11th Commemoration of Dr. Ranjith Navarathne’s He was dedicated to social justice

This article is penned to mark the 11th Commemoration of the late Dr. Ranjith Navarathne, a former leader of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party and former Kurunegala District Member of Parliament. The 11th commemoration of this individual fell on May 1 and a memorial service was held in his name on May 4. Born on January 07, 1948 in the beautiful village of Nikawewa in the historical Nikawagampaha Korale, Hiriala Hatpattuwa, North Western Province, Na

“CEYLONA 2024” international girl guide camp at Ibbagamuwa Central College Kurunegala

Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) has plans to host an International Camp at Ibbagamuwa Central College, Kurunagala from August 18 to 23 (2024). The International Camp is poised to offer a plethora of enriching activities and experiences to participants. From outdoor adventures to leadership workshops the camp aims to provide a holistic learning environment where participants can develop essential life skills while forging lifelong frien

Collective bargaining, a viable alternative for industrial peace

The legal recognition of the fundamental rights of trade unions in this country has been derived from Article 14(1) b, c and d in chapter 3 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the ILO Conventions....

How filmmakers and lawmakers view people’s trust - EDITORIAL

Sri Lankans may be wary of trusting their instincts given their bad experiences with politicians. This is a country where the majority of the citizenry hasn’t had the fortune of receiving a university....

Netanyahu in Rafah trap after ceasefire breakthrough

With or without a ceasefire deal, Israel has vowed to launch its grand invasion into Rafah, the Gaza Strip’s southernmost 64-square-kilometre area, where more than 1.5 million....

The political ‘animals’  we choose

Sri Lanka is getting ready for presidential elections, but there is one thing that voters must realise and that is the fact that politicians will hide their dirty traits under the spotless white attires they wear. You can see this happening right now despite so many lessons being learned over the years.

Religious misrepresentation and Israeli bloodlust in Rafah

In the dark ages one could, to an extent excuse bloodlust and calls for the eradication of an entire race of a particular people. People of that day and age were primitive. Bloodthirsty....

Lady picking pockets-symptoms of wider social malaise - EDITORIAL

Two days ago this newspaper highlighted the story of a Woman Police Constable (WPC) being arrested for picking the handbag of a shopper in Kandy. Not many of us citizens were shocked....

How wheeler-dealing over visa could kill tourism’s golden goose

If the Government of Sri Lanka desires to streamline the inefficient and corruption-laden immigration and emigration authorities, one can’t find fault. The Immigration Department...

Collective resolve of regional and international actors, a glimmer of hope for Afghans - Air Chief Marshal Bulathsinghala

Air Chief Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala addressing a Rotary Club of Colombo meeting in Colombo on May 2 placed before the gathering the current developments in Afghanistan and the importance of humanitarian aid, diplomatic efforts, and global cooperation to address the challenges faced by its people. The speech delivered at the event is as follows; Your club, one of 70 Rotary clubs within Rotary International District 3220 (Sri Lanka & Maldives),

Press freedom, a boon for economic recovery

Sri Lanka ranked 150 out of 180 countries in the 2024 Edition of the Press Freedom Index, published annually by Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontiers - RSF) is a remarkable drop of 15 positions from 135 to 150 when compared to 2023. However, Sri Lanka has been ranked higher than India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. India is ranked 159th, Pakistan 152nd and Bangladesh 165th. Norway is ranked in the top position and Eritrea in the last po

US House passes anti-Semitism curbing Bill as university students turn against Israel

The United States House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a Bill that would expand the definition of anti-Semitism (anti-Jew). The Bill was passed when university students across the US had risen to condemn Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It now goes to the Senate for consideration. When it becomes law, the “Anti-Semitism Awareness Bill” would allow the US Federal Department of Education to restrict funding and other resources to campuses p

Israel vs. rest of the world – this is worse than Netanyahu thinks

Those who think that those who oppose Israel’s brutal war in Gaza are just Arabs, Iranians and a handful of lefties in Europe ....

Wages and worker rights take back seat on May Day - EDITORIAL

May Day came and went. Yet very few words were spoken regarding working conditions in the country. Strangely, it was the head ....

‘Spanner in the Works’: Proposed Estate Worker Wage Hike in the Balance?

President Ranil Wickremesinghe made a groundbreaking announcement during the May Day rally of the Ceylon Workers....

