The three-day Bangladeshi film festival organized by the Bangladesh High Commission here between March 29 and 31, had brought out the secular trend in film-making in that Islam-majority country. Subjects that would be considered sensitive in South As

By the time we entered the second half of the Festival, I had a gut feeling who’d win. Sometimes it’s good to trust your instincts. Grease Yaka Returns scooped up seven awards, one after the other, and went on to

Forty-four years after its inception the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies (PGIPBS) of the Kelaniya University has finally got land to build its own premises thanks to the hard work of its present director, Venerable Professor Kotap

The historic Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force which was established on 01st April 1881 proudly celebrates its 138th Anniversary on 01st April 2019. The Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force....

What a performance it was. From Saturday, March 17 to Monday, March 19, there were strange happenings at the Borella Junction and its environs. There was a man with body paint....

Handapangoda Upananda Batugedara was born on October 20, 1918 and passed away on March 29, 1980. He was a poet of second generation of ‘Colomaba Yugaya’ and he started poetic work from his school days at Ananda College Colombo and developed his t

V. Jacob de Mel the Patriarch of a well-known Sinhala family dominated the business and agricultural landscape of Ceylon during colonial times and died on April 1, 1919. His 100th death anniversary falls on April 1.

The 32nd Batch of the Royal Ceylon Air Force ( RCyAF) commemorated its Golden Jubilee on February 17, at the Galle Face Hotel in grand style with a gala lunch. Berty Widanagamage,

One of the greatest gifts Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) received from the Western world was the Jesuit missionaries. They came from USA, Italy and France. A prized import was Fr. Benjamin Henry Miller from New Orleans who came over to Batticaloa in 1948 at

The much awaited proposed Budget 2019 presented by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera is being highly criticised claiming that it is a dream budget. On the other hand Budget 2019 is being showered with praise by several others.

A popular restaurant was recently raided by Colombo Municipal Council Health Inspectors. The video footage of the raid quickly went viral in social media platforms for storing food items unsuitable for human consumption.

Amarapiya Memorial Elders’ Care Centre at Uda-Mapitigama in Dompe is one out of two elders’ centres dedicated to the Visually Impaired. The centre is managed by Sri Lanka Buddhist Association for the Blind in Yakkala.

On Sunday March 31, 2019, the Karaka Sangha Sabha of the Malwatta Chapter of the Siam Maha Nikaya, headed by most Venerable Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangalabhidana Maha Nayaka Thera, will bestow the prestigious...

We may have the highest speed mobile network at hand but it doesn’t stop us from wanting a mobile network which gives us more high speed. Futuristic movies such as ‘Terminator’ showed about a concept called SkyNet which sums up the world at fin

Globalization is a process where countries in the world move closer together. It is by no means, a new concept, as it began with the age of the computer and the internet that had acted as the cornerstone in bringing societies...

Since the migration of her mother three years ago, 16-year-old Nilmini* is responsible for the well-being of her family. With her two younger sisters, Nilmini lives in Rasnayakapura, a town which belongs....

Saumya Kumarawadu, President of the Engineers’ Union of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), says that they were right. There is a power crisis, and in all probability it will get (much) worse within the next two or three years.

At its 60th jubilee, the distinguished University of Sri Jayawardenepura (USJP) celebrates an historic 145-year journey of serving the people of Sri Lanka. Amidst the milestone celebrations in special programmes planned for the following months, the

It is good to know that the Pali Tipitaka has been given the recognition it deserves by being designated a part of the National Heritage. It is also fitting that the announcement of this designation has been announced by President Sirisena at Aluvih

The Polhena Diving Centre in Madiha, Matara mobilized the community on Saturday March 16 to clean up the beach front and build awareness against pollution. More than 150 local and international participants, including tourists and local businesses, w

The Attorney General’s Department, the Police Special Task Force and the Police Narcotic Bureau are in discussion with the Judiciary to obtain approval to destroy a large haul of narcotics on April 1, the Police Narcotics Bureau told the Daily Mirr

Appreciation Night of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) was held on Friday, March 15, 2019, to felicitate the Attorneys who had completed 50 years at the Bar for their valuable contribution made to the legal profession. The Chief Guest was Atto

With reluctance, caution and innocent ignorance I approach to respond to Dr. Upul Wijawardhana’s above captioned article, as the President Maithripala Sirisena, it is reported, has said when declaring the Tripitaka as a national heritage, those San

When the Sri Dalada Maligawa was bombed in 1998, 20 years ago on January 25, precisely at 5.35 am, the service monks were on the verge of opening the Shrine room doors. The Pattirippuwa (Octagon) of the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy was built by the archi

Ginnen Upan Seethala is that rare work: it combines history and fiction so much that we can’t draw a line between the two. Purists and activists from the time in which it is set will no doubt object to its depiction of that history, but even accoun

The book turns back the pages of Lankan History to a lesser known scenario when Sinhala bhikkhus set sail across the Indian Ocean, reached Burma then known as Ramanna and expanded Sinhala Theravada Buddhism which gave way for Sinhala cultural motifs

The ratification by consensus of Resolution No 40/1 by the UN Human Rights Council has given Sri Lanka another two years in which to implement the commitments it made at this same forum over three and a half years ago in October 2015.

The Gratiaen Trust is pleased to announce a long list for the Gratiaen Prize 2018. The shortlist will be announced on Monday 8 April, 6.00 p.m. at the British Council Library, Colombo. All are invited to attend this event at which a moderated discuss

The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre Colombo will present Jaltenhainjiskeliye – a musical evening of Hindustani film songs from the 1950s and 60s on March 28, 2019, at the Centre’s auditorium at 16/2, Gregory’s Road, Colombo 07.

The whole region around Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka’s ancient capital, is dotted with village reservoirs managed by small-scale farmers. Referred to locally as tanks, the reservoirs form part of complex irrigation systems in use since time immemorial