Though not an avowed Buddhist, I’ve come to understand that the words of the Buddha, the Buddha Vachana, have in them a profound meaning which gets lost and obscured in the fog of ideology. Put simply, they are more adhered to in the letter than the spirit.
Sirs, in January 2015, you were given a mandate and appointed the custodians of this nation by its people for the safety, security and prosperity of Sri Lanka. But the horrendous tragedy that unfolded on Easter Sunday has brought to light the nature of a hugely dysfunctional government.
Daylight in Wayamba gives its residents the opportunity to assess the situation of their neighbourhood, following a grim and fearful start to the holy Vesak week. The Police curfew enforced early Monday (May 13) evening in the North Western Province however, prevents them from setting about their daily work.
Submerged in our current encounter with terrorism, devastation and anger provoke us to impulsively ascribe suicide bombing to the lunacy of the bombers themselves, or to something inherent in the ‘ideals’ of the bomber’s ethnic or religious group- which to those of us on the outside is blatantly brutal, inhumane and regressive. The world
I came across a book called “Sufism -A Celebration of Love” published in India in 2012. It’s a collection of articles on the subject in English, published by the Foundation of SAAARC Writers and Literature, which is an Apex body of SAARC in New Delhi in India. It is edited by Ajeet Cour, Noor Zaheer and Refaqat Ali Khan. Running to 240 pages it is priced at Rs 400 in Indian Currency. The address of the Foundation is 4/6, Siri Fort institutional A
The Forum on Disarmament and Development (FDD) said it was deeply shocked and saddened by the suicide bombings at churches and hotels across Sri Lanka on April 21, which caused the loss of over 250 lives and injured over 500 innocent people including foreign nationals
After the horrific events of Easter Sunday, the universal principles of harmonious co-existence and reconciliation espoused by my late father, Judge C.G.Weeramantry, reverberate with deep relevance. This is an opportune moment in time to pause and reflect on some of his ideas. A central thread in my father’s writing was bridge-building. He was referring not to physical bridges but to bridges of understanding. To him, these metaphorical structu
Nihal Seneviratne as Clerk and Secretary-General to Parliament at Galle Face and Diyawanna Oya, served six Prime Ministers, seven Speakers and about 2000-3000 Members of Parliament, while the country went through two insurgencies and a civil war.
From the age of three, I have vivid memories of all the astounding times I had with my beloved mother, together in this riddle called life, for which I thank my samsaric karma, for creating my existence as the only child of such an exceptional lady,
Terrorist attacks unfortunately are a fact of life in the 21st century. Almost all Western countries such as the US, UK, France, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Australia have experienced terrorist attacks in the not-too-distant past. These leaders were intelligent and smart in realising international terrorism was an element of danger that could not be eradicated,
Owing to government inaction to pass the proposed Animal Welfare Bill, a group of petitioners from animal welfare and religious organisations filed a case in the Court of Appeal (CA) to draw attention to the urgency of getting such a bill passed.
Most of the developing countries in the third world receive almost unlimited assistance for local social development from international non-government organizations (NGO). Sri Lanka is one among those recipients scattered in the third world. Most of these NGOO are ready and willing to assist the developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and even in the developed
“Colombo” by Mohan Raj Madawala is an ambitious book, set in the early part of the 20th century with a story line that spans three generations. This is his fifth novel, and he has four previous novels and three short story collections to his credit.
There was a collective anguish over helplessness and isolation inside the garage of a police station in Negombo, Sri Lanka where dozens of asylum seekers and refugees, having fled Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen, were staying for 17 days fearing retaliation for the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
In a much hailed landmark judgment delivered in early April, the Supreme Court ordered the Northern Power Company to pay compensation amounting to Rs. 20 million to residents in Chunnakam who have been adversely affected by the contamination of ground water by its thermal power station.
If Sri Lankan communities are going to unite NOW, it is the time. In fact they must do so and defeat the purpose of ISIS or whoever was behind the Easter bombings that rocked our beautiful island. We all have close Muslim friends. Those who are my age (many decades old) have had lifelong Muslim friends who are as near and dear to us as our own relatives sometimes. I know I have one. She is Jezima Ismail – as close to me as a sister.
“What have they planned for us?” the boy next to me asked, bewildered, as the van we all were in drove up past the gates. He got the answer immediately: a procession of students lined up before a budhu medura, boys on one side, girls on the other. It was charming, but perhaps a little too much to take in, since nothing I, or we, had done had warranted a retinue which had obviously been arranged for us. We got down clumsily, some so confused that
In celebration of its 125th Anniversary, the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) hosts a special for its members, interactive edition of its monthly lecture series with short presentations (15 minutes each) to be made by four experts....
It was in the mid-1980s, I joined The Island newspaper as Deputy Features and Culture Page editor. At that time prominent journalists were working for the paper. Most of them are or were Editors in Chief of various English language papers and some of them turned academics.
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