Can diplomacy prevent Turkey-Russia clash in Syria?

If not for the coronavirus outbreak and the US Democratic primaries, the latest phase of the Syrian war would have been the first item on international news bulletins. What with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning Syria....

University Ragging: Senseless barbarism

Yes, ragging has now become an act of cruelty and sadism committed by some of the senior students of Sri Lankan Universities on newly admitted students. Often overseen, it appears helplessly or intentionally, by the University administrations. Jaffna University senior students in Kilinochchi have taken sadism against their juniors to such disgraceful levels that their victims, as a means of escape, have resorted to commit suicide or to abandon

A Divided National Party

The United National Party (UNP) is hit by another political storm these days triggering fears whether the grand old party of Sri Lanka is teetering on the brink of another major split on the scale of the debacle that it experienced in 1990 when its stalwarts Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali defected from the party and caused a dent in its traditional vote base.

Wheeler-dealers and the games they play

Hard on the heels of the Forensic Audit Reports on the Central Bank (CB) Bond Scams covering two time slots -- one during the tenure of then CB governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, from July 1, 2006 to January 9, 2015 under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and the other during the tenure of then CB governor Arjuna Mahendran, from January 26, 2015 to June 30, 2016 under the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe government -- comes the controversial

Devanee vs Sanath:

A YouTube video going viral on social media has a state official going one-on-one with a politician. Well, not exactly one-on-one because the politician had in his corner what could be assumed was a section of his constituency. Not exactly in the corner. They were in the ring, so to speak.

A NATION’S PRIDE

The Pride of the Nation was historically displayed on 4th February, with the Tri Forces and Police taking pride of place!!! Seventy-two years of Independence are indeed cause for celebration but the question is with the country in

Armed Struggles and Pursuing ‘Kingship’

When one makes a comparison between the regime’s struggles to defeat two of the biggest rebel uprisings the names of JVP founder Rohana Wijeweera and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the present president of Sri Lanka, surface quite

We’ve taken apt measures to contain coronavirus: Chinese Ambassador

Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Cheng Xueyuan reiterated that the Chinese Government and its embassy in Sri Lanka had taken all possible measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus while accusing some of the western

Restorative justice: Can it pave the way forward?

A little over a decade ago, Sri Lanka ended a bloody civil war and yet, questions on the country’s approach to justice remain unanswered. As a result, there is a continuing cycle of hate, anger and pain. There is a dire need for

Uproot Ragging from its Root - EDITORIAL

University administrations, the so-called students’ unions in universities and the law enforcement authorities must be ashamed for their failure in stopping ragging in State universities and higher education institutions. The latest incident

Infodemic– into the virtual whirlpool

In so many ways, the outbreak of the Coronavirus is probably the first global health disaster of the social media age. The virus outbreak, its spread and all the quirky cures that have come up – drinking alcohol excessively kills the virus

The Game Changer - EDITORIAL

With a nearly 20 million people and close to 15 million voters India’s national capital Delhi is very much similar to Sri Lan

Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party may open up new vistas for Indian politics

If the Aam Admi Party (AAP), led by ebullient Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sweeps the Delhi State Assembly elections on February 11; as predicted by all opinion and exit polls, India will get a chance to establish a new norm for governance and a new way of fighting elections. If Kejriwal’s experiment in electioneering and governance is pursued seriously and consistently in Delhi and replicated

Gender equality: Is it more a dream than reality?

Since the beginning of time, women have had to fight to be heard. Homer’s Odyssey tells the story of Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, telling his mother to “go back up into your quarters, and take up...

Ranil expelled five seniors in 2000... UNP’s Confrontational Two Decades to End Today?

Impeachment against President Donald Trump was approved by the Congress [Democratic-lead House of Representatives] on December 18. However, the majority in the Senate, who are Republican loyalist of Trump, acquitted him last Wednesday.

