Felicitating Fr. Neil Karunaratne
It was 70 years ago, on March 15, 1950, that Fr. Neil Dias Karunaratne made his first profession of vows as a Redemptorist missionary. In the presence of his parents, Fr. Neil, an only child, committed himself wholeheartedly to becoming a preacher and a missionary for Christ. This important 70th Anniversary was celebrated on February [...]
Militarisation of police function: The danger ahead
Since beginning of March this year, there has been a hue and cry about Police functions being militarised. The Military Police intruding into traffic control had legal challenges being raised as reported in the Sunday Times of March 1 in Sunday Punch 2. The fact of the matter is that there are apprehensions about the [...]
Selflessness was her life
Diana Captain was many things to many people. Everyone knew her. Everyone had a connection to her that was prized and special. Everyone I meet since her passing away has a personal story to tell in the way Diana touched their lives. To have the quality of an all-encompassing care and concern for family, friends [...]
Renuka honoured with OBE for child care service
Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent received her OBE awarded in the 2020 Queens New Year’s honours list on February 25. This is almost a century after her great grandfather Timothy Nevins Selvadurai received an honour for services to education in Sri Lanka. Both have championed for children — Timothy as principal of Jaffna Hindu College and a member [...]
Pak envoy meets Air Force, Navy chiefs
Pakistan’s High Commissioner Maj. Gen. (R) Muhammad Saad Khattak called on Air Force Commander Sumangala Dias at Air Force Headquarters and Navy Commander Piyal De Silva during his visits to the Air Force and Naval headquarters on Friday.
Girl Guides marks 103rd anniversary with religious ceremonies
The Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association will celebrate its 103rd anniversary on Saturday March 21 with religious ceremonies. An all-night pirith ceremony will be held on Saturday at SLGGA National Headquarters in Colombo 7, followed by an alms giving for 103 Buddhist monks at the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo 2. The 103rd Anniversary is celebrated [...]
Awarded PhD in Social Development
D.K.S. Pathirana, Chief Executive and General Manager of the Consumer Co-Operative Society has been awarded a PhD in Social Development. He received his Doctorate at the 12th convocation of the South Asian Faculty of Good Governance and the 3rd convocation of the Victoria International University held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. The photo shows [...]
Urgent appeal for life-saving financial assistance
Six-year-old Samanmalee Perera is suffering from acute liver failure. Doctors have recommended that she undergo immediate liver transplant surgery in order to save her life. As facilities are not available in Sri Lanka to perform this complicated surgery, arrangements have been made for it to be done at a medical institute in India. The cost [...]
Pera Uni Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science begins admissions for BVSc degree
The Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) degree of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (FVMAS) of the Peradeniya University has commenced admissions. The BVSc has a new curriculum, which is a step towards gaining international recognition and accreditation. With FVMAS being the only higher education institution in Sri Lanka that offers an undergraduate [...]
90:90 gender parity in senior leadership: UN transforming organisational culture
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 11 2020 (IPS) - The United Nations claims it has reached one of its primary goals relating to women’s rights in the world body: Gender parity at senior levels of management and in the highest echelons of the organisation. Leading the way, besides the UN Secretariat, is UN Women, ‘the United Nations Entity [...]
A stress test for public health systems
LONDON – On January 25, Chatham House and Georgetown University hosted US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin for a discussion about US economic policymaking and the world. Mnuchin had come straight from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, but the dominant theme of that gathering (“stakeholder capitalism”) had already been eclipsed by [...]
Adopting AI: Far-reaching implications
In computer science, “artificial intelligence” or AI refers to intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals. It is the ability of a computer programme or a machine to think and learn. AI is one of the major developments of our time. Machine learning and the implications that go with it are [...]