Dynasties have to start somewhere. For an aspiring Gandhi in India, or a Bhutto in Pakistan, exploiting the family name to get into politics is relatively simple. Getting a dynasty going in the first place is more testing. Sri Lanka’s President since 2005, Mahinda Rajapaksa, is evidently giving the matter some thought. His government is ...

DYNASTIES have to start somewhere. For an aspiring Gandhi in India , or a Bhutto in Pakistan , exploiting the family name to get into politics is relatively simple. Getting a dynasty going in the first place is more testing....

by Darini Rajasingham Senanayake On 4 February, Sri Lanka celebrated its 63rd birthday. After nearly three decades of armed conflict, it is now one of Southasia’s calmest and fastest-growing countries. Its social indicators, apart from the northeast zone, remain the...

by Gamini mWeerakoon Most great cities around the world have public places that have acquired historic sanctity and are left untouched even by eager modernisers who develop an itch to leave behind puny constructions for their immortality. London has those...

Lasantha’s Killers Still Walk Free By Frederica Jansz A year ago, a high profile investigation into the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge and the attacks on Editors Upali Tennekoon, Keith Noyahr and Namal Perera got underway as senior sleuths attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Terrorist Investigations Department (TID) sifted through a smattering ...

The Central Bank is to take a series of new steps to educate the masses on the importance of maintaining a high standard of cleanliness in the use of currency notes and coin circulation. The Central Bank implements its ‘clean note policy’ under the monetary law for this purpose. Superintendent of Currency of the Central ...

By Malathi De Alwis On 18 May 2009, Sri Lanka officially declared the end of a 30-year civil war fought between. Sri Lankan government forces (GoSL) and Tamil militants, namely the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE). Such a sea...

by Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka “The contest is never over, the field never quite ours.”- Dave Robicheaux in James Lee Burke, ‘The Tin Roof Blowdown’ (2007) Is it only me, or is not sad that there is no review in the Sri Lankan public space, of the first decade of the 21st century and the new millennium? Should we not be looking back at the road that has been travelled by the world, by our co...

By Dr.Harsha de Silva Mr. Speaker, I am glad that important Ministers and Members from the Government side have come to listen to this speech. I must first state that I am happy to have been able to join the...

by Ranil Wickremesinghe By the 4th century BC, Asia had begun its first cycle of economic growth and power. This was the reason why Alexander the Great decided to travel eastward to establish an empire. At that time there was...

Independent Television Network is again honoured with Excellence Awards. The National Business Excellence Awards, an annual event organized by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka was held at Colombo Hilton yesterday. ITN was feted with the Best Business Brand Award in the Media field. A notable feature is the TV Channel which has ...

Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvanathan is the principal researcher at the Point Pedro Institute, which is a non-for-profit think tank that provides analysis and advocacy on political and economic issues afflicting the Sri Lankan Tamil population in the north. In an exclusive...

Independent Television Network is again feted for the outstanding change effected in the business sector. The “SLIM Brand Excellence 2010” Awards Festival organized by the Sri Lanka Marketing Institute to appreciate the most innovative brands of the year, was held on a grand scale in Colombo yesterday. Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was the Chief Guest. ITN ...

by Dayan Jayatilleka Here’s the way the current political discourse seems to me. In a swimming competition, a swimmer lagging behind accuses the one in front of taking steroids, while ignoring the fact that he is swimming with a weight attached by none other than himself, to his leg. The swimmer who is accused of just having taken steroids (in the form of the 18th amendment) is ...

The story of a beautiful single mother, and how she got there By Ranee Mohamed She had dreams, just like every single girl does. She had fears just like every unmarried girl does. And like all single people, she dreamed of the day she would get married – and look for a cosy home to ...

Vehicle Registrations Increase 66% Vehicle registrations in the first half of the year increased by 65.5% year on year (yoy) to 150,587. Sales in June alone increased by 95.3% to 30,033. June sales were driven by motor cycle sales which increased by 79.6% yoy to 18,725 and three wheeler sales by 202% to 8,007. (Source: ...

by Dr.Rohan Gunaratne It is my distinct privilege to deliver the 13th Deshamanya Professor Nandadasa Kodagoda Oration this evening. Professor Kodagoda was an intellectual giant of our times. Born in Ahangama in the Galle District in 1929, he was educated...

by Eran Wickramaratne Parliamentary oversight on Finance Article 148 of the Constitution gives Parliament full control over public finance. Since President Wijetunga retained the finance portfolio the authority of the Parliament over finance has been usurped, and created a conflict between the powers of the legislature and the Executive. Even though Article 44(2) of the Cons...

by Pearl Thevanayagam The recently concluded war with all its human miseries such as loss of lives, widowhood, displaced and maimed civilians, orphans, destruction of properties and denigration of agricultural lands and the disruption to normal life throughout the island...

By C. A. Chandraprema It was the other day that the BBC aired the full version of the Hard Talk interview with Gotabhaya Rajapakse, and there are certain issues that need to be raised, not about what Gota said in...

Say what you want to say, look at what others are saying; learn, network, communicate and shape the world you are going to live in. This is the message going out to youth as the World Bank Colombo office launched...

“Ranaviru Week” marking 1st anniversary of victory The National “Rananiru Week” marking the victory of the three-decade long war against LTTE terrorists has commenced. It was an era in which the peoples screamed in fear instead of the sound of religious festivals which emanated from the Temple, the Church and the Kovil. It was era in which the entire North of the motherland was alight due to terro...

The DFCC Bank introduces a fresh Reality TV Show. The Bank’s initiative is to treat Sri Lanka’s TV viewers to a high quality reality quiz show. It is a joint effort of Independent Television Network and the DFCC Bank. “DFCC Mindstar” will not only provide entertainment but will also help expand young and old minds [...]