EDITORIAL BY BRIAN BASNAYAKE

The final month of the year is for many of us the best, with festivities and the lengthy preparations for them dominating our very lives and almost everything that is around us. It is the month that we already as children learn to love and eagerly await with unfettered joy. The religious significance of Christmas is increasingly receding in the Western world. However, the commercial exploitation of the event is keeping the festive and holiday season exciting and alluring as it ever was - or, perhaps, even more so. There is no other month in the year when there is so much hustle and bustle everywhere, and yet the air is laden with excitement and anticipation. There is no question either that it is the month that shopkeepers love the most and live in eager expectation through the whole year for. December is also the month when we customarily look back on a year gone by and reflect on all the good and the not so good that we and our loved ones could enjoy or sadly had to endure. It is the time too that the world at large, the media in particular, routinely review the year that is coming to an end and prognosticate on the year ahead. It is a time too when the media as a whole celebrate our heroes and heroines and their heroics and impressive achievements during the passing year. They often remember as well the passing away during the year of people who rose to national and international fame in their respective lives. So, indeed, what a year 2019 has been, making it memorable for quite a few significant events as well. At home, the “Green” political parties made their best ever results in federal elections in the wake of the growing climate change crisis facing the entire globe. In fact, it was not the environmental crisis by itself that helped the “Greens” at the ballot box. It was the “Extinction Rebellion”, (another one of the global activism phenomenon), that brought the surge of popularity for the green parties. The thousands of mainly young activists demonstrating on the streets of the metropoles across the globe are slowly raising the awareness of the environmental crisis in the general public. And they also hope to goad into action, in particular, the decision-makers, whether in politics, industry or other spheres of life to prevent the earth from falling into an unimaginable catastrophe. It is also the year that the environment, especially “climate change”, has come to be officially and publicly viewed as a grave issue all across the world. Indeed, it is the year a teenager, technically but a child, has become the icon for the fight against climate change. Greta Thunberg will go down in history for her heroism, unrelenting convictions and genuine honesty besides having a stoic personality. Her ability to stand on a podium and deliver a speech without a trace of stage fright is actually most remarkable and awesome to watch. 2019 is also the year when a third US president is facing impeachment in Congress. In Britain, after another general election this month, the Governments has taken a step closer effectively to leave the European Union. At the closing of a tumultuous year, all of us at iNEWS wish you a delightful festive season and the dawn of a glorious and peaceful decade. Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

Yours sincerely, Brian Basnayake

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