The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) yesterday insisted that the selfimmolation committed by the ex-JHU monk, Ven. Bowatte Indarathana Thera was an act of self-sacrifice and not a case of suicide. The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and the Sihala Rawaya (SR)...

A nurse attached to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital had attempted suicide on Vesak Poya day by jumping into a well with her 10 month old baby. The nurse had been rescued but the child had unfortunately died in the tragic incident. The child had been...

The VIP lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) was exploited for the comfort of politically connected persons travelling abroad, United National Party ( UNP) MP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam charged in Parliament last week. MP Kariyawasam...

The government will introduce an urgent bill in Parliament next month to revise the powers of the Provincial councils, sources said yesterday. Accordingly, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution will be amended. The new bill will seek to amend the...

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) yesterday said the Buddha Sasana Ministry should be brought under the purview of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to protect Buddhism. BBS General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera told a news conference that the...

A tense situation prevailed in front of a private funeral parlour in Borella yesterday, when the remains of Ven. Bowatte Indarathana Thera who committed self-immolation were to be taken to the temple of his residence in Kahawatta, Ratnapura. Members...

Mahara Magistrate Darshika Wimalasiri ordered the Kiribathgoda police to arrest the Chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha Prasanna Ranaweera and produce him in court, in connection with the alleged assault on the businessman of the area and a...

The gang had then entered a neighbouring house by breaking open the doors and stole the electrical appliances. OIC Baduraliya police K.K.P. Udayakumara was conducting investigations. Police said the two men had taken the girl by force into an...

Health authorities have warned the organisers of 810 out of 5773 Vesak Dansalas all over the country. The Joint Secretary of the Sri Lanka Public Health Inspectors Union C.S. Mutukuda said they had informed the organisers of Dansalas to inform the...

A tyre factory in Amapara, opposite the Vidyananda Maha Pirivena was completely destroyed by a fire on Saturday. This fire has broke out around 1.30 early morning, according to sources. “Alarmed by the watcher of the factory the neighbours, police...

Valaichenai Police arrested three teachers, including the Principal, and produced them in court yesterday with regard to a death of a scout student, who drowned in Vahanery Bothaanai River in Batticaloa on Saturday. The arrested Principal and teachers...

Police opened fire when a suspect attempted to assault a police officer with a sword and to evade arrest. The suspect who received gunshot injuries in a leg was admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital. The suspect had been wanted in connection with a...

A large stock of about 400 kilos of beef was seized by the Kadawatha police and three suspects taken into custody during a raid on an illegal slaughter house at Enderamulla, Wattala. However, another three suspects had fled from the scene and evaded...

A resident of Kosgulana in Molkawa was hacked to death and his house ransacked by an unidentified gang on Friday night (24). The victim K. Ariyasena (39) was alone in the house while his wife and children had gone to view the Vesak celebrations. Two...

Two young men who were on a visit to Kalutara to view the Vesak decorations were drowned in the Kalu Ganga. One of the victims Chanaka Kumara (23) was from Padukka and the other Predeep Sandaruwan (16) from Ratnapura. They were in a group of about 12...

A suspect arrested by the Pitigala police in connection with the killing of a 73-yearold woman and abduction and rape of her daughter fell down a boulder and died when he attempted to escape. The victim Sarath Vipulasiri (43) was a resident of...

I think the government should have a dialogue with all political parties Looking forward to see how this will work out! Hmm… something to think about: wonder what India has to say

The prisons intelligence authorities apprehended a woman who tried to smuggle several SIM cards into Welikada Prison by concealing them in a bandage covering a leg wound. According to prisons sources she had come to visit a prisoner on death row. In...

Poor monk, this is something which the authorities are not able to ban; I mean cattle slaughtering Heard he succumbed, sad situation Why did the people not act quickly to douse the fire? Otherwise there would have been a chance to rescue him

There is a rise on the number of persons seeking vegetarian food in Sri Lanka, the Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Ministry said recently. The ministry sought the views of the general public last week on the introduction of standards to...

“Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said police and land powers would not be given to the Northern Province. I am not ready to talk to him because he is not the government,” said ITAK l eader R. Sampanthan at the Trincomalee District General...

Kandy Police HQ have initiated a special investigation into the death of the Ven Bowatte Indarathana Thera who set himself on fire on Vesak Poya day opposite the Queens Hotel in Kandy -- near Sri Dalada Maligawa. The statements of two journalists (of...

Transport Minister Kumara Welgama said engaging in politics in Sri Lanka was a business and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the United National Party were the main competitors. Addressing an event on the demise of former MP Daya D. Pasqual in...

The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Major General Qasim Qureshi visited Eastern Province of Sri Lanka recently. The visit was aimed at understanding the ground situation in the Province and to explore opportunities to further develop...

A German political strategist has asked the main Opposition United National Party (UNP) to conduct seminars on the economy throughout the country and to work out special measures to woo 'Sinhala Buddhist' votes for future electoral success, informed...

Two ships of Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) used by the Government of Japan for Counter Piracy Operations off the Coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden were at the Port of Trincomalee on a goodwill and replenishing visit from May...

The twin objective of enriching the pool of talent available in Sri Lanka and making professional services of higher quality available to the corporate sector in the country have been well achieved by the work of the Institute of Certified Management...

A Prosthetic limb manufacturing centre will be opened in Kilinochchi soon, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda said recently. The Minister made the following remarks at an event held in Kilinochchi...

The two hundred and sixth 'Upasampada' ceremony of both Asgiriya and Malwatte Chapters started on Friday at the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Upasamapda was introduced to the country by Upali Maha Thera from Thailand, at the instance of King Kirthi Sri...

The Engineering Faculty of the Moratuwa University organised a seminar and an exhibition at the Colombo Kingsbury Hotel recently to empower the young entrepreneurs. Minister of Higher Education S.B. Disanayaka participating in the event said, “Efforts...

Several residents of Galnewa, Anuradhapura bought and released some fresh water fish into the Mahaweli Canal after they had found a man was selling these fish alive. They saved the lives of about 15 kilos of kavaiya fish by doing this good deed. “I...

A large crowd faced a sudden wasp attack yesterday in the area between Anuradhapura bus-stand and Dahaiyagama junction. Four victims seriously harmed by it were admitted to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital. It is assumed that strong winds in the...

A Sri Lankan man living in Croydon in the United Kingdom has been charged with smuggling Lankan immigrants into the UK. SubramaniamVignarajah, 50, was arrested along with 11 other people as part of coordinated raids by immigration and police officers...

DMK President M. Karunanidhi requested the Centre to provide citizenship to over one lakh Sri Lankan Tamils living in India as refugees. Observing that continuous efforts were made to provide citizenship to the Eelam (separate home land) Tamils...

Ven. Bowatte Indarathana Thera who received serious burn injuries when he set himself on fire opposite the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy and passed away on Saturday night at the Sri Lanka National Hospital in Colombo, was a leading Buddhist monk who...

An officer of the Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Department has been suspended pending a full inquiry, following a complaint made by a foreigner over extortion of money allegedly by Sri Lanka Immigration officers at the Bandaranaike International...

A Sri Lankan Tamil refugee has been released from Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre after having her adverse security assessment overturned by ASIO. Manokala Jenaddarsan, 41, and her six-year-old son, Ragavan, were being held in indefinite detention...

Arrangements have been made to develop cities like Seethawaka in Avissawella and Huangyan in China which share historical, economic and cultural importance, a statement said. The Huangyan area is the hometown of China’s first Prime Minister Zhou...

The Frontline Socialist Party recently urged the United States to release the five Cuban nationals being held in their custody. FSP Propaganda Secretary Pubudu Jayagdoda told a seminar last week that at a time when thousands of people had been taken...

I have never ceased to be stirred by the Buddha’s compassion for all living beings; and not humans only. This all inclusive compassion makes sense, since compassion for humans only, if accompanied with disrespect for other forms of life upsets the...

