When police officers walked tall
Dr. R.M. Heen Nilame, an octogenarian General Physician (GP), was among the many who responded by email having read my article in the Sunday Times of February 16. His reflections on his childhood memories of the Police and the Rule of Law, and comparing them to current trends, are worthy of sharing with other readers. [...]
A two-thirds majority: Magic wand or crown of thorns?
Most Lanka’s political leaders, yearn for a two-thirds majority in parliament. They probably recall JRJ’s description of the potential constitutional power he wielded with his 5/6th majority such as making a man a woman and vice-versa. But constitutional sex changes and many other powers that a two-thirds majority vests with an executive president apart, it [...]
Prince Claus Fund – Next Generation Programme makes its debut in Asia
On his 70th birthday in 1996, the Dutch Parliament honoured Prince Claus of the Netherlands by funding the creation of a foundation in his name, a Fund for Culture and Development. Prince Claus, husband of Queen Beatrix and father of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, believed culture and development were not separate from one another. [...]
Finding freedom on canvas
The Prisons Department will present an art exhibition on March 2, 3 and 4 at the Public Library as a special rehabilitation programme for detainees. Over 70 detainees will exhibit more than 150 works completed on canvas with the use of acrylic paints. According to Commissioner General of Prisons.M.J.W. Thennakoon, “Most of these detainees have [...]
Miss Sri Lanka pageant in Russian uni
The Sri Lankan Students Union of the RUDN University in Russia organised “Sri Lankan Beauty” Contest, during the Sri Lanka week. The pageant was titled Miss Sri Lanka-Russia 2020 and held on February 15. Taking part in the event were contestants from the RUDN University, Tver State Medical University, Moscow Aviation University, National Research Nuclear [...]
Lively discussion on building bridges and breaking barriers
The discussion titled Building Bridges and Breaking Barriers organised recently by the Women’s Association of Sri Lanka Malays moderated by Dr. Romola Rassool opened the floor to valuable interactive discussion. The purpose of this discussion was to find the common thread that would help women work towards nurturing unity, peace, and harmony in our motherland. [...]
Trump’s peace plan and Sri Lanka: Panel discussion on March 4
A panel discussion on the United States’ President Donald Trump’s Palestinian Peace Map and Sri Lanka’s stand will be held on March 4 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute from 4 pm to 5.30 pm. The panelists will include JVP Parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake, Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleke and veteran international affairs journalist Mahinda [...]
Drug donation to Apeksha hospital
Rossana Somaratna, Anura Somaratna and Savi Punchihewa presenting Rs.1,000,000 worth of breast cancer drug Herceptin to Dr. Wasantha Dissanayake at the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama.
Campaign to save environment
Plant more trees to save the environment was the theme of a recent campaign organised by the Pragna Pradeepa Foundation. Here the foundation’s initiator and former Western Provincial Council member Jayantha de Silva is seen handing over saplings to the youth at his office in Borella.
All Saints College, Borella past pupils felicitate veteran teacher
The Past Pupils of All Saints College, Borella held a ceremony at Platinum One recently to felicitate a veteran teacher of the school. Miss Iris Peiris, later Mrs Samarasekera served All Saints for 37 years, her period of service starting in 1947. Ms Peiris as she is still fondly known by her students celebrated her [...]
Fasi Ismail receives plaque of appreciation
The Islamia Home for Needy and Orphan Children in Ratmalana presented a plaque to Al-Haj Fasi Ismail on January 26 in grateful appreciation of the services rendered over many years. The picture shows Mr. Ismail with his plaque.
Thushara appointed AWPC rep in Sri Lanka
The newly-established Asian Wildlife Photographers’ Club (AWPC) based in Hong Kong has appointed well-known wildlife photographer Thushara Palliyaguruge as its Country Representative in Sri Lanka. The AWPC intends to build a strong platform for Asian wildlife and ocean-life photographers to get exposure, value, recognition and opportunities. The AWPC website will be launched in March. For [...]
New education reforms: Schools reluctant to part with traditional approach
The term training that was popular in the pre-industrial era changed to education with industrialisation and then to development in the new knowledge era. The paradigm shift in education that is now taking place calls the teachers to give up their previous roles of transmission and transaction to embrace the new role of transformation. The [...]
A biotech firm made a smallpox-like virus on purpose. Nobody seems to care
In 2017, the virologist David Evans made headlines when he used synthetic biology to recreate the extinct horsepox virus, which is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, a disease eradicated in 1980. Evans and his team, ordering the genetic material they needed through the mail, reportedly spent $100,000 on the research, an amount [...]
Will the coronavirus trigger a global recession?
CAMBRIDGE – At the start of this year, things seemed to be looking up for the global economy. True, growth had slowed a bit in 2019: from 2.9% to 2.3% in the United States, and from 3.6% to 2.9% globally. Still, there had been no recession, and as recently as January, the International Monetary Fund [...]