Eighteen months back, when the people languished long hours in lengthy queues to buy that elusive gas cylinder and regular blackouts punctured the day and night amidst economic hardship, there was an unusual unity. Hundreds of thousands people who gathered at the Galle Face Green protest site and took part in many demonstrations across the country came from all walks of life. Petty ethnic politics that pitted people against each other was relegat
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate women and girls around the world and applaud all they have achieved in the fight for equality. However, despite progress, girls and women continue to face systemic barriers that undermine their rights, limit their opportunities, and diminish their well-being. When global crises such as climate disasters, poverty, and hunger occur, women and girls are affected the most. This is also the case
Traditionally, in democracy, there are four major Pillars; The Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Free Media. However, the common people are sovereign, and they exercise that power mainly at elections. In Sri Lanka today there is confusion and controversy on whether, when and what elections will be held with the President and the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) expressing one view while the opposition parties including th
At the next Presidential Election, the National People’s Power and even current President Ranil Wickremesinghe are key factors that will decide whether Sri Lanka will recover from its economic disaster or plunge into a darker abyss. Sri Lankans as a whole haven’t read enough about politics or believe too much about its abilities that it’s the cure for all ills; otherwise, Sri Lankans would not have been cheated by their lawmakers for 76 long year
In January 2016, in a rare show of accountability, the General Secretary of the Government and Provincial Council Public Service Trade Union Federation, Ajith. K. Thilakarathne had taken up an issue of time squandered by public sector employees with the then President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. No trade union leader had dared before to complain against his own members. In a letter addressed to both the leaders,
The Red Sea crisis, which is having a great impact on international trade, is unlikely to end anytime soon despite the US-led naval and air forces’ hitting Houthi targets in Yemen. Since the Houthis insist that they will not cease attacking ships in the Red Sea unless a ceasefire is enforced in Gaza, the Red Sea crisis will end only if there is a ceasefire in Gaza. And that appears to be a far cry. Neither the Israelis nor Hamas is willing to gi
The ascension of Junius Richard Jayewardene to the premier seat of political power in 1977 paved the way for a drastic transformation of Sri Lanka’s politico-economic landscape and environment. J.R. Jayewardene known popularly as “JR” ushered in political, economic, and electoral changes that utterly changed Sri Lanka. In the words of William Butler Yeats “All changed, changed utterly.” The advent of JR as Prime Minister in 1977 and as the firs
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Media spokesman, Noel Priyantha resigned from his position after criticisms over his insensitive remarks during an interview with a private TV channel, towards the hapless electricity consumers who are struggling to pay their electricity bills. When he was told at the interview that a father who had attempted to get electricity from a nearby house to support his child’s studies had died by electrocution, and was as
Most of us take water for granted. However, clean drinking water is essential for human life, and in these days of high temperature reaching 94°F, many people experience dehydration, and we need to drink about six litres of water a day. Next month, the United Nations marks World Water Day, and the theme is ‘water for peace’. In a statement, the UN says, water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people ha
On 1st January 2024, The President of Sri Lanka and the Cabinet Minister of Women and Child Affairs and Social Empowerment have implemented the Children and Young Persons....
Following a long spell of about five months of rainfall in most parts of the country, especially in the wet zone which devastated the agriculture in those areas, the country has begun to experience seemingly a similar long spell of drought which seems to be carrying devastating effects on the same farming community. It might have a huge effect on hydro power generation as well, making in turn a negative bearing on the electricity consumers who h
With the prospect of elections this year, political parties are gearing up their rhetoric and policy promises to an electorate worn out by two years of economic crisis on top of the hardship imposed by two years of a global pandemic. Reckless policies in 2020-21 forced Sri Lanka to declare a debt default, drove inflation to a peak of over 70 percent in September 2022, and contracted the GDP by over a cumulative 11 percent in 2022-23. The CBSL has
Ever since Mr S. Sritharan was elected leader of the “Federal Party” or the “Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi” (ITAK), numerous articles with a racist bent have begun appearing in a number of ‘national news outlets’ in Colombo. The articles have a common thread running through them - Sritharan’s visit to the LTTE war heroes’ cemetery in Killinochchi - and their (nationalist writers) interpretation of the symbolism of that visit. One of these Prophet
The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) known in English as the Federal Party (FP) is in the eye of a legal storm. The premier political party representing the Sri Lankan Tamils of the Northern and Eastern provinces is currently undergoing an internal crisis mainly due to recently held inner-party elections. Issues relating to the intra-party elections have brought about a clearly visible divide within the ITAK. This in turn has led to an unpre
Burying the values the United States presidents often speak highly of during their policy speeches, Washington once again inhumanely used its veto power at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday....
Tourist arrivals surpass 63,000 in first half of October
EDB gets new chief
Colombo welcomes Cinnamon Life
New Board of Directors appointed for SriLankan Airlines
Easter attack: controversy swirls further high
Catholic Church rebuffs Gammanpila’s allegations
Easter Sunday attack: Ravi Seneviratne’s name implicated
SL unveils new ’P’ series passport with enhanced security features