The state of Ohio is considered the biggest swing state in the 2012 US Presidential election. With 18 electoral votes up for grabs, both campaigns have been tirelessly wooing voters in the state for the past month. Recent polls show that as of Thursday (November 1) Barack Obama has a slender lead of 2 percentage points. However, early voting has ...

I went last night to observe Halloween first hand in Ohio, and it certainly was an experience like none other. In today’s modern word Halloween seems to be celebrated by everyone, costumes parties are held all over and even in some countries kids go trick or treating. But it got me thinking why is Halloween so big in America, in ...

Hurricane Sandy has taken the US by storm, literally, and in doing so has swept aside the focus that has been on the Presidential election. For the past two days cable news has been dominated by coverage of the storm; live reports from the ground showing the impending arrival of Sandy, explanations of precautions that can be taken, continuos updates ...

The weekend is coming to an end, and with it starts the final week of campaigning for the Presidential election. As for me, I bid farewell to Washington D.C. and say hello to Ohio. I spent Saturday (my free day) exploring the capital, and it was an amazing experience seeing all that history in one place. Americans have been known ...

Seminars are over, now the weekend is upon us and on the other side of it I am off to Ohio where the real fun begins. Just heard that Obama and Bill Clinton are going to be in Ohio on Monday, fingers crossed I will get the chance to go to the rally. Of course there is the slight issue ...

So I have just returned to my hotel room after the first official day of the US election tour 2012. Having met the journalists from all around the world who have been selected for this program, I am now ready to start on the campaign trail. Day one, like day two will be, was full of seminars designed at giving ...

This will be the first of many blog posts documenting my journey in the United States. Before I go on any further, let me explain what I will be doing. Thanks to the US Embassy in Colombo and the International Center for Journalists, I will be in the United States covering the ongoing Presidential Election between Barack Obama and Mitt ...

When one day cricket was first seen in the late 1970s, in the form of the controversial “World Series Cricket”, supporters of the game described it as a “game played in pyjamas”. Now, 20/20 is here and it can only be likened to a fancy dress party whose hosts have never been to a party before. The World T20, which ...

For the past few weeks the talk around Colombo has been the end of free media with the buy over of The Sunday Leader and the subsequent resignation of its editor-in-chief Frederica Jansz. They are right, to an extent; free media in the country is slowly being encroached upon by political figures. Yet the end of this freedom of media, ...

The Sri Lankan armed forced currently number 400,000 strong, the budget allocated to Defense spending is Rs. 230 billion (or 14% of our total budget has been allocated to the armed forces). Four years ago when the war was being fought our military budget stood at Rs. 200 billion (at that point it was estimated that the size of the ...

Before I even start this post, I have to point out that in no way is this an indication of  support towards the current government. The Brits threw down the gauntlet, in a manner of speaking, when they allowed Mahinda Rajapaksa to be targeted by the Diaspora in the UK resulting in him cutting short his visit there last week. ...

“Political Dynasties”, a term that is as old as politics. For the ancient civilisations their rulers were concerned with maintaining their legacy, the crown would be passed from parent to child to ensure the family name continues on down the ages. In today’s political spectrum the idea of dynasties is not too far away (especially in Asia). Sri Lanka, India, ...

For all those who have sat down to a broadcast of a game of cricket, you would have at some point or another been exposed to what I like to call the “Myths Of Cricket”. These in reality are simply comments or ideas that commentators and the media have instilled in the viewers of the game. Below are the top ...

Keheliya Rambukwella is back in Sri Lanka; for those who cannot remember but he was our Minister of Mass Media, the same man who fell off the balcony of a hotel in Melbourne. This accident happened back in February this year, it’s now nearing the end of May and finally the Minister has returned. I do not for a minute ...

Sarath Fonseka was finally freed on Monday, scenes of celebrations were seen as supporters of the Former Army Commander surrounded Nawaloka, Welikada Prison and the High Court. However, his release has now left more questions than answers available. The two biggest questions that is on most people’s minds is why did Mahinda Rajapaksa suddenly agree to release Fonseka, after stalling ...

With the focus in Sri Lanka directed at the domestic situation, namely the rising cost of living and political instability, the country’s foreign policy has been forgotten with continual blunders on the part of the government. In March this year the country was faced with one of its biggest challenges on the international stage as they prepared for a vote ...

Today’s media reports state that the much anticipated meeting between G.L. Peiris and Hillary Clinton was a fruitful one. Yes, apparently the Americans were highly complimentary of our plan of reconciliation. Of course no one in Sri Lanka has seen this plan, in fact when G.L. left to the States there was speculation over whether he would have anything at ...

So interest increases surrounding the possibility of Fonseka’s release this weekend, on the other hand our attention is also on multi-million rupee parade to celebrate three years since the war is over. Once again, Sri Lanka is finding itself in a tug-of-war scenario between Fonseka and Rajapaksa. Of course, as is the case normally, all other issues have been aside ...

I took this photo a few weeks ago, and in a couple of days the city will be treated to a host of such men and women. Dressed in their uniforms, showing off their weapons and having the President  praise them to the heavens. The sad part is three years on since the end of the war and these ...

So it seems like the higher powers have decided that the cleanup of the Colombo city will continue with the stray animals. The continual removal of stray dogs from public areas have been going on for over a year, animal welfare groups have complained and on occasions have had results. However, the trend has not stopped, and despite local businesses ...