Prominent individuals and NGOs now clamour for economic and social rights in the new constitution. They want them incorporated as “fundamental rights” in a new Bill of Rights.

Ahead of the presentation of a report by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) on the Controversial bond issue by the Central Bank, the Joint Opposition (JO) yesterday called for a Presidential Commission to investigate the issue.

In its list of demands, the ‘Eluga Thamil’ (Tamils Arise!) rally in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, on Sept 24 included phrases that form the bedrock of Tamil nationalism – ‘Tamil nation,’ ‘sovereignty’ and the ‘right to self-determination.’

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake yesterday pulled no punches as he set the record straight on multiple points including the Rs. untitled-325 billion payment to airline leasing company AerCap for cancelling four A350s, the maintenance of electricity tariffs, the submission of the Appropriation Bill to Parliament and an increase of cigarette prices.

Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy is to publish her second novel - 20 years after her bestseller The God of Small Things came out.