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

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 re

In his influential essay “The People of the Lion”, Professor R. A. L. H. Gunawardena argues for a national historiography devoid of Western ideology. He does not refute or call for the doing away of the latter

Now my dreams are of explosions In the stillness of the nights slumber Loud deafening sounds ring through my ears

“Fathers and Sons” by Prof. Sumathi Sivamohan is a very unusual movie. It is rich in texture, combining a fascinating mix of bleak storytelling counter-balanced by the richness of its music and some of the visuals.

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.

On May 6, 2019, the official opening of the ‘XIV Ramadan Tent’ Muslim cultural event took place at the Memorial Mosque on Poklonnaya Hill near the VictoryMuseum in Moscow.

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

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.

The response of civil society, the harbingers of political radicalism, was telling. It took days for the activists (and I don’t mean the Friday Forum, English-speaking, Colombo ones) to get up on stage and condemn what happened.

We commemorate Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinirvana in this month of Vesak, amidst one of the worst calamities Sri Lanka has encountered – a carnage caused by misguided fanatics as a result of extremist beliefs.

I’m a survivor with battle wounds I’m an orphan from the bombers tools I’m a husband with no wife to love

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

“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 cre

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 fearin

Nearly two week have gone by, and yet we cannot overcome our shock and disbelief that such dastardly acts were committed in this country.

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 groun

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 ag

“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

Open Letter to the President, the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet and Members of Parliament regarding the situation in Sri Lanka Your Excellencies, We, the undersigned women and men, are members of civil society....

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

Over the past several days, I have reflected prayerfully on what happened in three Christian churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and also in some of our city hotels on Easter Sunday. It is sad that humans have arrogated to themselves the righ

Every single footballer in Sri Lanka as well as thousands of the games’ fans and fanatics will remember the great sports promoter, benefactor and trusted poor man’s helper President R. Premadasa whose 26th death anniversary fell on May 1.

The Easter Sunday calamity on April 21 in Sri Lanka is undoubtedly one of the greatest destruction of world peace.

A series of articles penned by civil society outfits and activists try to shift the blame from the Prime Minister, who wasn’t informed and can’t resign, to the President, who was but has decided not to resign.

The Easter Sunday attacks have been extremely traumatizing to one’s eye. As photos, videos and subject matter relating to these events continue to circulate on mainstream and social media, it may be difficult for certain people to grab everything a

Sri Lanka’s security forces have engaged in many battles and armed confrontations during the long war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009 brought an end to the conflict. Thereafter for te

It was almost a decade ago that countries across Europe began wrestling with the issue of the Muslim veil – in its various forms. The debate encapsulated religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. The conver