10-year-old falls prey to faith healing practices: The dark side of choosing faith over science

The death of a 10-year-old Maleesha Dulakshana sent waves of shock, anger and sympathy among most Sri Lankans but reality is such that many segments of society have largely been blinded by false....

Gazette banning entry of unvaccinated persons to public places : Fear of booster freezes Sri Lankan minds

While countries such as Denmark have decided to lift all COVID-19 restrictions, countries such as Canada have staged large scale protests against vaccine mandates. People protested against the French Government when it made vaccination virtually unavoidable. Similar protests took place in South Korea and Hamburg as well. In Sri Lanka, the situ

The Killing of LTTE Eastern Political Commissar Kausalyan

This column has for the past three weeks been focusing on the abortive Coup d’état conspiracy of 1962. There has been much reader interest in the articles. I have been pleasantly surprised to receive a lot of responses ranging from persons related or connected to some of the coup suspects to people from different walks of life evincing much interest in an important event in Sri Lanka’s history.

Development work on Ratmalana Airport Road Chief engineer assures of no flooding

Area residents have raised concerns on the possibility of flooding as they claim that the drains have been taken out and replaced with concrete

LKI-EU host conference on EU-Indo-Pacific Strategy

The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI) in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives hosted a half-day conference on the theme, The EU Indo-Pacific Strategy through Sri Lanka’s Lens: Opportunities for Cooperation and Partnership on Thursday, January 27 2022.

Proposed New Kelani Bridge – Athurugiriya elevated expressway CA rules out preliminary objections from state authorities

The construction of a four lane elevated expressway from Rajagiriya to Athurugiriya was frowned upon by area residents and environmental activists; reason being that the proposed route overlapped the Thalangama Environment Protection Area (EPA). Initially gazetted in 2007 the Thalangama EPA is home to an abundance of greenery and biodiversity apart

Proposed PTA Amendments fall short

Sri Lanka was advised to more narrowly define terrorism to safeguard freedoms of expression, association, opinion, religion or belief

1962 Coup:Takeover of Govt. Through “Operation Holdfast”

The 1962 Coup d’etat conspiracy had three noteworthy aspects.Firstly the architects of the conspiracy wanted a bloodless coup.

Sri Lanka’s elephants and their struggle for coexistence

A video of a Tusker being harassed at Yala National Park recently went viral on social media. Wildlife groups and activists were quick to react to the incident as it is a known fact that Sando is an aggressive elephant roaming this area at this time of the year.

Is Sri Lanka bracing for a total blackout?

The prevailing electricity crisis has put Sri Lankans in a dilemma. A few weeks back the Sri Lankan public had second thoughts about purchasing gas cylinders and now the citizenry is getting ready to face a series of power outages with the prevailing fuel and forex crisis. Why the authorities didn’t get ready for this crisis amidst many warnings

1962 Coup: Disgruntlement Within Army and Police Top Brass

In order to understand the 1962 Coup d’état conspiracy phenomenon, it is essential to delve deep into some events that happened between Independence in February 1948 and the envisaged D-day for executing the coup on January 27-28th 1962.

Athweltota mini hydro project Sensitive ecosystems threatened as renewable energy projects emerge

Sri Lanka aims to be an energy self-sufficient nation by 2030. Right now, the primary sources of generating electricity include thermal, including coal and fossil fuels, hydropower and other non-conventional renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. However, the renewable energy sector has transformed itself into a money-spinning i

Background to the Coup d’état conspiracy of 1962

This January is the 60th anniversary of what has come to be known as the 1962 Coup or Coup d’état of Sri Lanka known formerly as Ceylon.

Taliban’s Afghanistan-South Asian perspective

The Taliban have been urging Washington to unfreeze roughly $9.4 billion in Afghanistan’s central bank assets

Seven Tamil Parties Seek Modi’s Help for Implementing 13-A in Full

In a significant political move, seven political parties mainly representing the Sri Lankan Tamils of the Northern and Eastern provinces have written a joint letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

On grievance, anxiety and belonging

In the matter of voicing, assessing and addressing grievances and apprehensions, it is my contention that there’s grievous neglect of acknowledging (say) ‘error.’

An Ex-Maj. General’s search in land of wisdom ends

Former soldiers becoming Buddhist monks is not unheard of in the history of Sri Lanka. We have examples from the time of King Dutthagamani whose army fought successfully against invading foreign forces and some of them finally ending as Buddhist monks.

Double trouble in city of burial

Gazette 2216/38 on February 25 revoked the forced cremations policy for COVID-19 deceased and allowed burials. It was in early March 2021 that the COVID-19 deceased were buried in Majma Nagar, Oddamavadi.

Indo-Lanka Accord, 13th Amendment and the Tamil March of Folly

Much concern is now being shown by political parties representing the minority (numerical) ethnicities of Sri Lanka over the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Better watch out Omicron is in town

Medical experts and health professionals have questioned the government as to why it had stopped on-arrival PCR tests, further increasing the risk of transmission of the new Omicron variant.

Muslim prisoners severely beaten in Badulla prison

The inmates of the Badulla prison last Friday allegedly attacked the Muslim suspects who have been arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday massacre. Four of the suspects had suffered severe injuries and were admitted to the hospital. The detainees had been attacked by other prisoners claiming they were ISIS terrorists.

“Determined to address issues in the North” Jeevan Thiagarajah

Former member of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and former head of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA),

Sialkot incident : Will Priyantha’s killers receive maximum punishment ?

On December 3, initial footage of a frenzied mob flocking around an individual on Wazirabad Road, Sialkot in Pakistan eventually beating him to death went viral on social media. The beating continued amidst chants of ‘kaafir ke bachche me Quran ki ayatein dustbin mein fainki hain’ which translates to ‘son of a Kaafir has thrown verses of Quran in the

Omicron: Can Sri Lanka save herself?

Just when world economies were recovering from various variants of COVID-19 the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently announced the spread of a new COVID variant, Omicron.

SJB identifies women-centric development as key to a progressive future

Although women have shone in every sphere of national development, entering the political arena has been riddled with obstacles for women

Budget 2022 on Education Past mistakes are repeated again

The majority of the finances that will be coming into the education sector is based on current and expected loans and grants from bilateral and multilateral agencies Due to bilateral and multilateral agencies providing grants for education in Sri Lanka, they decide the policies on education in the country Over 75% of the population do not have access to internet. This has led many students and teachers to disengage from education and learni

Study reveals ethnic similarities among four ethnic groups : Are Sri Lankans one big family?

Despite various historical narrations about the identity of Sri Lankans, genetic studies have now succeeded in confirming similarities among various ethnic groups in the country. In a recent pioneering study conducted by the University of C

Turmoil in Toronto as “Tigers” Target TNA Meeting

Last Saturday (Nov. 20) saw a group of self-styled political activists create a ruckus and disrupt a public meeting in the Scarborough area of Toronto City in Canada.

violence by an intimate partner: UNFPA Survey

The iconic Colombo Municipal Council building was illuminated in orange with messaging on the national women’s helpline and Mithuru Piyasa hotline today to place a spotlight on intimate partner violence and encourage more women to seek help.

Helpless “Environmental Refugees” with DMC, NBRO

There is some sunshine falling through now, despite a grey sky. Whole of last week was about flash floods and landslides in most par