Three Lankans receive “Long Service” awards at UN ceremony
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Staff Union honoured 488 UN staffers who had served the Organisation for over 20 to 30 years, in what was described as a “Long Service” award ceremony at UN headquarters recently. The honourees, including three Sri Lankans, were given either certificates (for those with over 20 years of service) or [...]
Semage exhibition on today
Well known artist Kalasuri Dr. Jayasiri Semage who has exhibited worldwide is holding his latest exhibition at the Lionel Wendt gallery today, June 17.
Retires after nearly 40 years of service in Parliament
Ranjan Felician Pathinather who served Sri Lanka Parliament for 39 years and 7 months retired from service on June 10. He joined Parliament on October 12, 1978 as a clerk and retired as the Director of Administration. Mr.Pathinather has represented the Secretary-General of Parliament at courts of law, namely the Supreme Court, the Appeal Court, [...]
‘Springs of Sailan’: Shedding light on Muslim community in Sri Lanka
‘Springs of Sailan’ by Asiff Hussein is a compendious work on the Muslim contribution to Sri Lanka. The book is published by the Sailan Muslim Foundation. The Muslims have for long lived in peace and harmony with the other communities that have made Sri Lanka their home. Their contribution is not much known due to [...]
The sad plight of the dugong: Wildlife & Nature Protection Society’s lecture
There is a mammal of Sri Lanka that can weigh up to 900Kg and grow to 3 meters in length, yet one that is rarely seen and whose local population teeters on the edge of extinction. In fact, records indicate that herds in their hundreds once swam off the North Western shores of the island. [...]
Presentation of books
Western Provincial Councillor and Pragna Pradeepa Concept initiator Jayantha de Silva being welcomed at a ceremony held recently at the Namal Malini Punchi Theatre in Borella to present books on Gaurawa literature edited by well-known author Samson Wijeratne.
Lecture on bio geography of Sri Lanka
A lecture on ‘Makings of a Biodiversity Hotspot — A brief overview of the biogeography of Sri Lanka’ will be delivered by Dr. Sandun Perera tomorrow, June 18, at 5.30 p.m. at the Maths Department Auditorium (upstairs) of the Colombo University Main Building. Dr. Perera possesses field research experience in biodiversity, biogeography, ecology and conservation, [...]
Nepotism, cronyism and multimillion-rupee cheques
I was musing this month about this word Nepotism. It comes, I discovered, from the Italian word nepotismo, derived from the Latin word nepos meaning nephew. The term originated from the practice of some of the Catholic popes (who were unable to have legitimate children due to their vows of celibacy) appointing their nephews to [...]
Our infant information revolution
CAMBRIDGE – It is frequently said that we are experiencing an information revolution. But what does that mean, and where is the revolution taking us? Information revolutions are not new. In 1439, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press launched the era of mass communication. Our current revolution, which began in Silicon Valley in the 1960s, is bound [...]
Is there gender parity and reverse sexual harassment at the United Nations?
(IPS) -Faced with growing allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in the UN system, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last year announced a “zero-tolerance” policy to fight harassment in the world body. But UN Women, which was created in July 2010 and dedicated to gender empowerment, has moved one step further– and appointed an Executive Coordinator [...]