At least 280,000 people are missing in the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to the list maintained by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The figure includes both Ukrainians
As NATO’s next summit looms – against the backdrop of an escalating proxy war in Ukraine and a genocidal horror in Gaza – the sane and moral world must roar in defiance,
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by Our Diplomatic Affairs Editor Annalena Baerbock’s appointment as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 2025 is, at best, a perplexing gambit, and at worst, a stark emblem of the
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The month of May saw President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka (also known as AKD) coming to terms with the pleasures and pains of democracy in action. This was brought out starkly in two
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The recent sinking of the MSC ELSA 3 off the coast of Vizhinjam, Kerala, serves as a stark reminder of the potential ecological and economic consequences of maritime incidents. This event, detailed
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by Durga You step off a plane at Dubai International Airport. Your carry-on bag clinks softly. Inside are gold bars, chains, and raw nuggets dug from the scorched earth of Sudan. You
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Bankrupt Sri Lanka, struggling to cope up with the deepening economic-political-social crisis, agreed, in late July 2024, to implement an IMF-led economic recovery programme, backed by Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Having self-declared
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by Luxman Aravind A cohort of sycophantic apparatchiks, long relegated to the role of spineless yes-men under previous regimes, has recently resurfaced, styling themselves the “Winning South” or Dinana Dakuna. This appellation—already a semantic misstep given
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by Our Foreign Affairs Editor Myanmar continues to bleed under the yoke of militarised oppression, yet refuses to surrender its voice or vision. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in
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by Our Diplomatic Affairs Editor Twenty-five years ago, jubilation rippled through the hills of southern Lebanon as Israeli tanks vanished across the Blue Line, pursued not by bullets but by chants of
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“What sheer unfeeling idiocy”. ~ Rolf Hochhuth (The Deputy) May 2024 marked the 15th anniversary of the ending of the long Eelam War. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardana presided over the annual ‘war-heroes’
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by Durga Velayudham The recent arrival of Binaifer Nowrojee, President of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), in Sri Lanka signals more than just philanthropic outreach; it heralds the beginning of what many
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The recent conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has clarified the emerging diplomatic structure around Ukraine. What we are witnessing resembles the first reading of a play –
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by Our Diplomatic Affairs Editor The promotion of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah yesterday, 20 May 2025—the first such elevation since Muhammad Ayub Khan in 1959—revives a fraught chapter in
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Although it is not totally uncommon to other developing countries, Sri Lanka is extremely indulged in political and power struggles between political parties and political leaders. This is also not uncommon to
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This is the voice of a leader we dreamt of—but never had, and perhaps, never will. A leader untainted by lineage, free from the intoxication of power, unshackled by party colours or
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