Page 4 - Dry Zone News Today

By Gwynne Dyer Fraser said that Ramaphosa’s ‘presidential protection unit’ (bodyguards) had tracked down the burglars, kidnapped and interrogated them, and then bribed them to keep quiet about the cash. Maybe Ramaphosa was just trying to protect his reputation as a man of the people, but even so he would have been breaking the law. […]

By Dr.C.S. Weeraratna csweera@sltnet.lk One of the main strategies to resolve the current Foreign Exchange crisis would be to increase export earnings and reduce expenditure on imports. Most of the activities involved are short-term while the others are medium/long term. Increase export earnings Increasing exports is of paramount importance to improve the present FE crisis. […]

Armed opposition to Myanmar’s coup is spreading, leading the junta to mobilise civilian militias that, in turn, have set off a spate of reprisals, according to the NGO International Crisis Group.

The International Crisis Group is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict

By Dr Parakrama Waidyanatha The Maha harvesting of rice is now nearing completion and the strong indications are that this season’s crop decline would be 40% to 50% due to lack of fertilizer. Concurrently, the yields of other crops too are dropping and the tea yields of 2022 could be the worst affected. According available […]

Food insecurity plays a critical and complex role in Myanmar's current political turmoil, and has played a similar role in uprisings of the past.

By Kumar David In two previous pieces I have inclined to the view that war in Europe (Ukraine-Russia-NATO) is unlikely. I continue to remain of that view but this article is about what may be the course of events if the entanglement goes the other way (“unlikely” is not the same as impossible). Let me […]

By Dr. C. S. Weeraratna csweera@sltnet.lk Sri Lanka is facing a deepening financial crisis. According to media reports there is a short supply of essential items such as fuel, medicine and gas for domestic use attributed to the foreign exchange (FE) crisis. Dhammika Perera (DP) has proposed a seven-pronged strategy to overcome Sri Lanka’s foreign […]

Ruminations on Sri Lanka’s Ancient Past – Part VI By Seneka Abeyratne The evidence assembled by C.R. Panabokke, in ‘Evolution of the Indigenous Village Irrigation Systems of Sri Lanka’ (2010), shows the transition from rainfed to irrigated agriculture took place mainly in the 3rd century BCE. A study by Rukshan Jayawardena, ‘Ancient Irrigation and Related […]

Emeritus Professor Nimal Gunatilleke, University of Peradeniya Natural forests provide a variety of services that include forest products of utility value, water regulation, biodiversity and soil conservation, climate amelioration and a range of socio-cultural benefits to forest-dependent people. In good governance of natural resources such as that of forests, transparency and inclusiveness in ecosystem management […]