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Home » ColumnsOne more hurdle next week to clear path for local council elections in 2018
Election Commission Chairman gives extensive interview explaining why elections were delayed; wards being carved out, three lists from each party Deshapriya says people’s will needs to be expressed freely and fairly in scheduled elections; quips that no one knows when polls will be held in Sri Lanka By Our Political Editor State machinery has begun [...]
400 wickets taken
My dear Rangana ayya, I thought I must write to you to congratulate you, because you have reached the magic number of four hundred test wickets – far more than all other Sri Lankan except for the legendary Murali. This came as a pleasant surprise, as did Sri Lanka snatching victory from the jaws of [...]
SriLankan pilots warn again of safety issue on Colombo-Delhi night flights
SriLankan Airlines Pilots have warned the country’s civil aviation chief that a late night flight to New Delhi with a return next morning could cause them fatigue and endanger flight safety. Though within “prescriptive limits,” the “flight pattern” as a roundtrip is technically called, they have said “would not be acceptable” without a layover (an [...]
Trade deficit expands despite export growth
The trade deficit expanded to US$5.3 billion in the first seven months of this year in spite of an export growth of 6.5 percent during this period. Although the trend of increasing export earnings continued for the fourth successive month, this 12.8 percent increase in the trade deficit was brought about by import expenditure increasing [...]
Adding insult to a very deep constitutional injury
Sneaky strategies adopted by the Government to smuggle hasty amendments to the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act at the committee stage so as to transform that Amendment into an entirely strange creature altogether must be condemned, strongly and categorically. A nightmare becomes real Such wily tricks on the part of those in political power are [...]
Guess who didn’t come for Diyawanna Lakeside party?
Compared to the 200-year-old mother of all parliaments, Britain’s Westminster, which blushes to be reminded of her age like any old Grande Dame would blush crimson to be told the candles will cost more than the cake, Lanka’s 70-year-old parliament looks like a teeny bopper still to come of age. And, going by the recent [...]
Mangala did what others should have done
What do Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and our yahapalanaya leaders have in common? A wall of silence that is what it is! When Myanmar’s military turned its guns on a community that has long been considered outcasts and denied any semblance of nationhood and went on a burning spree hand in [...]