Wetlands are treasures; kidneys of the earth

While the Government still struggling hard to get Sri Lanka out of its worst socio-economic crisis since independence,

How do you preserve the memory of the murdered?

When the inspirational and the fearless are taken from you, suddenly and brutally, it gnaws at you. As the years pass, the memories become distant, the pain inconsistent. It becomes a scar.....

Leaders must be practical - EDITORIAL

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has come up with a more practical solution to what is generally called the ethnic problem than what he suggested during the recent budget debate in Parliament. During....

Importance of India and balancing differences

On April 12, 2022, our then government announced Lanka was bankrupt. It suspended repayment of external debts admitting the country would be unable to honour its international commitments - nearly US$ 6 billion in debt servicing that year and US$ 25 billion till 2026. Government l

SLC, Born Again, and squandering of national pride

The National Cricket team took a world record trouncing in India during the weekend in their third and final ODI, losin

Egoistic ‘Dignity’ 75 to cost 200mn!

Elections in Sri Lanka are nothing but standardized tests designed to assess voter intellect. It is a fact that at the last two Presidential elections....

Whines and woes of a pampered princeling - EDITORIAL

Britain’s Prince Harry (the second son of King Charles) and his wife Meghan - the duke and duchess of Sussex - have been hogging the limelight...

Finance Capital and Working People: International Scholars in Solidarity

Over the last year, Sri Lanka was suffocating under a debt crisis and a so-called IMF solution, with little bargaining power to negotiate....

Canada’s targeted sanctioning of Gota and Mahinda

History was made last week when two former executive presidents of Sri Lanka were sanctioned by the Government of Canada.

Cheers to Canada, now let’s target all war criminals

Not many years ago -in 2010 to be exact- a particular past president of our country said his aim was to turn Lanka into ‘The Wonder of Asia’.Today in many ways, we have become a ‘Wonder of Asia’. Unfortunately NOT in the way or manner that president had imagined.

Sepal, freedom of expression and ethics

The You Tube video released by Social media activist Sepal Amarasinghe making derogatory remarks on the sacred tooth relic and Dalada Maligawa in Kandy has opened a can of worms as expected.

Fighting to Free Wasantha Mudalige

Among the reprisals faced by prominent leaders of the people’s uprising last year were arrests, detentions, travel bans and continuing court cases. Many leaders have multiple court cases pending against them despite....

Elections and playing the card of sentiment - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka’s politicians surprisingly aren’t desperate as yet. The educated and those wearing their thinking caps all the time are still a minority so they cannot be ready yet to offer an alternative to the people....

Hold local council elections as part of the solution to the economic crisis

As the government and the ruling parties appear to be resorting to every trick in the book to postpone the long-overdue local council elections, the crucial question is whether elections are the most important....

Using public holidays for people’s welfare

With Sri Lanka still struggling to come out of its worst ever socio-economic crisis since independence, some non-party political experts have suggested some practical solutions which the government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramua (SLPP) need to consider and implement.

Towards the fortification of nutritional sovereignty

When the then US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Teresita Currie Schaffer, insisted in the early 1990s that Sri Lanka’s food security lies in the wheat fields of North America,

Spotlight on SL’s South Eastern University: South eastern varsity VC under scrutiny following plagiarism claims

When re-examining the research papers of Rameez Aboobacker, a sociology professor and the current Vice Chancellor of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, serious breaches of academic integrity.....

China learns a virus lesson the hard way

China prides itself in being an example to the less developed nations by its spectacular economic growth since the 1980s, thanks to innovation, hard work and leaders who put country first without enriching....

So along, farewell, auf wiedersehen good night... - EDITORIAL

Two weeks ago, the world bid adieu to the year 2022. For us 2022 was particularly catastrophic. For the first time in our history, we defaulted on debt payment. So, we will definitely....

Religious freedom and respect to religions

The recent controversial YouTube video released by social media activist Sepal Amarasinghe and his arrest has again brought the question of containment of social media to the fore. Those who always champion bridling of media c

Kanjipani Imran’s bail jump: Is ‘flight risk’ only for ‘Aragalaya’?

On December 20, when he was produced before the court under STF protection, the attorney general informed the court that the charges levelled against the suspect did not fall under the PTA, which allowed his lawyers to request bail. He was released on bail on two sureties totalling Rs.10 million - which is peanuts given the extent of Imran’s underworld operation

President and Tamil National Alliance to discuss full implementation of 13A

Positive moves are being made by both President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to resolve the seven decades-long ethnic issue. Following Wickremesinghe’s declared resolve to secure an agree

Spotlight on Berangamuwa: Tree felling exposes Bagavanthalawa-Balangoda main road to landslides

The Bagavanthalawa-Balangoda main road connecting the two districts Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura is at risk of landslides due to the felling of Eucalyptus trees by the Department of Forest Conservation....

Humanitarian Relief and War, what’s our choice? - EDITORIAL

As this year (2023) dawns, the number of people who will be in need of humanitarian relief has increased by almost a quarter. According to the United Nations (UN), the worst global food crisis....

LG: Veto Elections; Persuade System Change

The Chairman of the National Elections Commission has stated that arrangements are already in place to conduct the LG Election by end of March 2023— that’s his job. He has also mentioned that Election....

Lasantha was a Fearless Editor who Spoke Truth to Power

Friends,Family members, colleagues, schoolmates and admirers of Lasantha Wickrematunge are scheduled to meet on Sunday January 8th at the Kanatte cemetery in Borella.

The war in Ukraine: Who wins who loses

Phase II of the Russo-Ukraine war has now entered is 12th month, (the first stage beginning with the annexation of Kiev in February of 2014), when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Deadlines for headlines

Barely a month is remaining for President Ranil Wickremesinghe to solve the decades-long ethnic problem,

Are we losing by promoting paddy cultivation? - EDITORIAL

Sri Lankans are mulling over two things right now; one is when the LG polls would be held and the other is how to purchase paddy for the next season. The latter....

Taxing the working class and saving the corrupt

Have the cake and eat it, too: This may be a hackneyed phrase. But it is an apt idiom to describe a desperate Sri Lankan government’s haphazard fiscal measures to shore up falling state revenues and maintain....