Dr. Jaishankar is in Sri Lanka to help under the “neighborhood first” strategy of India By R. R. M Lilani  Dr. Jaishankar, India’s Foreign Minister, who is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on January 19, 2023, has made another ‘neighbourhood first’ agreement with Sri Lanka by backing the country’s delayed debt restructuring programme with […]

By Sanath Nanayakkare The Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Tuesday that Sri Lanka had been hiding its bankruptcy which had actually occurred months before it was officially announced. He said so during a multi-TV channel programme where several key political and public officials responsible for the country’s economy were quizzed […]

By Eng Parakrama Jayasinghe parajayasinghe@gmail.com Sri Lankans have not forgotten the advice given by one of our former Presidents: “Citizens should look after their own security.” It appears that the Electricity Consumers are now faced with this choice given the upheavals and shocks received in recent times, with the sword of Damocles of a further […]

The ‘First Capital SSC Open Ranking Tennis Championship 2023’ conducted by the Singhalese Sports Club commenced at the SSC Tennis complex on Friday.  The championship which will run till January 21 is conducted annually under the auspices of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association and is organized by the SSC Tennis House Committee. The SSC Open, […]

By Uditha Devapriya Somewhere in early 2015, I took the bus from Maradana to Nugegoda, the 176. It was, by all accounts, an ordinary weekday morning, and people were going about and shuttling from one workplace to another. Normally, the 176 bus can be a long ride, but on this occasion, it wasn’t. Having left […]

BY GEORGE BRAINE This was early 1981, and the government was planning to start a state-run television service. Applicants were invited for an inaugural training course for producers, directors, researchers, and writers. I had applied, and was called for an interview. The interview was at the newly set up National Television Planning Centre, at Kirulapone. […]

CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum chandij@sympatico.ca More Music Shows … Having produced, annually, The Island Music Awards shows on three occasions, I did my largest show in Sri Lanka in 1992. It was The Island […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Narendra Fernando, Sergeant-at-Arms of the crisis-ridden Parliament, has declared that the largest number of students, in the post-independence era, visited the House on Thursday (Dec. 01). Director, Legislative Services, Janakantha Silva, who is also the Acting Director of Communication, quoted Fernando as having said that approximately 5,000 students, from 32 schools, rec...

CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum chandij@sympatico.ca Five-Star Hotels in Colombo In 1986, there were only five five-star internationally branded hotels in Sri Lanka (InterContinental, Oberoi, Taj, Ramada Renaissance and Le Meridien). A Hilton Interna...

I am pleasantly surprised and marvel too most times I read the editorial in The Island. Why? Because they are so very apt on the most current issue in the land. The editor has the clever knack of hitting the nail right on the head and is fearless even when the nail represents a VVIP. […]

Australian Government-funded Skills for Inclusive Growth Program (S4IG), managed by Palladium International Group entered into an MoU with Cinnamon Hotel Management Ltd (CHML) to achieve several strategic results in Colombo recently. S4IG is a programme by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in accordance with the terms of a subsidiary agreement signed on […]

“Templeton Freedom Award has been won by Advocata Institute Sri Lanka. The CEO is our Dhana. It is with great pride I send this message to you to celebrate our dear friend Dhananath’s leadership victory of Advocata. Horekale and St Sebastian’s College man has really shown class.” That was Elmo Jayawardena’s email to me since […]

By Saman Indrajith Budget 2023 has sought to deprive the farming community of their land rights by placing the Mahaweli lands under the purview of Divisional and District Secretaries, SLPP dissident MP Prof. Channa Jayasumana says. “This proposal will take away the farmers’ rights to land. Farmers of Mahaweli lands in 15 districts and their […]

The Lanka Premier League set to begin from 6th December. One of the most revered figures in the world of cricket, Sir Vivian Richards has joined the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2022 as a brand ambassador. It provides a huge boost to the third edition of the tournament which will...The post Sir Vivian Richards Joins Lanka Premier League as Brand Ambassador appeared first on Sri Lanka Cricket.

By Uditha Devapriya In my essay on H. D. Premaratne, I pointed out that Premaratne and Vasantha Obeyesekere were responsible for much of the changes that swept through the Sinhala cinema in the 1970s. Basically, they helped shatter the distinction that had prevailed until then between an artistic and a commercial cinema. Both directors focused […]

USD 3.8 bn in six months Sri Lanka would be in a far more difficult situation if not for financial assistance provided by the government of India, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told ‘Hiru’ on Monday (17) night. Dissanayake compared the assistance provided to the tune of USD 3.8 bn, within 6 months, with USD […]