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My dear Basil, I thought of writing to you after hearing you speak at a ceremony in Kalutara last week to ‘felicitate’ ‘Raththaran’ Rohitha’s 27 years in politics. The important people gathered there were an interesting bunch. What they said – especially what you and Uncle Ranil said – was even more interesting. Do you [...]
Lanka pushed deeper into a hole, while rich nations reap climate fund benefits
It is no wonder that when it comes to climate change, Sri Lanka is among the more vulnerable nations in the region, despite its relatively low carbon footprint compared to big industrialised polluters in the West. A Reuters analysis report this week found that a programme meant to help developing nations fight climate change is [...]
To confuse or not to confuse: Govt. and Opposition battle it out over bill regarding President’s term
By Sandun Jayawardana As the clock ticks down to the Election Commission (EC) declaring the date for the upcoming presidential election, opposition parties continue to allege that President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his government are trying every trick in the book to prevent the election from going ahead as scheduled. These concerns have heightened to such [...]
Is the govt. mishandling the issues surrounding trade union demands?
The spate of strikes taking place in the country are inevitably creating difficulties for the ordinary people. For instance when railway workers go on strike, large number of the citizenry who use trains as a convenient form of transportation to travel to work and back are badly affected. Stoppage of work by postal workers, administrative [...]
The danger of elections provoking communalism and destabilising the economy once again
Election-linked communal violence has destabilised the economy many times. One of the main rea-sons for the country’s postindependence economic underperformance has been ethnic violence from time to time since 1958. Will the upcoming elections provoke ethnic violence? Election ploy Far too often, elections have evoked communalism, which has led to violence and distraction from national [...]
On ‘Loku Patty’, ‘tattoo’ and the IGP’s dances around the law
Smuggled away in an inconspicuous media news item this week, an interesting fact surfaced regarding Sri Lanka Parliament’s Committee on Ways and Means expressing ‘strong displeasure’ over the failure of the Excise Department to collect a gargantuan tax amount of 1.8 billion rupees for 2023 from the country’s four premier distilleries before 30th June 2024. [...]
Dubai drug mafia’s revenge attack on Club Wasantha in daring salon sting op
REVEALED: MASTERMIND IN FRANCE, INSTRUCTIONS FROM DUBAI, EXECUTION IN SUBURBAN SALON Little did Club Wasantha know that the man who invited him as chief guest to open his tattoo salon, was part of a Dubai-hatched plot to gun him down in broad daylight in the heart of Athurugiriya town. Rajapaksa Appuhamilage Surendra Don Wasantha Perera—also [...]
And so they did it their way; no surprise there anyway
When, some weeks ago, a headline for one of my columns started with the words “Games they play…”, no reference was intended to Sri Lanka’s cricket on and off the field. Though there is much to be said about our cricket, particularly when its administrators begin to show their political muscles, had our talent scouts [...]
President and SLPP leaders sort out issues over election
At meeting with Mahinda, Basil and others, Wickremesinghe says another election will follow President hits out at SLPP General Secretary for insisting he should get party membership, says he is beyond party affiliations Allahapperuma joins SJB alliance after his failed attempts to join New Alliance and NPP By Our Political Editor A breakfast meeting by [...]
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