5th Column
Home » ColumnsRunning against the wind
My dear Thilanga, I thought I must write to you to congratulate you on our latest cricketing achievement – losing a test match last week to Bangladesh, the youngest test playing country which gained ‘test’ status nearly two decades after we did. It was also the first time we lost a test to a ‘younger’ [...]
President, PM reach agreement on Cabinet reshuffle
*    Sirisena, Ranil and leading ministers hold special meeting to approve Hambantota Port deal despite objections     by Ranatunga and threats by Rajapaksa *   Portfolios of some UNP, SLFP ministers to be changed on the basis of their performance and any charges against them One of the main [...]
Court blocks Cabinet decision on Malwana’s mystery mansion
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who successfully moved the Cabinet of Ministers to acquire a 17-acre Malwana property that was to go under an auctioneer’s hammer was in for a rude shock this week. Himself a lawyer, Rajapakshe had wanted the state to take over the land and a partly built house allegedly belonging to former [...]
Speaker speaks out against unruly behaviour by some MPs
It’s three months since Parliament adopted a Code of Conduct for MPs, but that hasn’t made things easier for Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. This week, once again, and for the umpteenth time, the Speaker had to remind the country’s Parliamentarians on the need to behave in a manner befitting the high office they hold, and desist [...]
‘Entrancing entrapment’ and a continuingly worrying CTA
Despite the Government of Sri Lanka’s proud boast to the contrary during requests to renew the EU GSP Plus trade facility and at numerous United Nations briefings, revisions made to the draft Counter-Terror Act (CTA) fail to address major Rule of Law concerns in substance. Dangerously vague and overbroad definitions of what constitutes terrorism and [...]
Why we can’t attract more foreign investments
The insufficient and decreasing inflow of foreign direct investments (FDIs) is most disappointing. FDIs have been declining from US$ 1070 million in 2014 to US$ 970 million in 2015 and it was only US$ 445 million in the first nine months of last year. Furthermore, most FDIs have been in property development and the hospitality [...]
Trump’s grace grants reprieve for Lanka
Exactly four days after Prabhakaran’s body was found floating among the mangroves by the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon on May 19, 2009, the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon arrived in Lanka to search amongst the Tiger debris of defeat, possible clues to determine whether triumphant Lanka had played the war [...]
Terrorism strikes, innocents die
Terrorism came to the heart of the British capital last Wednesday. Not for the first time though. What drove a single man with a car and a knife to engage in what would seem to most like a senseless act is not known. It will be discussed, debated and dozens of theories bisected and trisected [...]