Lankan professor’s ocean glider maps the mysteries of Indian Ocean
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Slowly and silently without making ripples, an unmanned mini-submarine is gliding towards Galle, having set off from the western Australian port of Fremantle, looking for the deepest and darkest of secrets buried within the Indian Ocean. Named after something which has gone before, ‘Challenger’, the ocean glider, tracked through satellites will ‘sail’ [...]
Pinkama in London in memory of Maestro Amaradeva
A religious ceremony and tribute to the late Dr. Pundit Amaradeva were held at the London Buddhist Vihara on November 11. A large number of the Maestro’s fans from various parts of London and nearby suburbs and members of the Vihara Management Committee attended the pinkama to show their unbounded respect and to honour the [...]
An American of Sri Lankan heritage heads US Law Enforcement Agency
NEW YORK – Ashan Benedict, a 45-year-old American of Sri Lankan heritage, has been appointed to head the New York Division of the one of the key law enforcement agencies in the United States: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). As a Special Agent-in-Charge of the State of New York, Benedict will [...]
Mahila Samiti Training Centre conducts diploma course in pre-school teacher training
A one-year diploma course in pre-school teacher training is now being conducted at the Mahila Samiti Training Centre at 168 1/1, New Kandy Road, Malabe. Registered at the Children’s Secretariat of the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs as a national diploma course under the National Coordinating Committee on Early Childhood Development, the first [...]
The best of our contemporary art
If you want to browse through the best of contemporary Sri Lankan art, head down to the J.D.A. Perera Gallery on Horton Place, Colombo 7. The George Keyt Foundation’s annual exhibition brings together artists and sculptors of many different shades and it is a rare opportunity to see this talented group under one roof. The [...]
Lankan mission in bid to woo Qatar’s investors
A major investment seminar will take off today in Qatar’s capital, Doha, to promote bilateral trade and attract Qatari investors.Organised by Sri Lanka’s embassy in collaboration with the Doha Bank, the seminar at the Doha Bank auditorium will be attended by several Qatari sheiks, mega tycoons and heads of major investment companies, besides key Sri [...]
Lake House former employees’ get-together
A get-together of former Lake House employees will be held at “Lankasiri”, No 9 Melder place, Nugegoda on Saturday November 26, from 9 am onwards. It is an occasion to revive pleasant memories with former colleagues. Those who are wishing to participate, please contact Bimoy Surendra on 0717422420, M.D Dharamasri on 0718789865, P.B illanagasinhe on [...]
Olcott Oration today
A distinguished Old Anandian, Prof. Rohan Attele, will deliver this year’s Olcott Oration on the topic “The Unreasonable success of Mathematics and role of IT in driving national economies”. The Olcott Oration will be held today, November 20 at the Kularatne Auditorium, Ananda College at 4.30 pm. Prof. Rohan Attele is Professor of Mathematics and [...]
‘Shilpa Abhimani’ exhibition ends today
By Kaveesha Fernando Attempting to breathe life into the dying trade of handicraft is ‘ShilpaAbhimani’ – the Presidential Awards Handicrafts Competition and Exhibition, held in collaboration with the SAARC Handicrafts Exhibition at the BMICH this week. The exhibition ends today. The ‘Shilpa Abhimani’ exhibition has been held for over three decades to highlight the craftsmen [...]
Rex de Silva’s values enriched those whose lives he shaped – Tribute
By Kapila Bandara Rex de Silva’s beloved creation Ibson, often reflected the thinking of the average Sri Lankan about the social and political travails of our island. The tortoise wearing a cap with a five-pointed star and appearing in the SUN would wind up political clowns, bureaucrats, doctors, and the like, while also offering a [...]
Prof. Ruwanpura recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award
Professor Janaka Yasantha Ruwanpura, Vice-Provost International (the equivalent to Pro-Vice Chancellor in the U.K. education system) at the University of Calgary, Canada was recently recognised with a prestigious “Life Time Achievement” from the Sri Lanka Foundation in Los Angeles. The Sri Lanka Foundation, a non-profit organization, was formed in June 2003 by Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, [...]
Methos’ student committee presents ‘Cadenza 2016’
The Student Committee of Methodist College, Colombo 3 presents their very first talent show ‘Cadenza 2016’ on Friday, November 25 at the Methodist College Auditorium from 6 p.m. It will be an evening of singing, dancing and instrumental performances from the students aged 13 upwards. There will also be guest performances by Dhanuk Fernando, The [...]
Please help Chalani
Nine-year-old Chalani Dewmini Soysa Hannadige underwent surgery for a heart condition in MIOT Hospital in Chennai on August 7. It was later found that Chalani’s right leg is 18.5 millimetres shorter than her left. On the request of the doctor she has a full review appointment in Chennai , scheduled for the second week of [...]
The prevailing calm in North should be protected
By Satharatilaka Banda Atugoda During the past few months it has been observed that there has been unrest in the Northern peninsula of our motherland. Perhaps the guardians of Lanka both worldly and spiritual have been silent, and observers in the periphery too were afraid to voice their feelings. It is in this background that [...]
Preventing road accidents: ‘Revolutionary’ change need of the hour
By Dr. Kirthi Abayajeewa We hear of the daily loss of life on the roads in the media. It is so common that this news is not ‘news-worthy’ any more. People have become naïve to most of these incidents around them and carry on with life. Is this loss of life really necessary; can’t we [...]
Expressways: Real costs here growing faster than in the rest of the world
By Prof Amal Kumarage A road for the village has been a fail-safe election promise in Sri Lanka since Independence. Sixty thousand kilometres of rural roads were constructed between 1960 and 1990. Since 2000, around Rs. 160 billion has been spent on carpeting or concreting thousands of kilometres of rural roads. But investment on rural [...]
Expressways: The journey so far
Northern Expressway-Central Expressway In 2001, Euro Infra of Sweden under a grant from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) undertook a feasibility study for a 60km four-lane expressway between Kadawatha and Ambepussa costing Rs 19 billion or US$ 4 million per km. The EIRR (Economic Internal Rate of Return) was calculated at over 20% [...]
Trump’s threat on multilateral treaties keeps UN guessing
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) – At the height of the US Presidential campaign in early 2015, Republican nominee Donald Trump made a rash of public pronouncements — some threatening internationally-agreed UN conventions – which set off political reverberations throughout the United Nations. As part of his campaign rhetoric, he denounced climate change as [...]
Lessons from the Trump ‘victory’ for all leaders
By Gerard D. Muttukumaru Donald Trump is now the President elect of the most powerful economy, military and nation on earth. He will on 20 January 2017 be handed the codes to the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet. I can go on and on! Secretary Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but did not [...]