More than 15 months after the war ended, two disabled soldiers meeting and sharing memories at Army
headquarters yesterday during a ceremony to mark the 61st Army Day. Pic by Nilan Maligaspe.
Saudi Arabia which imposed a ban on Sri Lankan labour last Sunday will decide today whether to continue it – a decision which could affect some 50,000 workers, mostly housemaids, who seek employment in the kingdom annually.
The Government has decided that state-sector employees, including the security forces, will not be allowed to work beyond 60 years of age, Public Administration Minister John Seneviratne said yesterday.
Built in 2006, after tsunami, Elephant Reach Hotel is an eco getaway, a private haven within the Yala National Park buffer zone. All its comfortable chalets are well equipped with ultra modern amenities.
Twenty one luxury rooms in double chalets give the nature lovers a taste of luxury living in the midst of the jungle.
Fearing changes in import taxes on vehicles in next month’s budget, the Customs Department with limited officials at its imports section has been swamped with around 400 to 500 applications to clear vehicles in recent days.
Some were bearing gifts for Vladimir Putin's 58th birthday on Thursday -- others bared their flesh.
Several female journalism students from a prestigious Russian university posed in slinky lingerie for a calendar filled with warm -- sometimes steamy -- birthday greetings for the prime minister.
The ever-increasing interest amongst Sri Lankan youth to pursue their higher education abroad has brought about the now fairly common trend of professors from foreign universities coming down to Sri Lanka to educate the students on studying overseas.
Some cricket connoisseurs still feel that Roy Dias was at the wrong place at the wrong time. They feel – had that most elegant batsman played his initial cricket in a Test playing country he would have found a place in their national side without any hassle.
With tourism arrivals expected to climb to record levels this winter, the domestic airline segment is the next growth sector of the economy, travel experts predict.
Deccan Aviation, the country's only privately owned domestic airline has announced the commencement of a helicopter shuttle service from the international airport in a move timed before the launch of Sri Lankan's own air taxi operations.
If a just, free and fair society has prevailed in the world so far, it is democracy that has played a key role in sustaining it. The essential features of democracy include representative government, judicial and media freedom, human rights and the rule of law, transparency and accountability and continuing moves towards the more equitable distribution of wealth and resources among the people.
The success of former General Sarath Fonseka, who led troops to military defeat of Tiger guerrillas, became the strong glue that bonded major opposition political parties together. Bitter opponents for decades hugged each other in a rare display of unity. Fonseka became their celebrated presidential candidate.
The agitation to have Sarath Fonseka released seems to have acquired a momentum of its own from the moment the man was transported to the Welikada prison. The groundswell of public sympathy for the former army commander is palpable, now more than at any point before in the whole unsavoury episode, as the one-time hero is dragged down (‘like a common criminal’ as many protest) by a relentless......
For a man known to many as a bureaucrat, who has led more than half his life in the public service, that too working with the most prominent political personalities in the country, this seemed rather an unusual undertaking, but the past two years he spent completing the book has been one of self-discovery and a way of occupying his time after the death of his wife.
Commander Veediya Bandara was silent. He did not show any signs of fear. He was not shaken but was in deep thought. Yet, after De Eka’s speech, he tried to say something. But the Portuguese leader said that he was not prepared to listen. He got up and left. Veediya Bandara was imprisoned in a dark cell. From that time onwards, he had to undergo untold suffering.
