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Home » ColumnsBreakdown of law, people lose confidence in Police
Twenty-four-year-old Chandrika Kumara, a housewife, in the sleepy hamlet of Bilbewewa in the Anuradhapura District, chose to join four others on Monday night for a ride in the small trailer of a two wheel tractor to attend a funeral. Little did this mother of a four-year-old child realise it was a journey that would end [...]
Talk at the Cafe Spectator
British MP swallows Mahinda’s guliya Last Thursday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited a team of visiting British parliamentarians for a breakfast meeting. When the visitors were invited to have breakfast, one of them explained very politely as most Britons do, that he had a rather uneasy stomach. Hence, he said he would not partake in the [...]
Seeking glory the wrong way
“Thaaththa,” Bindu Udagedera asked, “isn’t it time for the Olympics again?” “Yes, it is,” Bindu’s father Percy said, “but I’m afraid we may not be winning any medals at these games as well.” “And why is it that we have won only two silver medals from all the Olympics that we have participated in, thaaththa?” [...]
Export decline will slow down economic growth
Official pronouncements that give glowing accounts of the economy overlook significant emerging problems. Recent statements on the external trade performance give the impression that the balance of trade is becoming more favourable. The plain truth is that the deceleration of import expenditure in May is not good reason to be optimistic about the external trade [...]
An action plan that is basically dishonest
One cannot fail to be amazed at the considerable ingenuity if not wild imagination with which the government’s National Plan of Action to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission has been drafted. Some responses invoke chuckles of glee whilst other promises invoke far more heated reactions given the sheer chutzpah with [...]