800, Raging Tiger, and the Lemonade Industry in Sri Lanka

A few weeks back, YouTube chat show host Lahiru Mudalige had a conversation with three popular media figures – Dushyanth Weeraman, Chinthana Dharmadasa....

Families demand to know fate of relatives in Mahara Prison

“Where is my son, where is my brother?” was the constant refrain of about 50 people gathered outside the Mahara prison on December 5, six days.....

The Mahara prison riot - EDITORIAL

After successfully controlling the first wave of the Coronavirus, in October a second wave hit the country, when affected persons were discovered....

The idea of the University and democratising it

The great Capitalist crisis in the making over decades has been pushed over the cliff by the Covid-19 pandemic, and its devastation is going to reshape societies.

Budget 2021 and the External Sector in a Changing Global Order

Annual budgets announce the Government’s priorities for the domestic economy. But we cannot address the historic challenges facing Sri Lanka without considering the global context.

Are we hiding our heads in the sand?

Has the authorities assessed the correct COVID-19 situation in the country? It doesn’t seem to be so. We seem to soothe ourselves with misleading numbers and attempt to contain the virus threat. In short, the official numbers about the COVID-19 situation are apparently far below than the reality.

A Suggestion for the New Constitution of Sri Lanka

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka has been approved by Parliament. Now, people are talking about who voted for it and why. Let us forget who voted for it and why.

The US, the coronavirus and the plight of Palestine

The month of December is upon us and the year 2020 is finally coming to an end. December is also the month of Christmas – the month the world celebrates the birth of a man who preached love, peace, compassion, called for a change of exploitative structures which enslave humankind and publicly called for forgiveness to those who tortured and killed him.

Our true heroes must be celebrated - EDITORIAL

The cultural divide in the country gets highlighted when there is a natural disaster. Just hours ago Cyclone Burevi swept across the Eastern....

Decision on burial: Not the last nail in the coffin

When Muslims were a minority in the city state of Mecca in the early 7th century AD, they faced persecution, including torture, economic boycott and social ostracism.

RCEP, the world’s largest trading bloc, signed up amidst pandemic

In years, super-power rivalries have intensified. It climaxed with a trade war between the United States and China. The spat between the world powers is playing out in the Indian Ocean region with a particular focus on China’s rise and increased involvement in transnational trading.

When COVID brings us hard lessons in a teacup!

School education coming to a standstill in Sri Lanka can be viewed from many angles. The word standstill can be too harsh for people supporting this government. But what other best word can describe a situation where students who are studying are told that exams are postponed indefinitely? This is the scenario with the Ordinary Level Examination, which was scheduled to begin on January 18, 2021.

Mahara Prison Riots: Resolve crisis with empathy

In the wake of an increasing number of prison inmates contracting COVID-19 -- some 1,091 as of yesterday -- was the news of a riot that broke out at the Mahara Prison and the attempts by armed prison guards to quell the riots had left 11 inmates dead and 109, including two prison guards, injured.

Sectoral Oversight Committee Report on National Security gathering dust!

On February 19, 2020, i.e. days before Parliament was dissolved and probably in full cognizance of the impending General Election, a report was released by ‘The Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security,’ appointed following the Easter Sunday attacks almost a year before.

Farmer protests in Delhi and the rise of the Sikhs - EDITORIAL

Thousands of farmers led by their turban clad Punjabi leaders thronged to the borders of India’s capital during the past few days.

Be wary of the slapstick

The bravado has not died off, not by a bit. In messaging groups proliferated by Sri Lankan journalists and those connected to the media.....

People and Govt must work with each other

Two important and relevant personalities had expressed concern over the COVID-19 situation in Colombo. The city Mayor Rosy Senanayake in an interview with the Daily Mirror had stated that the situation was serious, pointing out a startling fact that

Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 response is falling by the wayside

Children, education and the Coronavirus - EDITORIAL

The Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic has, according to the United Nations created the biggest disruption of education systems in history....

THE GENDER OF BUDGET 2021

The budget comes at a critical time. It is the first budget in the time of the current President and the government that was voted in August 2020....

People not taking things seriously - Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake

The second wave of the Covid 19 is taking its toll on Sri Lanka and Colombo is one of the most affected areas. With the death toll from Colombo....

Gotabaya Govt’s pre-emptive strike against LTTE Maaveerar Naal

November 27th 1989 was the day on which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) first observed its annual “Maaveerar Naal” or Great Heroes Day (GHD). The LTTE and its leader Veluppillai Prabakharan are no more after the military defeat of the tigers in May 2009.

Spike in violence against women

Breaking a glass ceiling was the election of the first coloured American-Indian woman Kamala Harris as the Vice-President of the United States.

Challenging impunity for crimes against media in Sri Lanka

Dozens of journalists have been killed, abducted or have disappeared in the past two decades in Sri Lanka, with 2005-2010 being the most dangerous.

PANDEMIC ANGLES

Isolate yourself from news about the VIRUS, everything we need to know we already know. Don’t look for additional information on the Internet.....

Quarantining commemorations

Had the LTTE been successful in their armed struggle for the creation of a separate Tamil State in the Northern and Eastern Provinces....

Let them raise our sagging spirits - EDITORIAL

More than the COVID-19 related news that surfaces now what people have to deal with is the negativity that impacts our lives.

Justice for Palestinians: The burden is on Biden

While President-elect Joe Biden’s team signals a revival of multilateralism in the United States foreign policy and an end to the chaos-ridden international system....

will ‘Citizens Vs judiciary’ be given ‘Leave to Proceed’?

It’s a mischievous headline, admittedly. Citizens are not taking the judges to court. And, even if that happened, the simple matter of interest-conflict would force all judges in all courts to recuse themselves from entertaining such a petition.

LPL amid the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is showing no signs of relenting or loosening its grip on Sri Lanka and is continuing to spread without let or hindrance.