Three score years and ten
Today we Sri Lankans proudly commemorate the seventieth anniversary of our country regaining its independence after 450 long years of European domination. For the past few days I have been musing about the journey we have made during the last three score years and ten since the British handed our country back to us. Can [...]
Annual concert at Pelpola Vipassi pre-school
The annual concert of the Pelpola Vipassi pre-school was held recently at the Pelpola Vipassi Foundation under the guidance of the Ven. Pelpola Vipassi Thera. Western Province Councillor and Pragna Pradeepa Concept Initiator Jayantha de Silva, a special invitee at the event, is seen here offering flowers to the Buddha statue before the concert began. [...]
World Leprosy Day 2018: No one has ever become poor by giving
Leprosy is a disease of poverty and is a slow-spreading airborne communicable disease, caused by a pathogenic bacterium that infects the peripheral nerves. The World Leprosy Day was observed on the last Sunday of January every year to increase awareness about leprosy. The stigma surrounding leprosy has seen many families robbed of their livelihood, education and [...]
Text messages to kidney donors
The Kidney Transplant Support Foundation (KTSF) in its latest bid to muster support for its campaign to encourage organ donors among Sri Lankans has launched an ‘sms’ campaign inviting millions of mobile phone users to register to donate their organs. The campaign, the third of its projects, will be sending messages through all leading mobile [...]
NCCSL urges voters to be wise and prudent
The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) has reminded the people, as voters, to be wise and prudent in exercising their ‘right’ in choosing their representatives, mindful of the fact that the prevailing culture of bribery, corruption and abuse of privileges is sadly, but surely a reflection of their own actions and choices, as [...]
Over 3 million voters with restricted abilities
On 10th February, 15.8 million Sri Lankans will be eligible to elect 8,293 members to 24 municipal councils, 41 urban councils and 276 divisional councils. Colossal economic and social waste plague the country in untold proportions. It is thus imperative for all local government bodies to identify root causes and enforce a plan of remedial [...]
In defence of democracy
SYDNEY – Imagine that you, like me, are a typical product of western liberal democracy, and are invited to give a lecture to a group of Chinese students in Beijing or Shanghai on its benefits. Ignoring the fact that, in reality, the Chinese government would never allow such a lecture, ask yourself: What would you [...]
India boosts maritime reach with Seychelles pact to build naval facilities
NEW DELHI/PORT VICTORIA (Reuters) – India has signed a 20-year pact with the Seychelles to build an airstrip and a jetty for its navy in the island chain, the two countries said, as the South Asian nation steps up a contest with China for influence in the Indian Ocean. China last year inaugurated its first [...]
The myth that Davos can change the world
UNITED NATIONS – When the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded in Davos, Switzerland last week, the outcome of the annual talk-fest was seemingly predictable—plenty of unrestrained platitudes but, surprisingly, less of the American populist, protectionist rhetoric. The presence of President Donald Trump was a political side-show as he proudly declared that America was “open for [...]
US, Mexico play up increased security cooperation
MEXICO CITY, Feb 3 (AFP) – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted the US and Mexico are bolstering cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, brushing aside concerns about the impact of his boss Donald Trump’s anti-Mexican barbs. The US-Mexican relationship has been strained by Trump’s attacks on Mexican immigrants and the North American Free [...]