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Home » ColumnsIndia makes amends, sends HC to meet ex-presidents denied Modi meeting
Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha called on former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe this week. Both the former leaders were not afforded opportunities to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited earlier this month, but the High Commissioner took the time to call on them to make amends. It was clear that [...]
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, but you are no fool
My dear Gammanpillayan, I thought of writing to you now because you are constantly in the news these days, arguing your case for your new found friend, Pillayan. We know this is Paradise and nothing is impossible but even then, a ‘pivithuru’ chap pleading the case of a former terrorist is stretching our imagination quite [...]
Curbing the rising tide of crime: Time for urgent action
Not a day seems to pass in the country without a killing or attempted killing which is increasingly a matter of concern for the public. The nation, already grappling with political and economic challenges, now faces another crisis: an upsurge in violent crime, much of it driven by firearms. This crisis is not new, nor [...]
Negotiating Trump’s tariffs and coping with global uncertainties and recessionary conditions
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has announced that he has taken measures to minimise the impact of US tariffs on our exports and sent a team to the US to obtain concessions. Will our negotiators be able to obtain a reduction of tariffs on our exports to the US and minimise the adverse impacts of US [...]
Whence presidential promises of ‘justice’ for Sri lanka’s Easter Sunday victims?
In early October 2024, then just-elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was permitted, with the blessings of the Roman Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith looking benignly on, to speak to the Catholic faithful from the inner sanctum of the Katuwapitiya Church where a jihadist exploded himself one sunny Easter morning in 2019, killing more than a [...]
Pope Francis: Not a Prince of the Church but Servant of the People
++SUNDAY PUNCH TRIBUTE TO POPE FRANCIS: THE PEOPLE’S POPE ++ Who will be chosen by divine will to follow the steps of the people’s Pontiff? Pope Francis died as he had lived. Simple and humble. From the streets of Argentina, where he had been born and become a priest, to the ascending steps of the [...]
Waiting for Godot or any godsmacked fool ready to rule
WAITING FOR GODOT OR ANY GODSMACKED FOOL READY TO RULE- There was a time not too long in our post-independence history when we were drawn to Samuel Beckett. Like many of his other admirers, we were waiting for Godot. Gradually that fascination faded away as the old order rotted away and Godot gave way to [...]
Disillusionment grows over Govt. handling of Easter Sunday probes and shift in Cardinal’s stance
Presidential Commission findings presented to Speaker and AG in 2021 during Gotabaya Rajapaksa government; AG initiated CID inquiry and legal action Report supports FBI conclusion and highlights Zahran’s links to ISIS Queries over Shani’s last-minute inclusion in the new probe committee Cardinal places new set of demands before government, calls for appointment of independent special prosecutor’s [...]
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