Murder isn’t cricket
Swinging high and low, laughing and gulping the salty air blowing in from the sea, two little children were playing in a garden in Bambalapitiya, Colombo 4, one morning 63 years ago, while someone somewhere inside the house was strangling their mother to death. The children on the swings were sisters, aged three and four. [...]
Passionate portrayals of female protagonists
‘Fire and Water’ and ‘Mothers’ works of fiction in English by Srimathie R. Weerasuriya were recently released. Weerasuriya writes with passion in her work, both featuring female protagonists for whom life has not always been kind. ‘Fire and Water’ is the tale of a married woman who takes a lover, only to be spurned by [...]
Punchi Theatre celebrates 11 years with two one-act plays
To celebrate the 11th birthday of the Punchi Theatre in Borella, two one-act plays “Golu Birinda” and “Heiyan Maruwa” will be staged on October 23 at 3.30 and 6.30 p.m. at the Punchi Theatre. On October 26, there will be a repeat performance of Nattukkari “Golu Birinda” and “Heiyan Maruwa” are laughter-generating comedies. “Golu Birinda” [...]
After ‘vas’ it’s ‘Katina’ season now
With the end of ‘vas’ season, the temples plan the ‘katina pinkamas’ between the full moon Poya days in the months of October and November. The ‘pinkama’ sees the much-awaited offering of the ‘katina cheevaraya’ – the robe specially sewn to be offered to the Sangha who were on a three-months retreat and can only [...]
Cora Abraham Art Classes annual exhibition
Students of the Cora Abraham Art Classes will present their annual exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery on October 25 and 26 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The school now in its 65th year continues to stay true to the vision of its founder, who helped young artists express themselves freely and joyfully [...]
Book presentation and discussion
Vijitha Yapa, President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, presenting a copy of Talking to Terrorists by British journalist, Jonathan Powell, to Secretary of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapakse. A special discussion was held with members of the Publishers Association by the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development on Wednesday. Matters discussed included the transformation of [...]
Magical melody of Sunil Santha
“Mihikatha nalawala…..maga mal ganwala” A gem of a song draws music-lovers of two generations together This is 2014 and the original song was recorded way back in the 50s by maestro Sunil Santha, well over 60 years ago. Why is it still so magical? Is it the pristine voice or Hubert Dissanayake’s flowery lyrics describing [...]
College of Community Physicians inducts 21st President
It was ‘Reproductive Health – the unfinished agenda’ that was the focus when the premier academic body leading the public health service in the country inducted its 21st President. “The unfinished agenda is a high priority needing early action,” reiterated Dr. Chithramalee de Silva after being inducted as the President of the College of Community [...]
Reducing neonatal mortality through hand-washing
Marking Global Handwashing Day, Unilever Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Health launched a programme to encourage handwashing with soap in the estate sector of the country on Thursday. This behavioural change programme is designed to reduce neonatal mortality within vulnerable communities by encouraging mothers to adopt the habit of washing hands with soap as [...]
The end of Ebola: Call for concerted efforts to combat it
DAKAR – The Ebola epidemic is threatening not only West Africans’ lives, but also the progress toward democracy, economic growth, and social integration that Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea have made in the last decade. To protect their achievements, the three countries’ governments, which comprise the Mano River Union, must buttress their response to the [...]
Turf Club robbery and murder in 1949
The Havelock Race Course in Reid Avenue was a stone’s throw away from Royal College. Most Royalists were familiar with the names of the race horses, their trainers, owners and the jockeys. The Turf Club was mainly patronised by the English and the race horse owning Ceylonese gentry. Government servants, those working in the mercantile [...]
Let there be a caretaker government before polls
What is required today in view of a possible presidential or general election in the near future is a caretaker government to ensure a fair and peaceful poll. Today, the people have lost faith in elections in Sri Lanka due to the disruption and criminalisation of the election process. It has been marred by threat, [...]
