hypocrisy of professional elite and lost promise of SL’s welfare state

Can someone tell me how on earth these two campaign slogans are mutually compatible? Both were heard loud and clear in the last week’s ‘Black week’ anti-tax demonstrations by the country’s professional classes - Government doctors, university dons, CEB engineers, bankers etc. First is the opposition to the government’s new personal income tax, a progressive tax system that lowered the taxable threshold to Rs.100,000 per month and levied an increm

UK-Ceylon Defence Pact (1947) How geopolitical interests of two nations clashed

The UK-Ceylon Defence Pact of 1947 was entered into with great expectations from both parties. But it was jinxed from the word go. Continually contested right throughout its existence, it was given a quiet burial by mutual cons

Poverty, taxation and protests - EDITORIAL

In April last year our country declared itself bankrupt and announced a temporary suspension of its external debt. We have not yet been....

Alliances and Coalitions - Shameless? A’s, C’s by Statesmen in Past

Sri Lanka has a history of forming political Alliances for well over a century, the first being Ceylon National Association founded in 1888....

Jeevan sets a record as Lanka’s youngest-ever Cabinet Minister

Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and Nuwara-Eliya district MP Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman, was inducted as Cabinet Minister into the Government headed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe last week.

How power cuts plunge students’ future in darkness - EDITORIAL

The Advanced Level Examination commenced on January 23 leaving candidates the opportunity to dream about the futures they would love to have. That’s of course if all goes well. Unfortunately Sri Lanka....

Ukraine: The Doomsday Clock moves closer to a nuclear catastrophe

A dangerously close 90 seconds to midnight may not be an adequate warning from the world’s renowned scientists who annually determine the time left for a global catastrophe, about which world leaders....

Shameless coalitions ahead of LG polls

The economic crisis and the resultant political upheaval that brought down the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime have created ridiculous political alignments. In fact, the major part of the “credit” for the creation...

SLMA urges government to focus on preventing road accidents

The recent Radella-Nanu Oya bus tragedy took away the lives of seven people. The Passara bus accident that happened in 2021 claimed the lives of 15 people. Statistics indicate that road accidents claim....

Achieving social justice through formal jobs

As Sri Lanka prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Independence, the Government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramua (SLPP) are struggling to get the country and the people out of its worst socio-economic and political crisis since independence in 1948.

Jacinda Ardern says she’s burnt out

As an admirer of New Zealand’s Premier Jacinda Ardern, I was shocked to hear that she is resigning. Was it some political scandal, has something unthinkable happened?

Social tensions and lawlessness - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka seems to be sinking further and deeper into the doldrums. As the cost of living continues to rise beyond the reach of a majority of the people, tempers fray and stories of people taking the law....

Why anti-tax protests by professional classes are Reeking rent-seeking opportunism

Sri Lanka’s professional classes are paragons of virtues at normal times. But, their bruised sense of entitlement at the new personal income tax revisions is nothing but a callous display of rent-seeking....

God won’t change your destiny until you change yourself

The leaders of the two ruling parties, the United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) for obvious reasons are arguing that the local government elections which are scheduled to be held on March 9 would n

SL concerns over proposed Sethusamudram ship canal project

On January 12, the Tamil Nadu State Assembly unanimously adopted a government resolution urging New Delhi to immediately implement the long-pending “Sethusamudram project” which envisages a canal cut through the Gulf of Mannar a

Spotlight on Lahugala-Sengamuwa Reserves: Land grab in Pottuvil and improper behaviour of Govt. officials

The massive deforestation and arbitrary acquisition of reserve lands in Pottuvil area in Ampara are continuing. Day by day, lands belonging to the Wildlife, Forest and Archaeology Departments are being....

Hypocrisy and the garb of defending rights - EDITORIAL

Two days ago, the US announced it was designating Russia’s Wagner group, which operates in Ukraine alongside Russian troops in Ukraine - a transnational criminal organization. The Wagner Group....

People’s Basic Needs Vs Politicians’ Relentless Urge for Power

All state revenue fronts have been restrained, and handling public finances proves to be a serious concern. The Treasury Secretary in an affidavit to Supreme courts stated they face a deficit of around....

Supreme Court expresses ‘shock and dismay’ at deplorable conduct of affairs

In its concluding remarks, the Supreme Court in what has already been widely welcomed as a historical judgement has said “…we must express our shock and dismay at the deplorable want of oversight....

TNA was Born in 2001 Due to Elections Shock of 2000

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) with 10 seats in Parliament is currently facing an internal crisis.

Panama – renewed land struggles

Panama is a remote Sri Lankan village at the southern end of the eastern province in the Ampara district. The slogan often used in land struggles “Land is Life” is true for most people in Panama,

Elections and the regulation of election expenditure

Today the country is held in thraw of an impending local government election. Our president has said he will not be involved in electioneering. This is perhaps a good precedent for future heads of state to follow -remaining above partisan party politics.

As Brazil shows, Trump and his men remain a big threat to democracy

The storming of Brazil’s presidential palace and supreme court by former president Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right supporters has been described as a coup attempt. Protesters camping outside Brazil’s military....

Why so many hurdles on the way to LG elections?

It is very clear even to a child that the two parties in the government, the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) are hell-bent on postponing the local....

When granting real freedom is feared! - EDITORIAL

As Sri Lanka gets ready to celebrate its 75th Independence Ceremony on February 4 there is much debate and talk about how some of the basic human rights of the people who have come under....

Beware Lanka: Divide-and-rule imperialistic policies still operate

As Sri Lanka prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary of independence in two weeks, a question that needs to be asked again and again is why a multitude of locals could not successfully resist...

Underpinnings of Canadian Tamils’ power

The recent Canadian sanctions against two former Sri Lankan Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa and two security forces personnel for “gross and systematic human rights violations” show the great clout Tamils of Sri Lankan origin have in Canada.