Sri Lankan gems sparkle in London
By Neville de Silva in London Sri Lanka’s worldwide reputation as the home of Sapphires drew large crowds to the Sri Lanka (SL) pavilion at the International Jewellery London (IJL), the biggest gem and jewellery exhibition in the United Kingdom (UK) held over three-days last week. On display at the SL pavilion at the Olympia [...]
Address by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera at the at the IFIMES
Address by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, MP., Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka at the International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) Slovenia, 7 September 2016 Democracy, Reconciliation and Development: Vision for a New Sri Lanka Prof. Dr. Ernest Petrič Vice President of the Advisory Board of the International Institute for Middle-East and [...]
Behind global crackdown on NGOs
By Somar Wijayadasa NEW YORK (In-Depth News) – At a time when United States-Russia relations continue to deteriorate, Russia has blacklisted seven U.S.-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as being “undesirable” on its territory.This cannot be ruled as another manifestation of President Vladimir Putin’s Cold War-style paranoia as this happens in hundreds of countries around the world. [...]
Literature for national integration
By Rajitha Weerakoon The 59th Sri Lanka Literary Awards – the premier literary event of Sri Lanka held last Thursday at the BMICH, saw a positive movement of national integration through literature with a greater participation of significant numbers of Tamil literati. Twenty six nominees were listed for the highest national awards in Tamil literature [...]
St Paul’s Church, Kynsey Road Celebrates 200 years of worship
The Church of St.Paul the Apostle, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8 celebrates 200 years of worship on September 18. The Celebration Sung High Mass will be held on the 18th at 5.30 p.m. presided over by Bishop of Colombo, the Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabay. A Mission Service will be held on September 17 at 5.30 p.m. [...]
Aggañña Sutta: Migration of humans since evolution and present day violence
By Satharathilaka Banda Atugoda Humans since their evolution, from the earliest times, had been on the move, in search of food, pasture lands for herds, farmlands for agriculture, better shelter to protect themselves, water to drink and other human needs, and more comforts. This trend continued with new expectations, and desires and wants, as humans [...]
Democracy, development and national security
Text of the speech delivered by the Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayaka at the 9th Kotelawala Defence University International Research Conference 2016 on Professional Integration for a Secure Nation At the outset, I must convey my congratulations to Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) for the achievements it has made in the [...]
A Royal hash
Who’s running the school to the ground? By Roy Alboy “Vandals may strive to sack our seat of learning, And even raze it to the ground by burning, But Royal’s spirit never can go cold, Her blood is Blue, her heart is solid Gold! -Alexis Roberts (From a College magazine, 1961.) Who runs Royal? is [...]
The battle of the burkini
By Ian Buruma LONDON – There has been a lot of fuss lately about the handful of Muslim women who choose to bathe on French beaches wearing a special garment that covers the head (not the face), and much of the body. That garment – the so-called burkini – was invented in 2004 by an [...]
Private national education: the SAITM model
By Chula Goonasekera and Mahes Salgado In Sri Lanka, anything ‘private’ seems not too good nationally. Nationalisation is the buzz word, as it means somebody else’s effort and work is acquired for presumed wider benefit of the public. Historically, however, this process is a proven pathway of ‘politicisation’ leading to a gradual downfall of the [...]
Traditional and not so traditional weaves
The Thunpath Rata – Traditional mats and woven products exhibition organised by the National Crafts Council and the Faculty of Visual Arts, University of the Visual and Performing Arts, which opened on September 8 at the J.D.A Perera Gallery,University of Visual and Performing Arts ends today at 8 p.m. Pix by Amila Gamage
We can prevent suicides
World Suicide Prevention Day – September 10 By Dr. Chithramalee de Silva The World Suicide prevention Day falls on September 10 every year. “Connect, communicate, care” is the theme of the 2016 World Suicide Prevention Day. These three words are at the heart of suicide prevention. They will raise public awareness about the importance of having [...]
Dilip’s Dimbulla red wine adjudged best at Aussie show
The wine from Australia’s Dimbulla Estate owned by Sri Lankan businessman Dilip Kumar has been adjudged the Best Red Wine at this year’s Hunter Valley Wine show. The wine judged the Best Red Wine was a Tempranillo Shiraz 2014. The Hunter Valley Wine Show is one of the most prestigious held in Australia every year. This [...]
Day of recollection for lawyers
A Bible study, prayer, praise, reflection and worship has been initiated for Catholic legal professionals meeting once every month at Buona Morte Church, Hulftsdorp. This being proclaimed the Jubilee year of Mercy, a day of recollection has been organised for Christian legal professionals and their spouses on September 16 (Poya day) at the Subodhi Institute, [...]
SLFP at 65: The crisis of Lanka’s political party system
By Pradeep Peiris PhD The Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s 65th anniversary hit news headlines this time mainly due to the party’s current internal power struggle. Since January 2015, the SLFP has been embroiled in a bitter internal power struggle between its current leader Maithripala Sirisena and his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa. After losing the Presidential election [...]