By Jehan Perera The government celebrated the 75th Anniversary of its independence from colonial rule under tight security.  President Ranil Wickremesinghe did not even deliver a speech on the occasion.  He had an excellent written speech, but chose not to deliver it for reasons not known.  The speech was circulated later. The exclusion of the […]

by Rohana R. Wasala First of all, let me express my sincere respects to Mr. D. L. Sirimanne, the writer of the interesting article entitled ‘Celebrating 75th Anniversary of Independence’ (The Island/Opinion/January 18, 2023). He struck me as a venerable old man, who, at 103 years of age, still thinks about the welfare of his fellow Sri […]

Dr. Jaishankar is in Sri Lanka to help under the “neighborhood first” strategy of India By R. R. M Lilani  Dr. Jaishankar, India’s Foreign Minister, who is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on January 19, 2023, has made another ‘neighbourhood first’ agreement with Sri Lanka by backing the country’s delayed debt restructuring programme with […]

The Chinese Embassy in Colombo has slammed US Ambassador here Julie Chung over her comments in an interview with the BBC. The Chinese Embassy has questioned the US policy vis-a-vis Sri Lanka struggling to overcome an unprecedented economic crisis. The following is the text of the Chinese Embassy statement: “‘China, China, China!’, our US colleague […]

By Sanath Nanayakkare The Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Tuesday that Sri Lanka had been hiding its bankruptcy which had actually occurred months before it was officially announced. He said so during a multi-TV channel programme where several key political and public officials responsible for the country’s economy were quizzed […]

By Eng Parakrama Jayasinghe parajayasinghe@gmail.com Sri Lankans have not forgotten the advice given by one of our former Presidents: “Citizens should look after their own security.” It appears that the Electricity Consumers are now faced with this choice given the upheavals and shocks received in recent times, with the sword of Damocles of a further […]

Rex Clementine in Rajkot Often Virat Kohli’s on field antics doesn’t win him many friends outside India. As a result, Indian cricket is frowned upon by all and sundry. As a norm, most Sri Lankan fans, especially the young ones want India to lose wherever they play. There was this fan who came to RPS […]

By Uditha Devapriya Somewhere in early 2015, I took the bus from Maradana to Nugegoda, the 176. It was, by all accounts, an ordinary weekday morning, and people were going about and shuttling from one workplace to another. Normally, the 176 bus can be a long ride, but on this occasion, it wasn’t. Having left […]

“A time to say goodbye and a time to say hello. A time to bid farewell and a time to look forward. A time to let go and a time to learn new things, that’s what happens when the New Year rings in.” Catherine Pulsifer We have said goodbye to a crime filled year of great […]

BY GEORGE BRAINE This was early 1981, and the government was planning to start a state-run television service. Applicants were invited for an inaugural training course for producers, directors, researchers, and writers. I had applied, and was called for an interview. The interview was at the newly set up National Television Planning Centre, at Kirulapone. […]

The IMF could finalise Sri Lanka’s financing package within three weeks of the country’s main bilateral creditors formally informing the IMF that they would help Sri Lanka restructure its debt, Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, said on Thursday appearing on a TV programme. Dr. Weerasinghe said that Sri Lanka had already provided […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Narendra Fernando, Sergeant-at-Arms of the crisis-ridden Parliament, has declared that the largest number of students, in the post-independence era, visited the House on Thursday (Dec. 01). Director, Legislative Services, Janakantha Silva, who is also the Acting Director of Communication, quoted Fernando as having said that approximately 5,000 students, from 32 schools, rec...

“Templeton Freedom Award has been won by Advocata Institute Sri Lanka. The CEO is our Dhana. It is with great pride I send this message to you to celebrate our dear friend Dhananath’s leadership victory of Advocata. Horekale and St Sebastian’s College man has really shown class.” That was Elmo Jayawardena’s email to me since […]