“Ranil Ralla” : Will Wickremesinghe ride on a winning wave?

May Day was at one time a significant event of the workers, for the workers and by the workers. It is not so nowadays where the working class has been relegated to the back seat. The political class has taken over. The rhetoric however echoes and re-echoes on May Day but the reality is different. The May Day events have been turned into a political exercise where competing political parties engage in a show of strength by mobilising huge crowds.

Message from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yoko Kamikawa on her visit to Sri Lanka Japan is confident Sri Lanka will emerge from current crisis -Japanese Foreign Minister

The following is a statement by the Japanese Foreign Minister who is visiting Sri Lanka on a two-day tour from May 4-5.

88/89 Bheeshanaya: A shared bloodbath

If one goes through the social media posts and some of the statements made by the politicians in the mainstream media for the past few days about the dark period of 1988/89, he would definitely be at a loss to imagine the United National Party (UNP) governments under Presidents J.R.Jayewardene and Ranasinghe Premadasa to have suppresse

Gaza genocide: ICC’s credibility is at stake

Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the sometimes tacit and sometimes overt support it gets from the United States and other pro-Zionist Western states have exposed the charade....

Can an eight-hour shift vouch prosperity? - EDITORIAL

The May Day rallies held across the country on Wednesday were significant from a workers’ point of view unlike ever before because all potential presidential candidates have....

World press freedom day: The rights and the wrongs

Historically and traditionally, democracy’s four pillars have been the Executive, legislature, judiciary and the press or media. In recent years, social media has also come to the scene largely with dramatic reports, some of which are alternative facts, twisted reports or outright lies, as we see. The United States’ Republican Party Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is seeking re-election in November while he faces more than a hundred crimin

Navigating SOE reforms in an election year

Sri Lanka’s current State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) reforms coincide with an unprecedented economic crisis and the 2024 election year. The economic crisis heightens the need for reforms, but the election timing dictates that privatization should be off the table for now. Instead, reforms should focus now on fixing management, transparency, competition, and regulation. This will substantially improve the value of these SOEs to investors as well as so

Implement Premadasa’s policies to overcome current economic crisis

As one who had the opportunity to serve as the Chairman and Director General of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission and later converted to the Board of Investment....

May Day: Not capitalism, but dogmatism has almost killed trade union movement

Rarely any other time, save the campaign rallies, would the politicians speak so passionately about labour rights as they would today, the International Workers’ Day. But, in this quirky interest....

Are doctors’ unions making threats again? - EDITORIAL

The doctors in our country seem to be girding up their loin cloths for a possible fight with the government in the aftermath of a government decision to set up a medical faculty at the ‘National....

A call to end ‘Corporal Punishment’ and create a fear-free childhood

Today, I stand at the intersection of corporate leadership and social responsibility, deeply reflecting on the vital role we play in shaping a society that cherishes and protects its most vulnerable members—our children. Today, 30 April, is the International Day to End Corporal Punishment and I invite you to join me on a journey of reflection, action and commitment towards eradicating this deep-rooted societal ill. Addressing our biases A study

What’s wrong in having private medical education?

The government made two important decisions recently on medical education in the country. One was to establish a medical faculty at the National School of Business Management (NSBM) in Homagama and the other was to enroll local students at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University to pursue medical degrees. Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said on March 12 that the proposed medical faculty would come under the direct supervision and

Early Buddhism’s links with urbanisation and commerce

In sixth century BC, Buddhism thrived in the Gangetic Plain in North India due to urbanisation and the development of trade. According to the renowned scholar of Buddhism in India, Balkrishna Govind Gokhale, Buddhism began to decline in India when urbanisation and trade yielded place to feudalism. In his paper in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (Vol Number 2, 1982, University of Wisconsin Madison), Gokhale says th

Law reforms stagnate in Lanka while world marks global Day to End Corporal Punishment

Corporal punishment affects over 1.3 billion children worldwide and is the most common form of child abuse globally and in Sri Lanka, where complaints of cruelty against children have increased by three-fold in the past ten years. As the world celebrates and respective governments pledge to do more to abolish a heinous crime against children on International Day to End Corporal Punishment on April 30th, neither the Government of Sri Lanka nor

If you don’t like to say genocide, think of it as mass murder

When Israel launched a massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the Hamas cross-border attack on Oct 7, 2023, I had divided sympathies, especially in view of the atrocities....