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Home » ColumnsCloser defence ties with Russia, training for Lankan troops
Russia will become the latest partner to train Sri Lankan troops and extend defence co-operation. For this purpose, the Government has reached accord with a top level visiting delegation from Moscow. This is under a Joint Russia-Sri Lanka Working Group on Military Technical Co-operation. The terms of reference of the new arrangement were presented to [...]
Speak now, or forever hold your peace
My dear Karu, I am writing to you because you seem to be in the news these days for a variety of reasons, getting involved in the proposed pay hikes for parliamentarians and the opposition’s request for a new Leader of the Opposition. I don’t agree with some of your decisions and I thought I [...]
GMOA’s 8 billion ransom demand to free poor and sick held hostage
Enough is enough. Period. The time has come to label the GMOA as the newest terror in town. As the Sunday Times editorial said last week: ‘The GMOA’s use of hapless patients is no different to when the LTTE used civilians as human shields.’ The only difference is this. Whilst the intransigent Tamil Tigers used [...]
JO loses battle as Speaker rules Sampanthan is opposition leader
The Joint Opposition (JO) claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition in Parliament is not entirely new. Ever since the last General election, when a sizable number of MPs who contested under the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) decided to sit in Opposition, and distance themselves from those who decided to be in [...]
Achieving US$ 28 billion National Export Strategy target is challenging
The exhortation ‘Export or Perish’ has never been more relevant to Sri Lanka than today. Achieving the ambitious targets of the National Export Strategy (NES) of Sri Lanka 2018-2022 is, therefore, imperative. However, transforming this strategy into performance is challenging. The massive trade deficits of recent years make a substantial increase in exports essential for [...]
A scandalously ‘coercive’ monk brought to book
Core elements of the fifty-six page decision handed down by the Court of Appeal this week sentencing General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara to six years rigorous imprisonment for contempt ‘in the face of the court’ constitute a stern warning to unruly individuals (monks or laymen) attempting to interfere with [...]
Making jokers of us all
Two weeks ago a news website ran a story of a ministerial faux pas that had also escaped the notice of the rest of the cabinet. The story called the cabinet ministers a “pack of jokers” for letting this error in a cabinet paper from the Sports Minister (among other portfolios) go by without a [...]
President Sirisena meets former military commanders to compile war history
Several former military commanders called for meeting, but Fonseka and Gotabaya absent President not keen on PM’s proposal to pay Rs. 200,000 a month for MPs monitoring Gamperaliya Malik’s proposal for ministries to hire private lawyers also put on hold Not only Sri Lankans, but the whole world knows that it was under the then [...]
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