Sunday, 10 Sep 2023
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by Pramod de Silva
With the horrific Easter attacks in Sri Lanka back in the spotlight following a recent TV program, my mind raced back to the one event that redefined the very barbaric nature of terrorism – the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre (WTC) Twin Towers in New York.
Twenty-two years later, I can still remember it as if it happened yesterday. People often ask “where were you...
International Literacy Day on September 8
Reading is one of the first skills that we pick up. It is also the one skill we find indispensable throughout life. In fact, it would be very difficult to live if you were illiterate, even if you can speak a language.
In today’s world, living without being able to read would be unimaginable, but around 800 million children and adults around the world cannot read or write...
The exploration of other countries and places on the planet is called global tourism. But one need not even venture beyond one’s own shores – there are many places that we have not explored in our own country. This is called local or domestic tourism.
Combined, it is obviously a big business, worth around US$ 2 trillion yearly globally. Tourism is one of the world’s most...
Yesterday was World Youth Skills Day:
Young people around the world celebrated the World Youth Skills Day yesterday (July 15) which aims at encouraging youth to acquire various skills that would help them gain jobs and social recognition. Education and training are the keys to success in the workforce.
In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the...
The whole Muthu Raja/Sak Surin saga has tattered the reputation of Sri Lanka perhaps irreparably in the eyes of the whole world as a country that treats animals harshly. This majestic tusker was gifted to Sri Lanka by His Majesty the King of Thailand more than 20 years ago on the explicit undertaking that it would be used to carry the Sacred Relics Casket at the Sri...
by Pramod de Silva
Today, there is a lot of antagonism towards migrants in many parts of the world. Many world leaders have taken an anti-immigrant...
A major controversy has arisen in the sphere of science and technology with the news that ‘gene-edited’ babies have been born in...
World Television Day falls on November 21
We all love watching television, especially the cartoons, children’s programmes and the science and wildlife documentaries...
Have you seen a coral reef ? If you have taken a trip in a glass bottomed boat in Hikkaduwa/Unawatuna or a coastal area more or...
At first glance, science may not seem to have any connection to peace and development. But, when you think deeper, science can be...
International Day of the Girl Child
We celebrated International Children’s Day on October 1, but if you are a girl, October 11 is also a special day for you....
Time travel may still be impossible, but time travels fast. The year 2030 looks far away, but is just 12 years away. We will be...
Around three decades ago, a famous film star was being interviewed live on television in the USA. At one point, the interviewer...
What if you have to live without hearing anything ? The melody of a flute; the rustle of leaves; the roar of traffic; the...
We all know the nursery rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. If you look at the night sky, you will see millions of tiny...
Judging by news reports that we come across every day, it is easy to discern that the world’s climate patterns have changed...
Terrorism takes many forms, but at its core, the goal is nearly always the same. Terrorism subverts our liberties, our values and...
International Literacy Day fell yesterday:
Do you remember the first time you wrote the English letter “A” or the equivalent letter in Sinhala or Tamil ? In Sinhala and...
There are only two legal drugs in the world – alcohol and tobacco. However, these can be just as bad as the illegal ones,...
How many of you have seen the original Jurassic Park movie that came out exactly 25 years ago ? Well, none of you had been...
You know I love writing about alien worlds and the possibility of alien life. I also love science fiction books and movies. These...
Way back in August 1982, when none of you were around on Earth, there was a cute little story about an alien child who is left...
Sri Lanka is one of the many countries that have an indigenous community – people who have inhabited a country long before other...
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week flagged off a tourist-friendly three-wheeler service for the first time in Sri...
“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart”– Eleanor...
Human trafficking is a crime that exploits women, children and men for numerous purposes including forced labour and sex. The...
As we have stated in these columns before, even small steps can make a big difference when it comes to saving the planet. For...
Have you heard about asteroids ? They are huge rocks wandering in space, probably fragments of planets that were thrown...
Sunil Shantha made a deep impression in young Ivor’s mind. Ivor idolized Sunil Shantha and to meet him face to face alone was...
Who are the two people closest to you ? There can be only one answer. Mother and Father. They have given life to you and...
Suicide is desperate. It is hostile. It is tragic. But mostly, it is a bloody mess.This was a headline I recently saw in a...
We all love to ride bicycles, don’t we? It is frightening when you first learn how to ride and you are likely to have fallen once...
May 20 is World Bee Day
Who thought that the humble bee would get its own day on the United Nations calendar of events? But today (May 20), the world is...
Lalith Athulathmudali cheated death once, but he was not so lucky the second time. He barely survived the grenade attack inside...
My first brush with Indian superstar Sridevi – albeit only through the silver screen – came when I saw the smash hit “Nagina” (...
If you have seen the London Eye or the Singapore Flyer in person or in pictures, you know what it is like – a giant ferris wheel...
Freedom, liberty and independence. Three words that seemingly have the same meaning, but differ in their interpretation. Sri...
Thinking of the future, we strive for continued health, well-being, and productivity for ourselves, our families, and our...
Do you still write and post letters ? If you use e-mail, Viber, Skype etc, you may not have sent a real, personal letter in a...
Way back in 1990, when I first walked in to the Daily News editorial as a junior trainee reporter, N.R.J. Aaron was the first...
Have you seen Jurassic Park and Jurassic World ? Who has not ? But if you really have not seen these two movies, ask your mum or...
If someone in school asks you to name Australia’s most famous building, you will not take more than two seconds to give the...
Museums come in all shapes and sizes and exhibit everything from dinosaur bones to art, but do you know that there is a museum...
The fully independent and impartial Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will soon be functional, Director General of...
It is not often that you see a waterfall in the middle of a busy city. But that is exactly what you will see if you go to Gardens...
Did you know that Canada celebrates its 150th birthday this year? Canada had been inhabited much earlier by First Nation or the...
The passing away of the Most Ven. Agga Maha Panditha Davuldena Gnanissara Maha Nayake Thera of the Amarapura Chapter (since 2002...
Dragons are mythical creatures, right ? But there is one country in the world where they actually live.No, it is not China...
Despite the last-minute gaffe at the recently concluded Oscars where the Best Picture was initially announced as La La land, only...
The world’s biggest Buddhist temple is not located in a predominantly Buddhist country, but in Indonesia, where the majority of...
If you are thinking of going to Indonesia for the school holidays, give Jakarta, the capital city, a miss. It is noisy, chaotic...
If you are thinking of going on an overseas tour in April, there is a very easy choice, just four hours away by air from Colombo...
Demonetization is a term that we don’t hear often. And with good reasons too. It essentially means, outlawing certain currency...