More slaps likely as political uncertainty spreads
Power is ephemeral. Unfortunately politicians — and even some engaged in diplomacy — have not learnt this simple lesson. It is not only those who have reached the pinnacle of power by hook or by crook (mainly by crook) who seem to delude themselves that their seat at the top is permanent. Even those who [...]
Gamini: The renaissance man
Two hand-written notes, a letter of recommendation and a book inscribed to me personally are the only tangible reminders of the time I worked for Gamini Dissanayake. But the medley of recollections is as rich as it is imperishable. I offer as a tribute a few such recollections. My job interview with GD in July [...]
Anagarika Dharmapala: His vision and mission
The text of the keynote speech delivered by Prof. J.B. Disanayaka at the inaugural session of a recent symposium on Anagarika Dharmapala and India-Sri Lanka Relations. The symposium was organised by the Centre for Contemporary Indian Studies of the University of Colombo to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of the Great Buddhist Revivalist. A Sri [...]
Cash-strapped Human Rights Office at breaking point
UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) – After six weeks in office, the new U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein of Jordan launched a blistering attack on member states for insufficient funding, thereby forcing operations in his office to the breaking point “in a world that seems to be lurching from crisis to ever-more [...]
People can have their pasts erased from Google
More than 6,000 people have asked Google to erase information about their past from search results using the controversial ‘right to be forgotten’. The EU’s controversial ‘right to be forgotten’, which attacks freedom of speech, has been widely criticised for allowing paedophiles, rapists and murderers attempt to erase information about their past. In total, across [...]
Is reheated pasta less fattening?
There are few things that really surprise me about nutrition, but one of the experiments from the latest series of Trust Me, I’m a Doctor really did produce quite unexpected results. You are probably familiar with the idea that pasta is a form of carbohydrate and like all carbohydrates it gets broken down in your [...]
How olive oil reverses heart disease threat
Eating a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil could help reverse symptoms which can lead to heart disease, research has revealed. A study found people who followed a diet of fruit, vegetables, fish and wholegrains, with either added olive oil or nuts, reduced their obesity and blood glucose levels – both symptoms of metabolic syndrome. [...]
Capital punishment – A humane perspective
The media highlights that the capital punishment may be reintroduced shortly. All Presidents of Sri Lanka have seemingly expressed hesitancy to reintroduce the capital punishment which was rescinded by late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. This dillydallying indicate the apparent indecisiveness of Sri Lanka’s decision makers while the great difficulty experienced in recruiting a hangman is somewhat indicative [...]
Ramped-up air strikes stall Islamic State advance on Syrian town
MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters) – Two days of heavy air strikes by U.S. warplanes have slowed an advance by Islamic State militants against Kurdish forces defending the Syrian border town of Kobani. Turkish and U.S. officials said last week that Islamic State was on the verge of taking Kobani from its heavily outgunned Kurdish defenders, after [...]
Multiple arrests as Hong Kong demonstrators retake protest camp
HONG KONG, Oct 18 (AFP) – Riot police clashed violently with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong today as demonstrators reoccupied a camp mostly cleared the previous day, leading to multiple arrests and jeopardising talks aimed at ending a political stalemate. Police used batons and pepper spray against protesters shielding themselves with umbrellas on a normally [...]
Catholic Synod: Cardinal ‘demoted’ by Pope Francis
A leading American cardinal has told BuzzFeed that he is to be demoted from his position running the Catholic Church justice system. Cardinal Raymond Burke is a staunch critic of Pope Francis’ moves to soften the Church’s stance on homosexuality. He said that he was to be moved to the far less senior post of [...]
Stranded trekkers in storm-hit region safe: Nepal official
KATHMANDU, Oct 18 (AFP) – All trekkers left stranded by a major snowstorm in Nepal’s Himalayas are safe, officials said today, with the focus now shifting to the recovery of bodies four days after the disaster killed at least 32 people. Nepalese army choppers circled the upper reaches of the popular Annapurna Circuit trekking region [...]
