Schools foisting low-quality uniforms on children in voucher ‘trade’
Four schools in the Wattegama zonal division have come under fire for selling uniform material and shoes to schoolchildren. It is learned that two teams from the Education Department of the Central Province were interrogated last week over their alleged actions in compelling children to buy uniform material and shoes at Vipulanatha Tamil Vidyalam (TV), [...]
Buddha’s first peace mission to Sri Lanka
Today is Duruthu Poya day — the first full moon Poya day of the year. Duruthu Poya commemorates the first visit of Gautama Buddha to Sri Lanka nine months after Enlightenment. The visit is recorded in the Great Chronicle Mahavamsa thus: “In the midst of Lanka, on the fair river bank, in the delightful garden [...]
Haitian women struggle to get help for children fathered by UN troops
BOGOTA, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The United Nations is failing to give Haitian mothers who say their children were fathered by peacekeepers the help it promised in their legal battle for financial support, human rights groups helping the women have said. The Haiti-based Bureau des Avocats Internationaux and the Institute for Justice & Democracy in [...]
Constitutional games Sri Lankans play
Sri Lankans make and break constitutions with relish. Is it for the sake of good governance, which is supposed to be basic objective of constitutions, or for crass political gain? The constitution-making-and-breaking process resumed last week with flashbacks in history going back to the mid- fifties. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe presented to Parliament, reconvened as [...]
Tamil Eelam by referendum: Is this the latest plot?
An article by Adam Taylor in the Washington Post on September 16, 2014 gives a descriptive breakdown of the “newest” countries in the world. Majority of these nations were split based on so-called racial and/or religious requirements. The feuds in these countries seemed maneuvered and the majority forced to concede to bullying tactics by various [...]
UN comes under fire over high-level appointments
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The world’s developing countries, comprising over two-thirds of the 193 UN member states, are complaining they are not being adequately represented in the higher echelons of the world body –- despite competent candidates with strong professional and academic qualifications vying for these jobs. The 134-member Group of 77, the largest single [...]
Book launch
A book on “The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Sri Lanka” will be launched at the Sri Lanka Foundation, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7, on January 24 at 4 p.m. The book is published in Sinhala, Tamil and English. All are welcome to the launch and those [...]
Second edition of Lankan Isle now out
The second edition of Lankan Isle which was launched at the Colombo International Book Fair last September is now out. The dynamic quarterly offers a refreshing and stimulating reading experience with off-the-beaten track content. Essentially a ‘thinking person’s magazine’, Lankan Isle lends voice to all things Sri Lankan. Lankan Isle’s endeavour is to remind the [...]
Conquer Colombo to fly to Jakarta
Conquer Colombo is an award winning project, organised for the seventh consecutive year by the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School. It’s Sri Lanka’s largest quest that spans across Colombo, and throws at you an array of activities, both challenging and entertaining. The event this year is set to feature more than 200 teams, [...]
Civil servants off to Pakistan
A 12-member delegation of Sri Lankan Government officers is in Pakistan on a programme organised by the Pakistan High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo in collaboration with Pakistan’s prestigious National School of Public Policy. Before their departure, the delegation members paid a courtesy call on High Commissioner Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat at the High Commission [...]
Help this family
Jagath Prasanna from Horampella, Minuwangoda, is suffering from a cancer in the neck. Mr Prasanna’s family survives through the efforts of his wife, who sells murukku to shops. However, this is barely enough to sustain the family of four, with his two school-going sons studying in Grades 10 and 7. In desperation, Mr Prasanna had [...]
‘Follow the Star’ – a service of readings and music
‘Follow the Star’ – a service of readings and music for the season of Epiphany will be held today, Sunday, January 20, at 6 pm. at St. Michael and All Angels church in Kollupitiya. The event is presented by the Voice of Praise Chamber Choir conducted by Denham Pereira. All are welcome.
Presentation of SC law reports
Senior Counsel Athula Bandara Herath, one of the veterans in civil litigation in Sri Lanka, presents a copy of the Supreme Court Law Reports compiled by him to Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare in his Supreme Court chambers recently.
Talent programme at Elliot Place library
A children’s talent programme titled ‘Ada Lova Dinana Weda Satahana’ organised by the Elliot Place Community Library Management was held at the library premises in Colombo 8 recently. Chief Guest and Pragna Pradeepa concept initiator Jayantha de Silva is seen here awarding certificates to a young participant, as chief librarian Warunu Galabodarachchi looks on.
Golden jubilee founder’s day programme at all Brahma Kumaris centres
Brahma Baba is the founding father of Brahma Kumaris, a worldwide spiritual organization working at all levels of society for personal transformation and world renewal. Founded in India in 1937, the Brahma Kumaris movement has spread to 110 countries. The founding father of Brahma Kumaris, Prajapita Brahma Baba died on January 18, 1969. In his [...]
Christian Unity Sunday 2019
In keeping with the tradition of observing the 08 day Unity Octave, a Joint Worship Service will be held on Sunday 20th January 2019 at 5.00 p.m. at the Church of the Salvation Army 53 Sir James Peiris Mawatha, Colombo 02, organised by the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka and the Catholic National Commission for Ecumenism [...]
Indian farmers in revolt
NEW DELHI – When Prime Minister Narendra Modi led his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a landslide victory in the 2014 general election, he promised to be all things to all voters, eloquently promising “achhe din” (good days) for India. One of his target audiences was farmers; the agriculture sector still accounts for [...]