Withcorruptionragingatits worst-everlevelsandhundredsof millionsof rupeesinpublicmoneybeing plunderedbystateofficersandprivateracketeerstheCustoms Department--insteadof helpingtofightcorruptioninsidethe...

article appeared in a national newspaper on May 23, 2013, we have a few more matters to consider. Ban gambling and lottery tickets. Making a few instant rich by stealing from the millions is sheer robbery. The instant rich cause havoc on one side and...

Iwrite in my personal capacity as a disciple of Christ, a student of Buddhism and one who perceives the universal wisdom and values in world religions as gifts for all and not just the adherents of a respective religion. This is not an attempt to...

That the Dhamma is received through self-realisation and bears fruit in Ahimsa, (transforming non-violence) safeguards personal privacy and prevents social aggression. Just as the Dhamma cannot be subject to force or manipulation to bring...

From my early adult days I have found the Buddha’s analysis of the cycle of life in the four noble truths, most enlightening. His discernment of Thanha as the cause of suffering is a precise explanation of the human dilemma. The inordinate greed for...

An uncle of mine who served in a British Army Regiment during World War 11, used the expression ‘I will kick you from Halifax to Timbuktu’. I might have been about thirteen or fourteen years old, when I first heard him say this during a fracas with one...

What we observe on our roads in and around Colombo today is disturbing. Sleek motor vehicles costing anything between ten and twenty million rupees have become commonplace; on the other hand, entire families ride on rickety motor bikes exposing even...

In the 1968 Thriller by American director Norman Jewison, Rod Steiger plays a beefy small town sheriff in America’s racially divided ‘deep south’, and Sidney Poitier plays a northern black police detective passing through the town. Poitier is arrested...

TRIPOLI, Lebanon, May 25, 2013 (AFP) - Firefights in northern Lebanon between Sunni Muslims and Alawites -the Shiite offshoot sect to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs -- have killed 30 people, a security source said on...

RAIPUR, India, May 26, 2013 (AFP) - The death toll from an ambush by Maoist rebels in central India rose to at least 23 with senior politicians among the victims, a top police officer said Sunday, in the deadliest attack by the insurgents in over a...

BEIRUT, May 25, 2013 (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday vowed “victory” in Syria, where militants of his powerful Lebanese Shiite movement are fighting alongside regular troops against rebels trying to topple the regime. “I say to...

NEW YORK, May 25, 2013 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday called for the “scourge” of sexual assaults within the military to be “stamped out,” in a speech at the West Point military academy in New York. Speaking at a graduation...

PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) - A French soldier patrolling a business neighbourhood west of Paris was stabbed in the neck and injured on Saturday by a man who fled the scene and is being sought by police, President Francois Hollande said. The 23-year-old...

RIYADH, May 26, 2013 (AFP) - An 81-year-old woman who had contracted a SARS-like coronavirus has died in Saudi Arabia, raising the death toll in the kingdom to 18, the health ministry said in a statement on Sunday. “An 81-year-old woman who was...

At least three people have been wounded by a rocket strike on the southern part of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Two rockets hit a district controlled by the Hezbollah organisation, officials and residents were quoted as saying by news...

TOKYO, May 26, 2013 (AFP) - Three Chinese government ships entered waters around disputed islands controlled by Tokyo on Sunday, Japan's coastguard said. The Chinese maritime surveillance vessels were spotted inside the 12-nautical-mile zone off the...

Doctors in Poland say they have performed a total face transplant on a 33-year-old man whose face was torn off in an accident with stone-cutting machinery. Surgeons at the Oncology Center in Gliwice said the 27-hour operation was performed on May 15,...

Thousands of lanterns filled the sky in a spectacular new World record. In what could look like a sky-full of fireflies from a distance, thousands of lanterns were released and floated into the sky to create a vision of suspended lights. More than...

The Millennium Housing Developers Ltd group, is a private sector company, which began operations pioneering the island’s first mega township project “Millennium City” in Athurugiriya. This Project, which consists of 1600 housing units with all modern...

I nve s t o r S e r v i c e s A s i a (Private) Limited (ISA) is the sister company of Eastbound that was established in 1998, in Lyon, France. After its registration, ISA commenced operations in Sri Lanka in the year 2003, and the company now proudly...

