Can pets and wild animals get Covid-19?

Animal Coronaviruses have been known since the late 1930s and human pathogenic Coronaviruses were first discovered in humans in the mid-sixties.

Sri Lanka draws UNHRC’s attention to progress in reconciliation efforts

Refuting OHCHR’s grave charges, Colombo hints that Sri Lanka is a victim of Big Power rivalry

D.R Wijewardene’s 135th Birth Anniversary

The nation pays its tribute to one of Sri Lanka’s distinguished patriots annually on February 23. Today is the 135th Birth Anniversary of Don Richard Wijewardene (D.R). The general public of our country eternally remembers and respects him as the ‘Fath

A salute to greatness

Celebrating 147 Years of Wesley College Colombo

Wesley College Colombo - founded on the 2nd of March 1874 is named after John Wesley the Founder of the Methodist Church. On Founder’s Day the 2nd of March which is also the death anniversary of Rev. John Wesley, the Wesley Fraternity celebrate the memory of their Founder the Rev. Daniel Henry Pereira. Out of the 177 Methodist schools whic

World Thinking Day on 22 February

World Thinking Day, celebrated annually on the 22nd of February, is by far one of the most anticipated events of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts community. This day marks the joint birthdays of our founders Lord Baden Powell and his lady, the W

Heartwarming tale of two dogs and four men

This is a touching tale of friendship between dogs and people. It’s also a moving story of disaster and survival against all odds.

The heritage of Richard de Zoysa as a victim of State-terror

Richard de Zoysa, who was kidnapped and killed by a death squad operating under the knowledge of the state on 18 February 1990.....

Showing concerns over sowing seeds of conflict

Former UN officials and independent experts call on the international community to take immediate steps towards justice and accountability to end Sri Lanka’s cycles of violence.

Multilingualism vital for building Sri Lanka as a nation

International Mother Language Day is annually celebrated’ on February 21 annually to promote unity in diversity through multilingualism and multiculturalism since its official declaration by the United Nations in 2002.

My Quarantine Diary

‘Quarantine’; a word that makes the hair stand on one’s body, a word that was amiss to our vocabulary before the year 2020....

PCCSL handles 312 complaints in 2020

The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka (PCCSL) handled 312 complaints during the year 2020.

Highway to disaster?

Intending to protect the Ramsar Accredited Thalangama wetland from a proposed 10.4 km long highway project, which environmental activists say has posed a threat to the Thalangama lake, surrounding ecosystems and paddy fields, environmental activists, residents of the area and other concerned groups organised an awareness campaign on February 13, 2021, at the Thalangama Lake bridge.

Is it a giant leap backwards in the name of patriarchy?

154 years after the Sri Lanka Police was established, an Acting Woman Deputy Inspector General (WDIG) took office last October.

DIG Bimshani talks about patriarchal beliefs and perceptions towards women

On September 21, 2020 The National Police Commission granted approval to promote a female Police Officer as Deputy Inspector General of Police. The decision paved way to the appointment of DIG Bimshani Jasin Aarachchi making her the first female DIG in the country. Many applauded and felicitated, as DIG Bimshani came with glowing recommendations owing to her work with the Child and Women Bureau of the Police Department.

GDL NO MORE Veteran filmmaker passes away

G.D.L. Perera, (better known as GDL,) the veteran filmmaker, dramatist and theatre-specialist, passed away on Sunday in a hospital in London. He was ailing for sometimes.

Canada supports school meal programme, helps local farming

Global Affairs Canada recently funded one million Canadian Dollars (Around Sri Lankan Rs. 151 million) to help smallholder farmers cultivate nutritious crops for the National School Meal Programme. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Sri Lanka welcomed the funding for a nationally important cause.

Why Thai Pongal is Special for Saivaites

In the Government Calendar, January 15 is marked as a Public, Bank, and Mercantile Holiday and referred to as Tamil Thai Pongal Day. As we know, Pongal is a sweetened ‘Kiri Bath’.

A Great Personality Of Exceptional Character

“Bhikkhus, when virtuous renunciants dwell in dependence on a village or a town, there people generate much merit in three ways.

Last Girl: An impossible tale of survival

‘Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State’ by Nadia Murad (co-written with Jenna Krajeski) is no ordinary book.

MoU signed for design work for a swimming pool complex for the Colombo University

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Alumni Association of the University of Colombo and KWA Architects....

Saga of a Tamil king and lion flag

The 2345 year long monarchy in Sri Lanka ended with the capture of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe on February 18, 1815.

Performing last rites for COVID victims

The Sri Lanka Council of Religions for Peace (SLCRP), which is a multi-religious organization representing Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim....

Struggling against animal abuse

Animal abuse is rampant in our Island Nation. One wonders when and where the compassion, loving kindness and sympathy.....

Cricketing Legends batting For Road Safety

From the multiple Tsunami Appeal Matches in 2005, to the Big Appeal for the Bush fires in Australia last year and the annual Breast Cancer.....

Ecocide – Another pandemic in disguise

COVID-19 wasn’t the only pandemic that struck Sri Lanka in 2020. A mass scale Ecocide began and is continuing much to the dismay of environmental....

Focus on new COVID variants: Strengthening ‘herd immunity’ before B117 gets on top of us

Initially, the UK B117 VOC didn’t seem to be more fatal (although we learnt in past weekit is), but its ability to infect more people means that it will kill more people.

Revisiting the RTI Act and its evolution in the digital sphere

The Right to Information (RTI) Act No. 12 of 2016 brought with it a promise of open government, citizen’s active participation in governance and accountability to the people of the country. With RTI, anybody from a remote village such as Siyambalan

The Lion Flag Symbol of Liberation

In 623 B.C., in Kapilavatthu on the Indian borders of present Nepal was born Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the aristocratic Sakya clan.

A good soul with a heart of a little child

It’s been a year since Thaththa passed away in to the Lord’s arms peacefully on February 9, 2020, after quite a lengthy illness. He breathed his last in the presence of my mother and my two younger brothers in our home where he shared the last ten years of life with my mother. They were married for 47 years at the time of his demise.