To become dis-Able in Sri Lanka
Voice of the VoicelessLargest Minority By: Dr. Ajith C. S. Perera An estimated 20% of Sri Lanka’s population, for different reasons,haverestrictions in their abilities. As the Supreme Court accepted in 2011,they formthe largest minority of peopleinSri Lanka. The International community measures a civilised society and a developing country by inclusiveness of its citizens. Dr. Lee [...]
Castro, JR and Lankan students
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Some loved him but others hated him. Whatever the admirers or the critics may say, as the motorcade carrying the ashes of Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro wended its way from Havana, the capital, to Santiago de Cuba where he will be laid to rest in a private funeral today, thousands of [...]
In black and white: Capturing the mysticism of nature
Marie Caroline Senil, wife of French Ambassador holds photography exhibition By Kaveesha Fernando Marie-Caroline Senlis’s interest in photography began when she was a young schoolgirl in France. She learned how to take black and white photographs and develop the films at the age of 16. Following a hiatus of 20 years, she re-learnt the art [...]
Stitching together a love for needlework and the wilds
The joy of needlework as a hobby never left Samanthi Gamage. She also loves wildlife and so she began stitching images of birds, bears, trees and much more. Samanthi will now showcase her work at ‘Sonduru Soba’, an exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Gallery on December 10 and 11. Samanthi is the wife of Rajika [...]
Sinhala translations of matters of the heart
With the intention of giving knowledge on heart diseases and their ill-effects , Prof.Rohan Jayasinghe, head of the Cardiology Department at Gold Coast University Hospital and Bond University, Australia launched the Sinhala translations of his books on heart diseases on November 25 at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo. The books are titled ‘Ek hadaki Ek [...]
Sinhala translation of Alex Hayley classic
Eva. G. Wickramage, Prof. Rohan Jayasinghe’s mother also launched the second Sinhala translation of the classic American Novel ‘Roots’ by Alex Hayley titled ‘Mul – 2 Devana Parapura’ at the book launch.
Launch of Some Fleeting Thoughts
“Some Fleeting Thoughts” by Sunila Nanayakkara was launched on November 16 at the Sri Lanka Foundation,No.100, Sri Lanka Padanama Mawatha, Independence Square, Colombo 07. The Guest of Honour was Professor Ariyadasa de Silva, Lecturer and former Dean of the Department of Education, University of Colombo. Vijitha Fernando and Malinda Seneviratne, two award-winning writers addressed the [...]
A scholarly work movingly presented
‘Oh! Sri Lanka- smile! Your children will survive. Heavy clouds will pass as calm seas return; The far horizon is tinged with golden hues of hope that breathes on the bravery of men Changing winds fan the air and the breeze caresses The sweating brow of a land blessed in abundance, Ours to nurture and [...]
UN Human Rights Chief fixes for a fight with Trump
With waterboarding, Muslim bans, and mass deportations on the Trump agenda, Turtle Bay fears a return to the worst days of the Bush era BY Colum Lynch With President-elect Donald Trump assembling a hard-line national security team, U.N. officials in New York and Geneva are plotting their strategy to confront an American leader who has [...]
Solidarity Day sees Lanka’s support for Palestine cause
The plight of the Palestinian people who are fighting to free their country from Israeli occupation and Sri Lanka’s support for the Palestinian cause figured prominenty as prominent speakers, including Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, JVP Parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake and Social Justice Activist Mahinda Hattaka. spoke at a public event to mark International Day for Solidarity [...]
Australia promoting disability inclusive development in Sri Lanka
The United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPwD) is marked annually on 3 December. In Sri Lanka, the Australian aid programme has a strong focus on supporting people with disability and achieving inclusive development outcomes. For example, the Australia Awards programme offers scholarships on the basis of merit, transparency and equitable access. The [...]
A better global framework to end AIDS
By Isabella Lövin and Michel Sidibé STOCKHOLM, GENEVA – This week, we celebrate the tremendous progress that has been made in the struggle against HIV and AIDS. In many countries with strong health systems, HIV is no longer a death sentence, but a chronic condition. And Africa has reached a critical milestone: each year, there [...]
Democracy trumps reason
For the past month I have been musing about this idea of democracy. Coming from the Greek words ‘demos’ (meaning ‘the common people’) and ‘kratia’ (meaning ‘strength’ or ‘power’), democracy denotes government by the people – where the people being governed are provided the opportunity of electing those who will govern them. I recall the [...]
Hearing impaired children: Lend us your ears
The Centre for Education of Hearing Impaired Children (CEHIC), which, during the past few decades, has trained hundreds of hearing impaired children to move into the mainstream of education and employment—is making an urgent appeal for funds from well-wishers to continue this noble mission. For the past few months, the Dalugama-based multi-religious centre has run [...]
The offence of corruption and the Public Service
By Nelum Gamage There is a lot of discussion and debate whether the offence of corruption in the Bribery Act has a negative impact on the Public Service. There is a misconception that the introduction of this offence has hindered the smooth working of the Public Service due to the reluctance on the part of [...]