Wanathawilluwa forest clearance: Whodunit?

Days after the Anawilundawa Ramsar Wetland, situated in Puttalam District, made headlines over an illegal clearance, nearly 100 acres of forest area was reportedly destroyed in Kuratiyamohotte.....

More reasons for Govt. to enact Animal Welfare Bill

While Sri Lanka applauded the Government’s move to ban cattle slaughter, several acts of cruelty towards animals had been reported during the past couple of days. One of them was reported from Kalawana.....

Linear Park along Baladaksha Mawatha: Vandalism more than just an eyesore

While the government has a major role in protecting and maintaining public property, in essence it is the public that ultimately utilise and benefit from such facilities.

‘I’m scared to see her face’

On August 13, a woman happened to meet a child who was in desperate need of help. The child’s only plea was “Aney Aunty, mawa beraganna” (Please save me Aunty). The child was promptly escorted to the Wattegama Police Station, in Kandy where they were made to sit for hours simply because of a snag in the country’s police system.

An urgent appeal from TrikonE

As veteran filmmaker and dramatist Dharmasiri Bandaranaike moves into the seventh decade of his life, both he and his TrikonE Cultural Foundation are facing a crisis.

Vulnerable adolescents or victims of abuse?

On September 6 as many as 100 adolescent couples in Anuradhapura were taken in for questioning on the accusation of engaging in ‘improper behaviour’.

ECHOES OF COVID-19!

The aftermath is resonant, redolent with unuttered pain, fleeting shadows pass into embers urging us to think and rethink, to get down on our knees bow our heads and pray.

CPA deeply concerned: Changes proposed in 20A and its impact on democracy

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned by the changes proposed by the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution Bill gazetted...

Kidneys that whisper death

A flute version of Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’ was echoing from a distance, indicating the hour of the choon paan vehicle. The young and the old alike had arrived at the roadside to purchase an evening snack. Harmonising the background noise was the chatter of few women walking back home from an evening bath. We were in Galenbindunuwew

Cannabis: Cutting Through the Haze

There is a concentrated effort around the world to make cannabis use legal. Different types of strategies and themes are used in different countries to justify this. For example, in Canada it was the liberal ideology that was leveraged

Paangshu: Rediscovering old dimension

Paangshu, Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s second feature, brings in a new dimension to Sri Lankan cinema by rediscovering old, nearly forgotten values.

Visakesa Chandrasekaram, ‘Paangshu’ and the Prize (Price) of Memory

As the ending note to a recent interview he had with Upul Shantha Sannasgala (of which the video can be viewed on YouTube, Visakesa Chandrasekaram...

Two Sri Lankan journalists among top global SOPA award winners

Two senior Sri Lankan journalist won prestigious global awards given by Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) for their reporting on the Easter Sunday attacks.

Burning Panamanian tanker leaves SL authorities gutted

Weeks after MV Wakashio, a Japanese-owned bulk carrier, ran aground a coral reef in Mauritius, a crude oil carrier MT New Diamond caught fire around 38 nautical miles East of Sangamankanda Point in the East Coast of Sri Lanka on September 3.

A lady and a woman of substance to her fingertips

Bhavani left us on the 15th of June last year and her passing away left a huge void not just among her family but among her numerous friends. So much so that even today no gathering seems complete without her presence; beautifully dressed and impeccably groomed, a lady and a woman of substance to her fingertips.

Miss You! Miss You!

Kingsley married Margaret in 1967 and lived as husband and wife for 48 lovely years bearing three children, made them I.T. professionals, married and settled down well in life. Hailing from the illustrious family of the Rajamonies of Welihena, Kochchikade, Negombo, she was the 6th gem in a family of 6 brothers and one sister. She was in perfect health, a devoted wife, loving mother, affectionate to grandchildren and concern of her siblings. She w

A tribute to Ruana Rajapakse

Even a cursory look at Ruana Rajapakse’s life and work reveals an extraordinarily ambitious and accomplished woman: a Supreme Court Attorney and a playwright; a newspaper columnist and an environmentalist; a novelist and a legal advocate.

Philosopher King and Francis of Serendib

According to Plato, a ‘philosopher king’ is a ruler who possesses both a love of wisdom, as well as intelligence, reliability, and a willingness to live a simple life. Such are the rulers of his utopian city Kallipolis. For such a community to ever come into being, “philosophers [must] become kings…or those now called kings [must]…genuinely and adequately philosophise” (Plato The Republic, 5.473d).

Drug wars & overcrowded prisons

With several prison staff members accused of supporting inmates to obtain drugs, prisons and prisons officials have been in the spotlight in the recent past. Incidents where inmates have used different tactics to have narcotics delivered into the prisons, garnered attention,

ILLEGAL AUSTRALIAN DRUG REHAB

To have received her son’s death certificate on the day she brought him to the world — exactly 37 years ago — was the hardest experience for British national Maryanne India Beare.

Local farmers face newer challenges in a post-COVID era

The Dambulla Dedicated Economic Centre (DDEC) is a hive of activity from 5.00am onwards on any given day.

Vap Full Moon Poya Katina Pinkama - Noblest Religious activity of Buddhists

Vap Full Moon Poya Day is of special significance to Buddhists because of the Katina pinkama as well as several other events which took place on this day and during the month of Vap. Gautama Buddha’s completion of His Vas period in Thusitha

Maha Pajapati Gotami and her quest to gain spiritual freedom

It is the full moon day of September. Today we commemorate the arising of the Bhikkhuņī order in the world. Over 2600 years ago, during the 5th year of Buddha-hood the Bhikkhuņī order arose in the world. Queen Ma

Sri Lanka’s ethnic and language issues as seen by historians

It was not a surprise that Sri Lanka’s ethnic/language issue was raised on the very first sitting of the 9th Sri Lankan parliament on August 20 by C.V. Wigneswaran, the lone member of the radical Tamil Makkal Thesiya Koottani (TMTK). The issue was his stock in trade. And as expected, his speech kicked up a controversy. In his brief speech, he asserted the Tamils’ right to “self-determination” as per an international convention. He gave a grim war

Cultural Challenges in Sinhala-to-English Translation

Translation as an art and skill is an integrated process which involves the comprehension, analysis,reformulation and recontextualisation of texts by incorporating the contextual, semantic and socio- cultural aspect of source language and target language texts.While the translator is supposed to render a meaningful and an accurate conversion of

Remembering Dr Maria Montessori on her 150th Birth Anniversary

The World of Montessori Education celebrates a very special day on the August 31 (Today) - the 150th birthday of beloved Dr Montessori.

Remember the challenge to walk for the old

Many of us think having a failing memory is a sign of old age. But Prof. Shehan Williams, President of the Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation....

Missing you this year too!

Victoreen Marina Hassan, my wife, passed away peacefully on August 25, 2008. It’s an everlasting sadness that she is no longer here with me. Every day I think of her as if she is just near me. Her love towards me was constant and her devotion had no end. Victoreen placed gold on my finger and brought love like I have never known. She gave life to our children and to me; and these are reasons to go on. When I needed hope and inspiration, she was a

K.I was a shining star in the legal profession

Kingsley Ireton De Silva, Senior Attorney at Law of Negombo and popularly known as “K. I.” glided away calmly and serenely in his sleep in the evening of March 23, 2020, just a few days prior to his land mark 90th Birthday which fell on 04th April 2020. His death was peaceful.

A great leader blessed with farsightedness

May this attempt be a life reverberating gift presented on the very day His Lordship Anton Ranjith Pillanayagam the Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo is consecrated.