Liquidation of the State of Palestine - EDITORIAL

Not long after he was elected President of the US in 2017, newly-elected President Trump questioned the legitimacy of the US civil war. “The Civil War,” he said, “if you think about it, why? People don’t ask the question, but why was there the Civil War?

2019 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic

The article is based on an interview by Jayam Rutnam of the San Gabriel Valley Examiner with Dr. Deepthi Jayasekara of Glendora, California. Dr. Jayasekara is a specialist in Infectious Diseases, Foothill Infectious Diseases, Claremont, Ca., Chair, Infection Control.....

The science of gender equality

On February 11, the United Nations marks the international day to make the world aware and educate the people on the vital role that women and girls could play in science,

Safeguard judiciary to ensure democracy: YLA

The recent leaking of MP Ranjan Ramanayake’s recorded telephone conversations with top police officers and judges raised public concern over judicial independence,

We spread Dhamma to the US and Europe in 1870s

Lord Buddha told the first sixty Arahants: “Go forth, O Bhikkhus, one in each direction, preach the Dhamma for the good of many, for the welfare and happiness of many, proclaim the holy blameless life for the good of the world.” Later, Emperor Asoka sent emissaries to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Syria, Persia, Iran, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam to spread the message of Buddhism.

An Enlightened Electorate guarantees an authentic Democracy

Sri Lanka has witnessed in the recent past three major elections: two presidential and one local government. Another parliamentary election is slated for the near future. Much of national financial resources amounting to hundreds of millions of rupees,

Parliamentary elections: A one-horse race

One would wonder whether the United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) - two parties that alternately ruled the country for decades since independence - are vying for the title of ‘best loser’ at the oncoming parliamentary elections.

Our national icons

From 2013 I got the opportunity, the privilege you could say, of meeting some of Sri Lanka’s finest, most illustrious artistes: directors, scriptwriters, composers, singers and actors. I had no real purpose or objective in mind....

Coronavirus: Biological and Chemical Warfare Rampant

In the wake of the latest coronavirus outbreak, movie buffs are drawing an eerie parallel with the film Contagion, a 2011 thriller based on a lethal airborne virus called Nipah and how the world’s medical community battled to find a cure for the pandemic.

A place to agitate from, at last ! - EDITORIAL

The decision taken by the Sri Lanka Police and the Ministry of Defence to allocate an area for protesters to agitate in Colombo seems timely and a great need of the present times.

Democracy, UNP and Markar

Questions have been raised within the Green Party as to whether the party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe values the UNP styled democracy which was once present within the party. The UNP has been a party which has survived with so many internal squabbles. We remember the differences J.R Jayewardene had with Dudley Senanayake and years later when Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake combination took on Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Harvesting the Fruits of Independence - EDITORIAL

On Wednesday, February 4, Sri Lanka celebrated its 72nd Anniversary of Independence or its National Day by remembering with gratitude the untiring efforts of our founding father Don Stephen Senanayake and the political stalwarts from the Sinhala, Tamil, Burgher and Malay communities, who rallied round him in the struggle to gain our independence from British rule on February 4, 1948. Tuesday’s celebrations underlining the theme, “A Secured Nat

Political Untouchables’ will sully Gota’s vision

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, during his speech at the Independence Day celebrations, not unlike his predecessors, rolled out what could be called a ‘should-be’ list, implying that things are not in order but should be and could be corrected. He spoke of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the State and the importance of public confidence in these for a country to function efficiently and not slide towards anarchy. He sought the

Apocalypse of Locust - EDITORIAL

With Pakistan and Somalia both declaring national emergency over locust attacks on crops while a host of East African nations, Iran, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the western states of India going through one of the worst locust episodes in history, speculations are rife whether locust is becoming the biggest threat to the global food security.

TRADITIONS!

Our beloved country has always been steeped in traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation!!! Sri Lanka is a land of mystery, a land whose history, culture and traditions remain even today; they are some of the most exquisite yet remain totally alien to the world at large. Perhaps it is correct to say that one simply has to be Sri Lankan in order to