Concerted action needed to make Lanka heroin-free
Heroin which is often smuggled from the “Golden Crescent” – a poppy cultivation area covering Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran — comes to our country mainly through Pakistan and India. The smuggling of heroin from India is mostly done through couriers who are frequent visitors. They bring in small quantities concealed in their baggage. Large scale [...]
Chinese billionaire’s illegal mansion deal falls foul of Australia’s national interest
Colombo’s opposition politicians have been clamoring for investigations of suspicious mega deals of billionaires without a lawsuit to show as yet, and government lawmakers regained the seats of power by making bombastic claims of prosecuting tainted foreign and local dealmakers who benefited from political patronage. “Maithree Palanaya” is yet to redeem itself. While the Sirisena [...]
Don’t trust your phone, don’t trust your laptop
Back in July 2013, a few weeks after Edward Snowden’s revelations about internet and mobile-phone surveillance began, I wrote a column that began: “Repeat after me: Edward Snowden is not the story. The story is what he has revealed about the hidden wiring of our networked world.” The spur for the column was my realisation [...]
Railroading India’s railways
NEW DELHI – Every February, the Indian Parliament performs a curious and unique ritual. The railway minister (a portfolio that exists in few democracies nowadays) presents the “railway budget” to the lower house for its approval. A packed chamber hangs on the minister’s every word. The practice began in the days of the British Raj, [...]
SLGJA calls for submissions for SL Jewellery Design Awards 2015
In a bid to harness and hone talent in the gem and jewellery sector, the Sri Lanka Gem & Jewellery Association has launched the Jewellery Design Awards for the 4th successive year. Designers who participate would have four categories to choose from, with three categories allotted for Sri Lankan residents, while the fourth category would [...]
Beyond genocide
When I heard that the Northern Provincial Council had passed a resolution on Genocide, I put my “head in my hands” again- something I did often during the previous regime. I asked myself, have we gone back to the beginning after all this violence and heartbreak? Tamil politics led by lawyers ( I am a [...]
Moral rearmament and ethnic tolerance
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s often repeated claim that he lost only because of the Tamils, implying ingratitude for their ‘liberation from bondage,’ must surely have a corollary that his apparent victory over Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2005 was also only because of the Tamils (who were forced to stay away from voting because of evil Prabha’s [...]
The bond with family, Christianity, chemistry and integrity
A tribute to Prof. Emeritus J.N. Oleap Fernando. Delivered by his brother Eng. B.R. Oclen Fernando at Holy Emmanuel Church Moratuwa on March 5, 2015 We are a family of four children. I have two elder sisters and my younger brother Oleap was born on the Leap Year Day in 1944. I did not expect [...]
Senake Bandaranayake: Teacher and Friend
Senake and Manel were in London in the 1970s. He was completing a DPhil at Oxford and I was studying architecture. We met often, until they returned to Sri Lanka in 1974. Thereafter, we kept in touch and travelled together on visits home. An unforgettable high point of one such journey was Senake excitedly driving [...]
Proposed constitutional reforms: A move towards Sri Lanka’s first executive diarchy
The 1978 Constitution came under attack from Sirima Banadaranaike who argued that it marked the end of the Weimar Republic in Sri Lanka. But Lalith Athulathmudali disagreed in the second reading of the Constitution. Athulathmudali’s disagreement was justified because 1978 in fact marked not the end but the beginning of Sri Lanka’s Weimar Republic. Germany’s [...]
Oceans yield 1,500 new creatures, many others lurk unknown
OSLO (Reuters) – Scientists identified almost 1,500 new creatures in the world’s oceans last year, including a humpbacked dolphin and a giant jellyfish, and reckon that most species of marine life are yet to be found. The experts publishing their findings listed a total of 228,450 marine species worldwide, ranging from seaweeds to blue whales, and [...]
Know these illegal signboards on our roads
I am confident that road users who read this article will enhance their knowledge regarding parking of vehicles and standing on roads where NO PARKING and NO PARKING & STANDING boards are erected. On receipt of several requests from motorists, lawyers and law enforcement officers, I decided to enlighten motorists and road users with regard [...]
Gender equality: What’s in it for men?
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Convincing men that they are as likely as women to benefit from gender equality is the strongest argument to get them involved in reaching that goal, experts said at the United Nations on Wednesday. Accepting equality and rejecting gender stereotypes would help end discrimination against men seeking jobs typically done by [...]
The Road to Hong Kong
How a fantasy land in the Far East became a ground reality for 13 lucky newspaper folk eager for adventure and a new life. Stephen Prins tells the story How we should have all ended up in an exotic place like Hong Kong makes an improbable tale. It is a Sri Lankan story about serendipity [...]