ECONOMYNEXT –A Minister warns of emerging racism in the island nation targeting ethnic minorities ahead of 2024 elections while regretting the past racism-led events including riots and insurrections since the 1948 independence. Sri Lankan politicians have historically used racism to divide the country and win elections with the help of their own ethnicities and religious […]

(Excerpted from the memoirs of Lalith de Mel) He returned to a Sri Lanka going through a difficult phase due to the JVP uprising. There were curfews and a sense of fear in the air. His predecessor in Sri Lanka had a young family and was glad to get away from the chaos that prevailed […]

By Capt. A.G.A. Barrie P.Eng., B.Sc (Hons)(Eng) A.M.A. Azeez’s 50th death anniversary fell on November 24, 2023. Aboobucker Mohamed Abdul Azeez, an eminent educationist, erudite learned scholar in English and Tamil, brilliant orator, efficient administrator, writer, visionary and dedicated community worker, was born on October 4, 1911 to a traditional elite family of Vannarpannai in […]

This is an exchange between two Australians of Sri Lankan descent prior to the World Cup final between India and Australia at Ahmedebad last week reproduced in Michael Roberts’ Thuppahai blog. The protagonists are Errol Fernando, a skilled piano player from Trinity College, who predicted the Aussie victory against all odds and the firmer Royal […]

Conference on Sri Lankan Cinema and society The cultural programme of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between France and Sri Lanka continues with a sequence dedicated to Sri Lankan Cinema. The French Embassy to Sri Lanka and the Maldives have organized a conference about Sri Lankan Cinema by Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin […]

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) has earned USD 1.8 billion in total investments as at 23 November, State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama revealed.

demands that govt. adhere to Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act By Shamindra Ferdinando Rebel SLPP MP Gevindu Cumaratunga yesterday (23) said that Sri Lanka should be concerned about external interventions in the judiciary.MP Cumaratunga told The Island that without any malicious intent, on behalf of the Nidahasa Janatha Sabhawa he raised the issue at hand in […]

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, has revealed that the Ministry has received over 10,000 applications to work on Israeli farms.

By Shamindra Ferdinando Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, yesterday said that Parliament like other institutions should bear responsibility for the unprecedented economic crisis caused during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration. Minister Sabry said so when The Island sought his response as regards the responsibility of Parliament for the developing situation against the backdrop of the cou...

The abstention from voting recently by some foremost powers of the vital UN Security Council on a crucial resolution relating to the wellbeing of the people of the Gaza Strip, helped focus on the vexatious issues central to the Israel-Hamas war which are driving the world apart. The abstention from voting by the US, Russia […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita Historically, Sri Lankan governments have failed to reduce the budget deficit, SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne says. Sri Lankan governments have consistently looked at maximising revenue but paid minimal attention to curtailing expenditure, MP Wickramaratne has said. Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had not factored in state expenditures when the latest bailout […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Top SJB spokesman Dr. Harsha de Silva on Monday (20) dismissed Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s claim that well over USD 56.5 bn had been parked overseas by some exporters. Dr. de Silva also contradicted claims made by rebel SLPP MPs Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Wimal Weerawansa and Gevindu Cumaratunga on the matter. The […]

By C. A. Chandraprema The judgement delivered by a divided five-member bench of the Supreme Court with regard to two fundamental rights cases numbered 195/2022 and 212/2022 filed by several individuals including Mahim Mendis, Chandra Jayaratne, Julian Bolling and the NGO Transparency International has stirred up a political storm. The majority judgment was delivered by […]

by Ahilan Kadirgamar Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis since the 1930s, and the stabilisation policies of the Government could drastically change the political economic landscape of the country. Amidst these changes underway, education more broadly and the university system in particular, have come under considerable strain. In this column, I analyse […]

Tuesday 21st November, 2023 Has the government begun to realise the futility of defending the indefensible? It has chosen to heed strident calls being made for action against the corrupt who are enriching themselves by endangering the lives of patients and causing enormous losses to the state coffers. After weeks of dilly-dallying, the CID has […]

South African High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sandile Edwin Schalk, flayed Israel over war crimes perpetrated during the ongoing offensive against Hamas, launched after the Oct 7 assault carried out by the group. The SA envoy questioned the failure on the part of the UN to intervene unjustifiable Israeli actions. He said so at the […]

Cash strapped Sri Lanka has deprived itself of valuable foreign currency by exporting genuine Sri Lankan cinnamon to China as firewood for seven decades. SLPP lawmaker Yadamini Gunawardena has recently raised this issue at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on investment, chaired by State Minister Dilum Amunugama. Subsequently, the Export Development Board (EDB) has taken up […]