Columns
Home » ColumnsWhat gifts will Avurudu Kumaraya come bearing?
My dear Avurudu Kumaraya, I thought I must write to you now because you must be having difficulty in deciding what gifts you should bring as you usher in the Sinhala and Tamil New Year for all of us in Paradise. As I see it, there are some who have got their gifts already but [...]
‘Tariff war’ breaks out in the House
By Sandun Jayawardana The shockwave created by the imposition of a 44 per cent “reciprocal tariff” by the United States on imports from Sri Lanka reverberated across the House as MPs from both sides grappled with how to avert a potentially catastrophic impact the tariffs could have on an economy still recovering from bankruptcy. The [...]
Modi’s ‘divine coincidence’ from above misses Indian poaching boats
Narendra Modi left for India after his visit to Anuradhapura, his aircraft flying over the Palk Strait, (Adams Bridge or Ram Setu) as the low islands and reef sholas between the two countries are known. He was headed from Sri Lanka to Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu to launch several new projects there. “On the way [...]
He came, He saw, He quelled the fire
How Modi suavely wooed and won islanders’ hearts with charm and style As a mighty Caesar crossing the Rubicon, India’s Narendra Modi crossed the Palk Strait last Friday night firm in his resolve to return triumphantly home with Lanka’s Promethean fire, safely snuffed. Earlier, the sacred primordial flame that had burnt in every Lankan’s lionheart [...]
People grab their noses when politicians rhapsodise promises
It was during the British parliamentary election that brought the Labour Party to power after some years of conservatism that I heard a prominent activist damn the stream of promises flowing from the lips of seasoned politicians. He was recalling the days of Conservative politician Boris Johnson, who promised many things except the moon when [...]
Prison reform – how much longer have we to wait ?
The issue of prison overcrowding in Sri Lanka is hardly a secret. It has been talked about in Parliament, reported in the media, and acknowledged by civil society for years. Yet, very little has changed. The country’s prison system, originally designed to house a much smaller number of inmates, is now bursting at the seams—creating [...]
New Year celebrations in spite of high prices and prospect of a global recession
This year’s Aluth Avurudda is being celebrated today in the traditional manner with customs from time immemorial. The national New Year is being welcomed with family reunions, new clothes, playing raban, dancing, playing games and partaking of kiribath (milk rice) and sweet meats. These are the elements of the annual New Year festivities. Time of [...]
As the Easter Sunday breakthrough deadline approaches, Ravi and Shani face make-or-break situation
Can their probes, conducted six years after the 2019 massacres, produce new evidence identifying the perpetrators? Pillayan arrested over the 2006 abduction of Eastern University Vice Chancellor; will he reveal fresh details? A top FBI agent who probed the 2019 terror attacks and his team are convinced Zahran masterminded the attack; he and Naufer, his [...]
Read More