It is no secret that the assurance the government received that Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will definitely be held in Sri Lanka as scheduled carried India's imprimatur. Speculation as to who in the Indian polity pulled it off for President Mahinda Rajapaksa gained considerable interest in the local political guessing game. Now, it has come to light through sources at the Ministry of External Affairs, the knight in armour, who came to the rescue was none other than Mahinda's erstwhile friend, Pranab Mukherjee

Political Machinations: Eroding Confidence After The Conflict

The beginning of the implosion of the President’s pluralistic vision, which had led him to sideline Sarath Fonseka and his hardline views in the aftermath of the war, began I believe with Fonseka’s effort to remake his image. He did this through his interview with the Sunday Leader where, assuming the Americans were right in their report of what he had said in Ambalangoda in August, he did a 180 degree turn, and accused his erstwhile superiors of having

Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe raised a pertinent question in Parliament. He queried the relevance of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) considering the comprehensive defeat of the LTTE in May 2009.  Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, in response, pointed out that there are still attempts to revamp the LTTE and that this validates the PTA.

 What’s special about Azath Salley?  He’s a politician.  Some would say, he’s a party-jumper and attention-seeker.  Well, that’

Ven. Samitha Thero said he believed the organisers of last Sunday’s rally could erase the curse of extremism from the country

Five hundred people attended a Rally For Unity on Sunday (28) on Nelum Pokuna Mawatha. Former ambassador Dayan Jayatillaka and TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran attended the event, and statements from MPs like Ranjan Ramanayake and Arjuna Ranatunga were streamed at the event.
But the question is, is it enough?

The European Union yesterday noted that engagement on Sri Lanka’s “yellow card” is “substantive” and “continuing,” but declined to comment on its eventual outcome.  Head of Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka Bernard Savage told the Daily FT in an interview that the issue had garnered significant attention and continued to be a point of engagement between the two stakeholders.

“There was a list of countries and not specifically Sri Lanka and even before that author

There were 1,292 vacancies existing for the foreign applicants to follow courses in the local universities, a document tabled in Parliament yesterday, by the Minister of Higher Education S. B. Dissanayake said.

The document says that there is a 0.5 allocation for the foreign undergraduates in the local universities. As no foreign students or the children of Lankans living abroad have applied for any other course of study, except for medical degrees, there are 1,292 vacancies.

A batch of nearly 500 university dons who proceeded to foreign countries for further education including post graduate degrees have breached their bond agreements by not returning to serve the country after completing their assignments. As such the University Grants Commission will take steps to recover the financial assistance granted to them under these scholarships. The UGC has already advised the respective universities to take necessary actions for the recovery of these monies for failure on the part of these dons to honour th

Secretary of Ravana Balaya, Innekande Saddhatissa Thera threatened to stop the screening of films starring Tamil Nadu actors such as Vijey, Kamal Haasan, Sarath Kumar or Rajanikanth, saying "We will not say it unless we can actually do it." The Thera made his sentiments known at a meeting with Chairman of the National Film Corporation, Asoka Serasinghe, yesterday.
Ravana Balaya handed over a letter to Serasinghe over a month ago, wherein they had expressed their opposition to the import of Tamil Nadu films.

Amina Sally, the daughter of Former Deputy Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council Azad Sally, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka against the detention of her father.

In her complaint, Amina Sally notes that her father, Azad Sally, was unlawfully arrested on May 2.

She also adds in her complaint that cases currently have been filed in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal against her father's arrest.

Amina Sally urges the Human Rights Commission to intervene and produce

The government has given notice of its plans to acquire lands belonging to private citizens in the North for public purposes that involve national security. The pasting of notices on trees in Valikamam North under section coincides with preparations for the Northern Provincial Council elections in September this year. There is concern in the Northern polity that the purpose of this land acquisition is to change the demographic composition with settlers from outside being registered on the Northern electoral