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Home » ColumnsPotentially serious sky drama and on-the-ball piloting by UL crew
The debt-ridden national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines (UL), was in the news this week not on the usual focus of how many billions of rupees it is losing every year but on the conduct of two of its pilots who, according to the pilots themselves, narrowly averted a mid-air disaster. Media reports, including the Daily [...]
Govt. must take steps to avert a humanitarian crisis in the health sector
At the risk of stating the obvious, it is the poor and vulnerable who are hardest hit by the economic crisis brought about by rank incompetence and mismanagement of the economy. The never ending queues and protests across the country bear ample testimony to this stark truth. While the Constitution proclaims that the people are [...]
A ‘suspended’ sentence for the ‘Hon’ Minister
My dear (A)Prasanna, I thought of writing to you because you are making history, being a cabinet minister while at the same time being a person convicted in a court of law. Of course, we have had ministers being convicted of offences, but I cannot remember someone who was convicted and still continued to remain [...]
Economic reforms imperative for economic stability and growth
The main preoccupation of the Government and the concern of the people are the severe shortages of their basic requirements. These require immediate foreign assistance to resolve them. At present assistance provided by foreign countries gives a breathing space to overcome the severe scarcities that threaten the lives of people. Much more of international assistance [...]
Throttling a nation; Lanka’s deadly ‘king-politicians’
From Mullaitivu to Kurunegala to Athurigiriya, fury erupts among snaking lines of Sri Lankans hopelessly waiting for days on end for fuel. Finally, unity binds the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims in their collectively deep anger against a Government that has forsaken public trust. But is this too late as the country heads into [...]
Trying to take the world for a ride
Foreign Minister GL Peiris must surely find his right hand terribly sore. Turn over the pages of local newspapers and even some news sites and there he is shaking hands with numerous foreign politicians and diplomats that he must need a good rub down at the end of the day. More recently he was seen [...]
A convict in the Cabinet Can Prasanna sit without qualm in the House?
Cabinet Minister Prasanna Ranatunge sits comfortably in the House when, had it not been for a judge’s leniency, he should be doing hard labour at another Government institution: the Welikada Prison. He sits not merely unfazed in Parliament as Government Chief Whip but occupies, unperturbed, a seat in the Cabinet as Sri Lanka’s Minister of [...]
Strong doubts over passage of 21 A
Why the Cabinet discussion did not take place last Monday President may approve a fresh term for CB Governor despite no recommendation from Finance Minister GL turns up in Geneva to make fresh overtures to UNHRC to preventadverse fallout on President and Government Core group rules out his moves just a day after his address [...]
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