The exchange rate (ER) last week had the dubious distinction of making a steep dive to hit Rs. 130 by being depreciated by nearly Rs. 5 against the US dollar ($) in a week in interbank trading on the back of import demand, but since then has seemingly been tenuously holding on to those levels ...

A prophet spoke at the UNESCO in Paris this week, though he joked that having lived for 90 years, he had written thirty pages and found he had been turned into ‘a rock star’. Stephane Hessel, born in Germany in the year of the Russian revolution, is 95 years old. Anti-Nazi Resistance fighter, concentration camp survivor, ...

By: Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe In the mid nineteen eighties, the Philippines was rocked by a sustained people’s resistance movement that finally deposed of the hated and corrupt dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, who had to flee the country in a US Air Force helicopter. The Catholic Church, representing the majority of the people, played a critical role ...

BERNE (Reuters), Monday - Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand resigned with immediate effect on Monday, saying he could not prove he had been unaware of a currency trade made by his wife and wanted to protect the integrity of the central bank. Hildebrand's decision to relinquish one of the world's top central banking jobs after just two years came as Swiss parliamentarians met to dis...

By Victor Ivan This article is meant to analyse the inadequacy of traditional interpretations of the ethnic crisis and point out limitations inherent in them. It is not incorrect to treat this issue as an ethnic crisis. Yet, in my opinion, it is not correct to treat it only as a conflict based

Rajapaksa Family already planning more land grabbing Kleptocrat: A ruler who uses power to steal the country’s resources. Oxford Dictionary By Tisaranee Gunasekara Mindless-extravagance; land-grabbing; media-muzzling: the three Rajapaksa preoccupations are intimately interconnected. The Ruling Siblings need money to strengthen their power and to sustain their voracious appetite for exhibitionism, ...

by Ranga Jayasuriya Some key positions of this government have been filled by dual citizens. Gotabaya Rajapaksa - the powerful Defence Secretary is a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the USA. Basil Rajapaksa - Investment Development Minister has a US Green Card in addition to his Sri Lankan citizenship. Sarath Fonseka, the now incarcerated former army commander is also a Green Card holder. ...

By Dr. Noel Nadesan A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission for having invited me to present my point. I consider it a privilege to have this opportunity to submit my...

China's recent passive-aggressive behavior on the world stage is unfortunate but not unexpected. President Obama is handling the PRC's non-collaboration with great skill and savvy. He realizes the Middle Kingdom's ancient cultural imperatives and contemporary geo-political objectives dictate a balance of caution and steely firmness. If he stays the course, push-me-pull-you tension bet...

by Rajindra C. Ratnapuli, C.Eng I am privileged to write the commemorative article on late Dr. A. M. A. Azeez to mark his 37th death anniversary on November 24, 2010. This article is a way of expressing my gratitude to this outstanding Sri Lankan who made a difference to the quality of life of so ...

By Ravinatha Pandukabhaya Aryasinha Ananda College Old Boys' Association Olcott Oration 2010...

An Interview with SB Dissanayake by Chamitha Kuruppu Admitting the Government has launched a campaign to eliminate JVP-led student movements crippling the university system in the country, Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake points out such moves should not be...

By Rick Westhead South Asia Bureau, Toronto Star COLOMBO— When Sarath Fonseka resigned as Sri Lanka’s top army general to run for president, supporters of President Mahinda Rajapaksa viewed the move as pure betrayal. The president had helped Fonseka rise...

Much speculation about Mahinda – Ki-Moon tête-à-tête Ranil – Sajith ceasefire breaks down Mahanayakes shocked by Mahinda’s disregard for them Fonseka rejects asking for pardon President Mahinda Rajapaksa returned to the island on September 29 at 4 a.m. Two files on his table greeted him when he went to the Presidential Secretariat afterwards to resume ...

by Surendra H.E. President Mahinda Rajapakse has pledged to develop Sri Lanka as the new miracle of Asia. Since this project concerns our collective destiny as a country, we should subject this project to a surgical analysis. Is this a...

Mahinda’s proxy tilt at the UN has given him an external enemy, enabling him to consolidate power and push through his Constitutional changes. The ‘us/them’ narrative of the LTTE is gone, but no one particularly likes the arrogant United Nations. Even opposition MPs like Sajith Premadasa have opposed the UN’s meddling in Sri Lanka which ...