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Home » ColumnsNaval manoeuvres over the ‘warm waters’ of the Indo-Pacific region
While President Ranil Wickremesinghe commissioned the offshore Patrol Vessel P627 as the most recent inclusion to the fleet of the Sri Lanka Navy as SLNS ‘Vijayabahu’ at the Colombo Port this week, the third such ship donated by the US Government, Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Ambassador in Japan, Rodney Perera who is yet to present [...]
The return of the dual citizen
My dear Basil, I didn’t think I would be writing to you this week after writing to Gota maama last week about what would have been his third anniversary in office had he not left in a hurry. It came as somewhat of a surprise to see you in Paradise because we didn’t expect you [...]
President’s stand on ‘aragalaya’ sets House on fire
By Sandun Jayawardana A war of words between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa spread over several days marked the start of the committee stage debate of Budget 2023. On Tuesday (22), the second reading of the Budget was passed comfortably by a majority of 37 votes, with 121 votes for and 84 [...]
The challenging task of implementing the Budget and achieving its objectives
Implementing the reforms in the 2023 Budget and achieving its objec-tives of high economic growth is indeed a challenging task. The political conditions in the country, production constraints in all sec-tors of the economy and the recessionary conditions abroad, make the implementation of reforms and the achievements of its objectives unlike-ly. Internal opposition Although the [...]
Table-thumping Hitler wannabes and empty threats
What is this uncanny fascination that Sri Lankan politicians (and monks) have with the late most profoundly unlamented Adolf Hitler? Military suppression of protests It is almost like the vulgarly cheap reprints of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa that one finds hanging in the drawing rooms of Colombo’s nouveau riche, as if to boast one’s [...]
Can Basil make the crow fly anew from SLPP ashes
Public fury over who paid for homecoming bash at airport’s VIP Lounge No single family member turned up at the airport to welcome Basil home. Not his brothers, not his cousins, not even his favourite nephew, Namal. The family pow-wow would come later behind closed doors. The float-bearing fawning domestics, engaging in servile obeisance, had [...]
Hearty welcome to the ganja party
I’ll bet you every dollar in our foreign reserves to one lunch at the MPs’ restaurant in parliament that you cannot say how many registered political parties we have in this splendid isle flowing with milk and missing money. If you trust the records of the Election Commission — and there is no reason to [...]
RAW chief in Lanka for talks with President and Basil
Security-related issues, including visits by Chinese naval ships, on the agenda; President briefs him on the trajectory of Indo-Lanka relations; assures that his government will not harm Indian interests TNA pledges support for Budget in response to President’s fresh efforts at reconciliation and moves to solve the Tamil question In a tough message, Ranil warns [...]
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