TAG Heuer, the world’s Number 1 Manufacturer of luxury timepieces inspired by sport, has signed on as Official Timekeeper, Official Watch and Chronograph and Founding Partner of the new FIA Formula E Championship. The agreement was signed at TAG...

Civimech (Private) Limited has been recognized for its performance by “Daikin Industries Japan”, adjudicating as the best regional dealer by awarding “Star Achievement Award” and this is the first time that a Sri Lankan Company won this...

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, has introduced Upgra‘d e-auction, which gives passengers the opportunity to bid for Business Class upgrades, online. Upgra‘d is an extremely userfriendly online procedure, where an Economy Class...

German Ambassador Dr. Juergen Morhard declared open a new building at the Skills through English for Public Servants (STEPS) Institute in Jaffna recently. The STEPS initiative is a threeway collaboration between Germany, Australia and Sri Lanka to...

How parents feed, educate, raise and protect their children is something worthwhile for us to understand in managing an organization from its inception to growth. Like children trust their parents, members of an organization trust the top management....

Sri Lanka’s one and only wax statue sculptor Athula Herath who has made life-size creations of Malani,Victor and Mahendra together with his son Mahima, will unveil two more life size wax statues at the Namel Malani PunchiTheatre in Borella on May 30 at...

I act in Dummala Warama and Silgath Kokku, both directed by Ranjith de Alwis.

Yes, I was good at singing and dancing as a schoolgirl at Ananda Balika Vidyalaya. I have also sung at Radio Ceylon’s Lama Mandapaya. In fact my childhood dream was to become a singer. I hope to release a music album comprising p g my y songs soon.

sic n. Well, I have written two songs for the ‘Silgath Kokku’ drama which were set to tune by Visharada Edward Jayakody and sung by Saranga Dissasekara and Lochana a Imashi.

Well, this field is entirely different to what existed then. Now there are more tele drama productions, but there are questions about the quality of tele dramas with the advent of mega creations. It’s not easy to play the same role continuously.

I am grateful to my newspaper organization for its flexibility in giving me special consideration. Whatever impact I make as an actor, journalism would always be my first love. I know where to draw the line. When I act I am not a journalist and...

After completing my school education at Yapahuwa Maha Vidyalaya I followed Mass Communication course at the Sri Jayawardenepura University. Then I joined the ‘Geetha’ film journal as a feature writer. Rodney introduced me to Tharunaya and today...

I am extremely grateful to Bandua Vidanapathirana, Anton Samson, Siri Ranasinghe, Rodney Vidanapathirana, Ramesh, Kanchana Dassanayake, Sanjaya Gunawardana, Sandun Rajakaruna, Shafraz, Danushka Basnayake, Daya Rajapakse and all my friends in the media,...

Films of course, because it’s so huge. But the stage is an honourable place for me. I also act in ‘Abhinikmana’ which is being screened now.

As a journalist I had been associating with a large number of popular actors and actresses of this country, but I was not keen to act. I turned down several offers but for some reason I accepted Sanjaya Gunawardana’s offer to act in his tele drama...

I am so sorry to say that the response by 98% was unreceptive. They believed that I should be only writing about them. Among the very few who encouraged me were Sanath Gunathilaka and Malani Fonseka.

It was Rodney Vidanapathirana who pushed me into this side of my career and I feel I am so fortunate to have visited and written about the most beautiful places in this country.

I always liked to play the role of an exemplary mother. I have now got a role of a mother of eight and I really cherish it.

First and foremost I must thank my directors for extracting my hidden talents, especially Shafraz who moulded me into a character actor in ‘Sansara Sakmana’. It really boosted my confidence as an actor.

Money and wealth should never be the deciding factor in love. I can’t talk of marriage until I find my destined life partner.

Initially I was not, but now I insist on the script for the sole reason of studying and preparing myself for the character. It

I first acted in Sandun Rajakaruna’s ‘Uththara’ and my next film will be ‘Ranja’.