Aussie ex-PM Morrison was all at sea when it came to integrity
After four years of despair, and millions of dollars spent by the Australian government to incarcerate them, a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee family have had their human rights and faith in humanity restored. The asylum-seeking family, Priya and Nades Murugappan and their two Australian-born daughters, Kopica and Tharnicaa, have had a protracted struggle to stay [...]
Consent in the world of the Internet
In Sri Lanka, and elsewhere, a man (like myself) standing at a bus stop will not have the same experience as a woman or a gender non-conforming person doing the same daily mundane activity. Similarly, our experiences online, especially on social media, are also mediated and shaped by our own gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, class [...]
Lessons from Dutch history
As May draws to a close, the brave folk at Gotagogama continue their struggle and the Aragalaya has passed its fiftieth day – our country is still in a mess. In my column last month, I wrote, “While it is appropriate that the whole cabinet resigned last Monday, the people are not blind to the [...]
Awarded Lion of the Year
The District Convention of Lions Clubs International-District 306A1 was held recently at Eagles Lakeside, Attidiya. Lion Gayathri Hewavithana of Lions Club of Galkissa was awarded “Lion of the Year” for her overall performance during the lionistic year 2021/2022. The award was presented to Lion Gayathri by Chief Guest, International President 2007/2008 Lion Mahendra Amarasuriya PMJF. [...]
SAARC Women’s Association helps SLCP with critical pediatric medicines
The SAARC Women’s Association donated Rs 1,262,000 to the Sri Lanka College of Pediatricians (SLCP) to fund critical pediatric medicines. President Nimmi Thambiayah, Prabha Nair Nagalingam, Natalie De Silva, Tusitha Kumarakulasingam representing the SAARC Women’s Association met Prof Shaman Rajendrajith – President, SLCP, Prof Asvini Fernando, Prof Kalyani Guruge and a team of representatives to hand [...]
Atha Hitha: Rotaract Club donates dry rations
The Rotaract Club of Central Campus organised a donation campaign to donate dry ration packs to over 50 underprivileged and lower income families in a small village located in Sigiriya. The – “Atha Hitha” – project is one of the large scale initiatives that we’ve been able to complete amid this pandemic and economic downturn. [...]
The Finlandisation of Asia
By Takatoshi Ito, exclusively for the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka “Finlandisation” describes the commitment to strategic neutrality that a small country might make, to avoid provoking a much larger and more powerful neighbour. The term is derived from Finland’s longstanding policy of strict military non-alignment with either the Soviet Union or the West – [...]
Are the Rajapaksas regrouping?
Chamal Rajapaksa’s recent statement in Parliament that Mahinda Rajapaksa “should have retired from politics when his second presidential term came to an end” has to be viewed in the context of the times when brother Mahinda’s second term ended while he was at the zenith of his career and the position he occupies in his [...]