by Rex Clementine   Arjuna Ranatunga hasn’t spared any sacred cow. All those years ago, he targeted Shane Warne calling him an ordinary cricketer and there was no love lost between the two of them. Yet, when there was a ceremony remembering Warne in Galle last year ahead of the Australia – Sri Lanka Test […]

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 […]

(24 Nov 1923 – 24 Nov 2023) by Kumar de Silva With his 21-year tenure as Principal of Wesley College from 1962-1983, Arthur Shelton Wirasinha goes on record as being the second longest serving Principal of the College after Revd. Henry Highfield. A product of Richmond College, Galle, he touched the hearts and lives of […]

Former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the wife of ex-President Jimmy Carter, has died at the age of 96. The Carter Center confirmed in a statement that she died peacefully with her family by her side. On Friday, it was reported that she had entered a hospice care home in the state of Georgia, and […]

Monday 13rd November, 2023 Anyone’s death diminishes us. However, with apologies to Donne, we are diminished beyond measure when the veterans of the fourth estate depart. On Saturday (11), former editor of The Island Gamini Weerakoon crossed the Great Divide. His funeral took place yesterday. Our readers may recall the pivotal role he played in […]

by Sanjeewa Jayaweera I decided to patronize a cinema after several years to watch a movie. I am glad I did so because the film brought back happy memories of Muttiah Muralitharan, the spinning wizard and, in my opinion, the greatest cricketer Sri Lanka has produced. The movie 800 is about the life and cricketing […]

Saturday 4th November, 2023 Cricket is said to be a game of glorious uncertainties, but the present-day Sri Lankan cricketers seem determined to disprove this aphorism; they have made their humiliating defeats almost certain and predictable, if their pathetic performance in the past several international tournaments is any indication. It looks as if they specialised […]

Cassandra is sick to her innermost core seeing on TV daily, multiple protests of motley crowds toting banners and marching all across roads and in many instances being tear gassed and water cannoned. She is sure that like her, five sixths of adult citizens in this doomed and gloomed land are sick of these protests. […]

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 […]

by Amal de Chickera At the very centre of the catastrophe, are the people of Gaza themselves, caged in, bombed out, starved, parched, killed. Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Palestinian diaspora, Israeli allies who are anti-occupation, anti-authoritarianism and pro-peace, citizens of the world with a conscience – all of us are […]

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 […]

Media Release 13th October 2023 The Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association, in collaboration with Sri Lanka Cricket, will hold the Under-19 Schools Cricket Awards 2023 on October 17. The Ceremony is a long-standing annual event of prestige and traditional significance which celebrates the top performing talent in the Schools Under-19 Cricket Season. The much-awaited event […]The post Under-19...

A prominent Italian journalist has been found guilty of libel after insulting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a television interview. Roberto Saviano used a swear word to describe Ms Meloni while attacking her stance on migration in December 2020. He has been handed a suspended fine of 1,000 euros (£864). Though he will only have […]

Easter Sunday terror attacks By Shamindra Ferdinando The National Catholic Committee (NCC) has presented a five-point proposal to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, spelling out how it expects the concerns relating to the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage to be addressed. The proposal includes the suspension of Senior DIGs, Nilantha Jayawardena, former head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) […]