Fake news, fake logic and poor arithmetic
The collective wisdom on constitutional law expressed by the pundits for about a month — from learned professors like GL to three-wheeler drivers — cannot surpass the fundamental reality of parliamentary democracy: He who holds the parliamentary majority rules that land. This is an elementary civics lesson we were taught over half a century ago [...]
Sir Winston Churchill : The greatest military strategist of the 20th Century
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born to a highly respectable family. He was the son of Lord Randolph Churchill and was born at Blenheim Palace on Nov. 30 1874. How he got into Harrow is a mystery, for he showed no scholastic ability beyond a remarkable capacity for memorising poetry. He never mastered Latin and [...]
What’s next now that Colombo’s an official Wetland City?
Almost a decade ago,the city of Colombo experienced deadly flash floods, affecting more than 500,000 people and wreaking havoc on the Sri Lankan capital. The waterlogged urban space was a result of extreme weather but also the rapid loss of a vital natural asset to the metropolitan region – wetlands. In the past, these wetlands [...]
Ismeth Raheem to deliver National Trust lecture
The National Trust lecture at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday, November 29, will be on “Ethnography and portraiture in photography 1840-1920” by Archt. Ismeth Raheem. The lecture will be held at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10. Ethnography and Portraiture in Photography 1840-1920 is the title of an essay [...]
Help for visually handicapped students
The Sri Lanka Blind Welfare Association, Seeduwa, has launched a programme to assist visually handicapped students in their education. Pragna Pradeepa Concept initiator and UNP’s Borella electorate chief organiser Jayantha de Silva is seen here making a donation to the programme.
Lake House ex-employees’ annual get-together
The annual get-together of ex-Lake House employees will take place on Saturday, December 1 from 9 a.m. onwards at Green Garden Hotel, Robert Gunawardene Mawatha, Kirulapone, Colombo 6. The organisers cordially invite all ex-employees. Tickets can be obtained at the gate.
The lost lessons of World War I
PARIS – It has been 100 years since World War I ended, and the centenary was commemorated this month with great pomp in Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. Germany sent high-level authorities to France to mark the occasion, reaffirming the reconciliation between the two countries. But the fact that Franco-German reconciliation did not [...]
Prof. Gunasekera Memorial Oration
The Professor H.A. de S. Gunasekera Memorial Oration 2018 will be held on Tuesday December 4, at 3 p.m. at the Senate Room, University of Peradeniya. The oration will be delivered by Dr. W.A. Wijewardena, President, B.M.S. and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, on the topic, “Sri Lanka at a crossroads: The [...]
RASSL lecture on innovation and agriculture
The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) public lecture this month will be delivered by Dr. Seetha I. Wickremasinghe, former Additional Director, National Science Foundation, on “Innovation System towards development: Perspectives relevant to Agriculture in Sri Lanka”. The lecture will be on Monday, November 26 at 5 p.m. at the Gamini Dissanayake auditorium No. [...]
Azeez and some thoughts on the education of Muslim women
Many scholars, teachers and colleagues have written much about A.M.A. Azeez’s contribution to Muslim education, but very little is known about his thoughts in the sphere of Muslim women’s education in Sri Lanka. Having benefitted greatly from his work in the field of Muslim Women’s education, it is only befitting to share a few thoughts [...]
In appointing a Prime Minister, President cannot exercise his powers arbitrarily
It would be useful to examine how and from what source the President derives the power to appoint a Prime Minister. Unlike a monarch or dictator, the President derives his authority solely on account of the ultimate sovereign, the People of Sri Lanka, having chosen by exercise of their vote to elect and duly authorise [...]