At first blush, it could be said that the outpouring of grief in Iran and other parts of the Islamic world over the passing away of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi recently, under tragic circumstances, is of phenomenal proportions. Very understandably, a considerable number of Iranians and other sections that are supportive of the Iranian theocratic […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita A National People’s Power (NPP) administration will not do anything that will undermine Indian security, but it will maintain economic and political relations with China, the NPP delegation to India told Indian officials, JVP/NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in an interview with Sirasa TV, on Thursday (15). In his first interview […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent disclosure that Sri Lanka intended joining the United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) in the Red Sea has triggered the inevitable response: Why are we fighting other people’s wars? Wickremesinghe, more than most, is acutely aware of the permutations and combinations of this equation both in the context of domestic politics […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando One-time Foreign Secretary Kshenuka Senewiratne and Admiral Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne (Rtd.) on Dec 04, 2023 assumed duties at the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi and Islamabad, respectively. It would be pertinent to mention that Wijegunaratne previously served as the First Secretary/Defence Advisor of Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi […]

Monday 27th November, 2023 The SJB has commenced collecting signatures for a public petition as part of a campaign to have those who are responsible for the current economic crisis stripped of their civic rights. Given public resentment, which is palpable, the SJB may be able to obtain hundreds of thousands of signatures for its […]

By Sanjeewa Jayaweera The English cricketer Moeen Ali, who incidentally is also the vice-captain of the team, posted on his Instagram page a thought-provoking quote: “If you are not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing”. The quote is attributed […]

Let us set the record straight, officially Retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera recently declared that in his capacity as Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security he would present to President Ranil Wickremesinghe a comprehensive report on how the war was conducted. The recent US denial of a visa to Adm. Weerasekera underlines […]

This week, China is throwing a huge party to celebrate one of its biggest experiments in engaging with the world: its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Officials and leaders from all over the globe are in Beijing to attend a high-level summit marking the BRI’s 10th anniversary. Participants expected to show up range from Vladimir […]

Friday 6th October, 2023 President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent interview with Deutsche Welle (DW), in Berlin, has been trending in the digital realm—not for all the right reasons, though. Thanks to it, the genre of interrogative interview has apparently taken on a whole new meaning, with the interviewee aggressively interrogating the interviewer! There was obviously much […]

Opinion will surely be divided on whether Foreign Minister Ali Sabry should have waded into the ongoing spat between India and Canada on the assassination of a Sikh Canadian citizen allegedly by Indian agents according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Sabry got a lot of media play in India characterizing Trudeau’s statement to Parliament […]

Monday 21st August, 2023 Much is being talked about ‘pyramids’ and ‘islands’, of all things, these days. Another pyramid scheme has reportedly collapsed, and those who have lost their money are letting out howls of protests via social media. The Central Bank, from time to time, issues severe warnings to the public about such frauds, […]

By Jayantha Somasundaram (This articlecontinued from yesterday (25) is based on reporting by the international media on the events in Sri Lanka forty years ago.) “For day after day Tamils were beaten, hacked or burned to death in the streets, on buses, on trains – sometimes in the sight of horrified foreign tourists. Their homes […]

(Excerpted from volume ii of the Sarath Amunugama autobiography) During one of my visits to Colombo I got a call to see the President at ‘Breamar’. Gamini Dissanayake had told him of my friendship with Parathasarathy and he wanted me to help him repair the damage done to their friendship due to the abuse heaped […]