Sri Lanka’s Spitfire pilots: A FORGOTTEN HISTORY

Aviation history fascinates me and I’ve seen enough WWII pictures of Hurricanes and Spitfires, the 

MR’s breakaway and SLFP’s family-rule mindset

Succession of leadership of political parties is always a subject of controversy. In Sri Lanka, of all these political entities, which came into being in the early part of the 20th Century, the overall political 

Geneva Resolution and Federalism as it is Today

On September 5 this year, the Global  Sri Lankan Forum conducted a public seminar titled ‘Geneva Resolution and Federalism as it is 

If beef is your favourite food, live close to a hospital

With the World Health Organisation’s South and Southeast Asian Regional Council holding its session in Colombo, the spotlight is on the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and a 

Mini hydro power plants; money spinner for few; disaster for nature

Mini hydro power plants are steadily conquering the energy sector in Sri Lanka. Amidst much controversy, private....

Is Ban Ki-moon reading too much of Tamilnet?

In 2009, then President Mahinda Rajapaksa had to let in thoughts begrudgingly, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on....

There is a place in the sun for Sri Lanka - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka will today launch a powerful move in the battle against climate change, with the installation of renewable solar energy.....

Anjelina’s birth proves extremely premature babies can be saved

The youngest premature baby in Sri Lanka was born on June 19 of this year, at the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital. The...

Seventy percent of deaths in Sri Lanka are caused by NCDs

The World Health Organization has always played a crucial role in supporting the Sri Lankan healthcare system with its....

Family of engineers seeks solace in Dhamma

“We realized it was better to understand the Dhamma taught by Lord Buddha in-depth and to pursue the path to attain...

GETTING AWAY WITH ROAD MURDER

“Meeeeoooowwww” screeched Tommo, a pussycat as he spun the wheel of a new hybrid limousine belonging to his mistress Joy Perera....

NCDA launched to fight Non-Communicable Diseases

The public health landscape in Sri Lanka is fast changing due to rapid urbanisation and because of the effects of globalisation.....

Create an accountable State

Parliament is a key institution in our democracy. Didn’t we form ‘governments of politicians, by the politicians, for the politicians’ since....

Soft power and its influence today

The Defence Ministry should be praised not only for taking this most important initiative to hold this seminar and for the sixth....

Today is 87th Birth Anniversary of Mervyn De Silva: In the way of resistance Mervyn de Silva and SLF

In the way of resistance, there were few lonely voices…In the main, though, the foreigner took the Ceylonese upper class....

Mother Teresa of Kolkata - EDITORIAL

Mother Teresa of Calcutta also known as the “Saint of the Gutters”, was canonized Mother Teresa of Kolkata by Pope Francis......

“Dharussalam” in the Eye of a Political Storm Within The Muslim Congress

“Dharussalam” meaning “abode or house of peace” is the name given to the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) headquarters at 53 Vauxhall Lane in Slave Island or Colombo 2. The impressive seven-storey structure was constructed mainly through the untiring efforts of M.H.M. Ashraff the legendary leader of the SLMC. “Dharussalam” was officially declared open on October 23, 1998. 

SLFP’s Kurunegala Summit of May 1959

“To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do-for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder”   -Inaugural Address of President Kennedy -January 20, 1961 

Reading the Past, Writing the Future

Next Thursday September 8 is the golden jubilee of the International Literacy Day proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The theme of this gold-letter day is, “Reading the Past, Writing the Future”. According to UNESCO, this event celebrates and honours the past five decades of national and international engagement, efforts and progress made to increase literacy rates around the wo

Enlightening youth on importance of medicinal plants

Recent UN and FAO reports reveal that world is losing forest at the rate of 3 million hectares a year, according to 2010 - 2015 figures. Sadly, Sri  Lanka has also been trapped in the same boat for many years, and our forest cover is below 20% of the land. However, dwindling forest resources are known to have several serious drawbacks. First, it robs the present and future generations of valuable and wide-range plant  species around us.

Why did the LTTE fail? Thamilini’s answers

The defeat in 2009 of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which had overrun many huge military bases in the.....

Democracy,Human Rights and human dignity

Address by Senior Professor Ravindra Fernando, Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights, University of Colombo.....

Channelling Youth Towards Creating Positive Change

Sri Lanka’s youth are often viewed as firebrands. It isn’t surprising considering the riots of ’83 to the almost monthly protests....

Super billionaires turn into prophets of justice - EDITORIAL

Next Monday September 5 is the International Day of Charity and the United Nation in a statement says charity contributes to.....

Academics, professionals and activists demand banning landmines

The Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines (SLCBL) on August 25 handed over a petition entitled “Ban Anti-personnel Landmines and Cluster Munitions in Post-war Sri Lanka”  to President Maithripala Sirisena.  The petition was signed by members of the academia, professionals, business community and civil society.

From transparency to opacity

One of the most unfortunate things about establishing good governance in Sri Lanka is that its main advocates chose as flag-bearers people who neither knew nor cared about it. In a word, politicians. 

Constitution making mangala wants it asap

Panic struck certain quarters in politics last week after media reports appeared quoting Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera as having said that the new draft Constitution would be presented to Parliament for enactment prior to the budget.  

Sexual abuse case against a Doctor?

Sexual abuse cases where doctors abuse patients are seldom worldwide, as there are stringent ethics and standards in place by the health administration to prevent such incidents. Even in the Hippocratic Oath, which states the standards and ethics that all doctors should uphold, it clearly mentions, “I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm; 

Criminal negligence in medicinal drugs

A senior journalist said that when he recently went to a private hospital to consult a specialist, there were three patients and as many as 12 marketing representatives of drug companies. This shows the magnitude and complexity of the medicinal drug crisis Sri Lanka is facing, some 40 years after the revered Professor Seneka Bibile was virtually forced to resign when the then government came under pressure from the United States and the powerful

No division of country but the devolution of power”

In a historic first official visit Down South to Matara, Opposition Leader and Tamil National Alliance MP R. Sampanthan talks about the connection between Buddhism and Hinduism and the importance of Sinhala-Tamil unity. Following are excerpts from the speech he delivered at the passing out ceremony of vocationally trained younth of the  Sammadhi Community Development Foundation started by UNP MP Buddhika Pathirana.