Sunday, 10 Sep 2023
- Follow Us:
Columns
How does a visiting head of state, on his first official visit to the foreign country that is his own nation’s closest ally, openly trash the head of his host government and then hold meetings with that same head of government and pretend that all is OK with her and that his official visit was a complete ‘success’? Either that head of state must hold superior power over...
There are two new developments in Sri Lanka’s contemporary politics which is getting crystalized and clearer these days. They are: (a) the consolidation of a hard right-wing alternative to a weak and shaky democratic regime option, and (b) the projection of an ex-military officer as the embodiment of the new right-wing agenda. At the core of the first are groups of...
The world’s working classes, distracted by the on-going Football World Cup in Russia, are yet to be alerted to their future livelihood dangers from an imminent trade war between all major economies as a result of simplistic ‘scorched earth’ policies by the current United States regime. Meanwhile, in many regions where the West once exercised ‘policing’ geo-politics, the...
It can be said that it was only a matter of time before this happened: Sri Lankan cricket, already in the doldrums through a series of embarrassing defeats, is now being shamed after a ball-tampering saga involving no less a person than its captain Dinesh Chandimal.
When the issue first emerged during the second test match against the West Indies, the Sri Lankan team,...
Most governments in recent Sri Lankan history have had their mavericks. They are gaffe prone, engage in outlandish acts that question their suitability to serve as public representatives and, in general, give their Governments a bad name.
The Jayewardene Government had one in Vi Ja Moo (as he preferred to be called) Lokubandara and the Premadasa government had A. J....
Columns
Anyone scoffing at woman-power needs to take a good look at what is going on in the USA. A woman-strengthened US legislature is...
It was only last week that we wrote in these columns about ‘own goals’ scored by political parties in recent weeks. Then comes...
A taxi, by definition, is a vehicle for hire that should have a meter to indicate the distance travelled and the final fare upon...
World’s worst trade war begins:
After decades of failed or barely successful American military interventions in West Asia, who would have thought that Russia, no...
Maybe it is because this is the World Cup season in football, but political parties are scoring spectacular ‘own goals’ right now...
If you watch CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, NDTV and other news services regularly, like I do, you will notice the overwhelming dominance...
Are sections of the Buddhist clergy advocating racism at the expense of national unity, and, are some political parties hoping to...
The State sector is often thought of as having men and women who are inefficient, lethargic and absolutely non-innovative. While...
Even as the United States of America last week withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council, US President Donald Trump...
Do you play Candy Crush and Pokeman GO on your smartphone all day ? Do you play Solitaire on your PC screen in-between work...
Suicide is desperate. It is hostile. It is tragic. But mostly, it is a bloody mess.This was a headline I recently saw in a...
Air travel has made the world a much smaller place. Today, no place on Earth is more than 24 hours away from another, with the...
The United States, supposed champion of ‘freedom’, on Friday, once again vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that blamed...
Now, we can only look back at those glory days and reflect, wondering whether they will ever dawn againThese days, when one finds...
The accumulation of garbage, including household food waste and polythene, has become an acute problem faced by modern societies...
The global tobacco epidemic kills more than seven million people each year, of which close to 900,000 are non-smokers dying from...
Old habits die hard. That is why the dominant trade union of doctors, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA)...
This columnist has time and again stressed the need to save fuel in order to cut down on the massive fuel import bill. While the...
Ask any child to draw his or her family and you get the traditional picture of father, mother, brother and sister, with perhaps...
This week saw the commemoration of the 25th death anniversary of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lanka’s second Executive President,...
Parking is a major problem in major cities in Sri Lanka, such as Colombo, Kandy and Kurunegala. There are many occasions when we...
The nation does not await with bated breath the swearing in of the new Cabinet. Already, it has been several weeks in the making...
The deaths of five people, most of them young, who fell into an Ammonia vat at a factory in Horana has once again highlighted the...
The 16 ministers, deputy ministers, state ministers and assorted others from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) who voted for the...
Did you know that there is a separate day in the United Nations (UN) calendar to celebrate the English language ? Yes, the UN...
The best laid plans of mice and men, so the saying goes, go awry. In this instance it was the best laid plans of Mahinda that...
Space is often known as the last frontier, because we are yet to explore it in-depth. Two of our robotic probes have left the...
Sri Lanka is very young. Almost a quarter of the population is between ages 15-29 and nearly half the population is under 30.In...
It’s all over, bar the shouting: the no confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was defeated with a...
The year 1896 is generally regarded as the year in which the first fatal automobile accidents were reported in both the USA and...
China may have astutely played its North Korea card last week but US President Donald Trump again stole world headlines on...
The stage is now set for the drama, while rehearsals are going on full steam ahead: the real show will be performed on Wednesday...
Celebrated coach Vince Lombardi once said, “winning is not everything, it is the only thing”. Many sportsmen and women have taken...
US President Donald Trump is immersed in spy conspiracy probes and sex scandals while his Republican Party is busy covering up...