Monday 10th June, 2024 Presidential candidates of the SJB and the JVP-led NPP, Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, respectively, have chosen to sprint even before the commencement of the next presidential race, which is a marathon, wherein one has to pace oneself skilfully to prevent fatigue and maintain momentum. The two sides have been […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando With the presidential election scheduled for later this year, political parties represented in Parliament have stepped up efforts to forge alliances. In terms of the Constitution, presidential elections will have to be conducted between Sept 18 and Oct 18, 2024. The last presidential election was held in Nov 2019. Even though the […]

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

By Shamindra Ferdinando Top SJB spokesman Dr. Harsha de Silva on Monday (20) dismissed Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s claim that well over USD 56.5 bn had been parked overseas by some exporters. Dr. de Silva also contradicted claims made by rebel SLPP MPs Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Wimal Weerawansa and Gevindu Cumaratunga on the matter. The […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, declared in Parliament that the winners of LPL (Lanka Premier League) 2023 B-Love Kandy had been sponsored by an enterprise that was banned in the country. The statement was made in Parliament on 24th August. The one-time President of the Bar Association found fault with SLC […]

A highly appreciative skill of the Pakistani administration is their extensive theatricals which can deceive the most intelligent of men. Lengthy speeches in the parliament are converted into minutes packed with wise counsel. After collecting enough praises and spewing venom on the opposition, they end up ultimately doing what they would do anyway — putting […]

Islamabad [Pakistan], February 6 (ANI): Former Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that things on the economic front will “remain tight” as the economy faces a severe liquidity crunch, Geo News reported. Pakistan is seeking an installment of USD 1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund to avoid default. In a tweet, Ismail stated, […]

Reforms to be introduced to end ‘media abuses’ President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that the government was not in a position to lower the taxes. Delivering his second government policy statement to inaugurate the Fourth session of the Ninth Parliament, the President said: “Some people say that the primary taxable income should be raised from […]

Thursday 9th February, 2023 President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who presented his government’s policy statement in Parliament, yesterday, sounded like a seasoned insurance sales agent with glib phrases rolling off his experienced tongue; he sought to scare the public and infuse them with hope, at the same time, to sell his policies. The knee-jerk reaction of the […]

Dr. Jaishankar is in Sri Lanka to help under the “neighborhood first” strategy of India By R. R. M Lilani  Dr. Jaishankar, India’s Foreign Minister, who is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on January 19, 2023, has made another ‘neighbourhood first’ agreement with Sri Lanka by backing the country’s delayed debt restructuring programme with […]

By Sanath Nanayakkare The Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Tuesday that Sri Lanka had been hiding its bankruptcy which had actually occurred months before it was officially announced. He said so during a multi-TV channel programme where several key political and public officials responsible for the country’s economy were quizzed […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Narendra Fernando, Sergeant-at-Arms of the crisis-ridden Parliament, has declared that the largest number of students, in the post-independence era, visited the House on Thursday (Dec. 01). Director, Legislative Services, Janakantha Silva, who is also the Acting Director

Violence cannot be justified, under any circumstances. Therefore, the practice of referring to the JVP bids to topple the governments of the late Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike (April 1971) and JRJ and Ranasinghe Premadasa (1987-1990) as southern insurrections should be stopped. The armed forces and police defeated the JVP and LTTE terrorism. Several other Tamil terrorist […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Foreign Minister Ali Sabry has reiterated that a handful of persons who advised President Gotabaya Rajapaksa caused the unprecedented economic meltdown. Sabry has alleged that politicians, officials, public sector as well as the trade unions are responsible for the crisis