Might Modi lose India’s ongoing general election?
By Shashi Tharoor, Project Syndicate, Exclusive to the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka NEW DELHI – As India’s general election enters its second month, most conventional expectations have already been upended. Complacent pundits had long ago concluded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win comfortably. But two phases in [...]
The deadliest days for journalists in war zones
World Press Freedom Day was marked on Friday, May 3 By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IPS)—The seven-month-long war in Gaza is perhaps the only military conflict in contemporary history that has claimed the lives of over 100 journalists, including victims of targeted killings. As of April 26, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect [...]
A May Day plea: ‘Mayday or M’aider’
I have amused myself this week watching all the May Day activities taking place in our country. May first was traditionally celebrated as the first day of Spring in northern Europe—which explains how activities like wearing spring flowers and dancing around a Maypole became associated with May Day. In 1891, the delegates at the Second [...]
Compiling Interventions: Lessons in politics
By Uthpala Wijesuriya When the war ended in 2009, I was six years old. It was around this time that I started school. In 2013, I did my Grade 5 Scholarship Exam, and in 2014, I moved to a new school. This coincided with a period of collapse in a regime that had come to [...]
Maha Bodhi Society marks death anniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala
The Maha Bodhi Society of India (MBSI) commemorated the 91st death anniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala at its headquarters in Kolkata and several of its centres in India last Monday (April 29). MBSI manages centres at Buddha Gaya, Sarnath, Sravasti, Kusinara, Bhubaneswar, Lumbini and New Delhi visited by Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka and other countries [...]
Archiammi on her 100th Birthday – A centenary of life and love
Tribute Our beloved Archiammi, Enid De Silva, turns 100-years-old on May 7. As we gather to celebrate this momentous occasion, we count our blessings, and are grateful for the lifetime of sweet memories with her. The children, too, adore their great-grandmother, as she continues to spoil them with marshmallows, chocolates and sweets, demonstrating her love [...]
Bishop Kirby de Lanerolle appointed Gen-Sec of IIADS
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The International Independent Apostolic Diocesan Synod (IIADS), under the governance of the Indian National Apostolic Diocese (INA), announced the promotion of Bishop Kirby de Lanerolle to the position of General Secretary. This new role entrusts him with the spiritual oversight of over 11,000 churches spread across South Asia, the Middle East, [...]