With 1,751,892 registered voters as at 2018, Gampaha is described as one of the ‘swing districts’ and is also the second largest with 18 seats next to Colombo. Why it is described as a swing District is because 14 out of the 15 times there has been a national vote, people of Gampaha have voted the right way. Known to be a stronghold of the Blue Party, the District is also home to the Biyagama Export Zone, thereby attracting a migratory population
The third of four articles, outlines from an upcoming book The Dutch clergyman was seen as a state official, with the result that Dutch schools, in spite of their emphasis on religious instruction and training, became secular enclaves: in 1760 at the Dutch Seminary, for instance, preparing youths for the Ministry was discouraged. Attempts to impose Protestantism on locals gradually failed: Jacob Haafner, a German in the pay of the Dutch Company r
Islamic radicalism and the dangers it poses to the Maldives and the South Asian region was a major issue in the long drawn out international movement to bring down the government of President Abdulla Yameen in 2018. A year later, Islam has come to
Kalana 2019 the award ceremony, relating to performing arts, media art and literature organized by the Kelaniya University Art Council will be held for the third time on November 14 at 06.30 p.m. under the patronage of the Vice Chancellor D. M. Semasinghe at the Dharmaloka Hall of the University. Forty awards are to be awarded t
‘Acupressure for a healthy life’ is a workshop series conducted by Deshamanya Dr. Cyril Antony, in order to share the knowledge of treating and preventing diseases by using Acupressure among the general public.
The National Peace Council (NPC) has expressed concern that Sri Lanka could lose benefits such as the GSP plus tariff concession and the USD 480 million MCC grant if it unilaterally withdrew from the UNHRC resolution signed in Geneva in 2015.
When people hear something described as sustainable, it’s usually in reference to being “environmentally friendly”. While the concept of living “sustainably” is more often than not, focused on protecting the natural resources of the earth, living sustainably isn’t only about environmental protection.
“One day in May, 1990, I was walking along the pavement when I noticed some old ‘Readers Digest’ magazines for sale. I bought two of them, one Rupee each. In that year’s March edition there was an article titled ‘Don’t let My Father Die’ which was published as a real life story. The story was about a nine-year-old girl who saved her father in a display of daring bravery. I was inspired by reading this article and I wrote to Readers’ Digest reques
Sri Lanka is reeling from the downpour across the island, with hundreds of people across ten districts affected by flash floods, heavy rainfall and strong winds. While in the capital, commuters were seen grappling with flooded roads, which disrupted traffic flow across the city last week, at least five weather-related fatalities were reported earlier this month from various parts of the
Following the Easter Sunday carnage, tourism was one of the main income generating sectors that experienced a thundering blow. Almost all tourists left the country while many bookings were cancelled. Although several tax concessions were given to hotels, particularly those registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, small scale hotels suffered badly.
Currently, more than 28,000 species are threatened with extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species - the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.
I first set eyes on the larger than life character of Michael J. De Zoysa, sporting an imposing “afro mop “ hair style as a 16-year-old school boy, when he picked me up from “homeleigh” my parents’ house on Castle Street to play cricket for the SSC in a Division III game. We hit it off from day one and thus the start of a 40-year long friendship - mentor, boss and spiritual guide in later years. Naturally I called him “Mike” as everyone at the SS
‘Niwahal Sithuvili Sithana Sithath Udarai’ reads the first stanza of Pandit W. D. Amaradeva’s popular track written by Dolton Alwis. It translates to “great is the mind of an independent thinker”. But for centuries, free-thinkers and those with creative ideas and rich imaginations were viewed as a threat to conventional society. Recently, post-modernist writer and poet Shakthika S
Sunil Ariyaratne once told me of a film he watched at the Quinlon in Nugegoda in the early 1970s. The film was Ryan’s Daughter, and it was directed by the great David Lean, who also made the immensely popular Doctor Zhivago. Dayan Jayatilleka, who would have been all of 15 at the time when Ariyaratne was approaching 21, told me that as far as movies came and went, Ryan’s Daughter was “forgettably anodyne” (go ahead, check it up). Despite the blan
Rising from the ashes, the reconstructed Peter De Abrew Memorial Auditorium and Sports Complex of Musaeus College will be reopened today, giving prominence to the event in a solemn manner by following traditional Buddhist rituals and blessings.
My mind travels back to a day in the mid-1970s when I was a young Advocate. At that time, I had a great desire to do a Pitman’s Course in shorthand and typewriting at ‘The Polytechnic’ in Wellawatte, which was an institution established by the Muthukrishna family. Mano Muthukrishna was in charge.
Canada issues travel advisory over serious risk in Arugam Bay
More countries issue travel advisories
Sri Lanka Tourism invites global travellers for upcoming season
Russian embassy urges citizens to stay vigilant in Arugam Bay
US Embassy issues travel warning for Arugam Bay
Immigration authorities to crack down on overstaying Russians, Israelis
Sri Lanka may face another economic turmoil: Sajith