Newspaper
Sunday Island
Mapalagama Vipulasara Thero, artist monk who excelled at home and abroad
Kalasuri Mapalagama Vipulasara, the veteran monk, was born on March 2, 1925 in the Mapalagama village in Southern Sri Lanka. He was ordained as a novice by Venerable Satthisara Maha Swamindra on July 14, 1940. He rendered an unsurpassed service to the Sambuddha Sasana for more than half a century and passed away on October 20, 2000 with last Oct. 25th marking both his birth centenary and his 25th death anniversary. Hence this article.
3 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Untangling the wage issue
Budget 2026 is under intense scrutiny.
3 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
MOU between Ceylon and Gujarat’s Chambers of Commerce
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 13 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to strengthen bilateral trade, investment, and business cooperation between Sri Lanka and Gujarat, a news release from the Sri Lanka High Commission in Delhi said.
1 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
The Story behind the 1963 Iconic Photo
In June of 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon.
4 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Que Sera...
Malki's photos were on the wall, and Dilip allowed me to borrow them to be copied and given to Malki. He found a leaflet of a memorial service that had been conducted for Mrs. Kuruppu, and autographed it for me, recalling \"fond memories of those halcyon days in 1957\".
3 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Lankan Church, activists seek justice for slain priest
Oblate priest Michael Rodrigo was 60 when he was shot and killed by an unknown gunman in 1987
2 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Why do giraffes have such long legs? Animal simulations reveal a surprising answer
If you've ever wondered why the giraffe has such a long neck, the answer seems clear: it lets them reach succulent leaves atop tall acacia trees in Africa.
2 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
HNB Finance celebrates fivefold success at SLIM NASCO Awards
Reinforcing its reputation as one of Sri Lanka’s leading financial institutions, HNB Finance PLC triumphed at the SLIM National Sales Congress (NASCO) Awards 2025, securing five prestigious accolades under the Financial Services Provider category.
1 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
On to Royal College with English as lingua franca
The exam format to enter Royal changed with an exception to the rule in 1959 to favour the powerful.
9 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
An evening of cheer, tradition and festive elegance
The festive spirit came alive at Taj Samudra, Colombo as the hotel hosted its much awaited annual Christmas Cake Mixing ceremony, marking the joyful beginning of the holiday season.
1 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Sampath Bank maintains its growth momentum in 2025, recording a 21% increase in profit after tax for the nine-month period
Sampath Bank reported a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs 35.3 Bn and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 21.5 Bn for the nine-month period ended 30th September 2025, reflecting consistent year-on-year growth of 18% and 21% respectively. Furthermore, the Group delivered a strong financial performance, recording a PBT of Rs 38.0 Bn and a PAT of Rs 23.1 Bn for the same period, marking growth of 19% and 21% respectively.
2 min |
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Guardians of the Night: The Secret Life of Sri Lanka's Frogmouth
When dusk falls across the rain-soaked forests of Sinharaja, a low, rasping call echoes through the canopy—neither frog nor owl, but something eerily in between. It belongs to the Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), one of the most secretive birds ever to inhabit the island's forests. Its strange croak seems to rise from the mist itself — an ancient whisper from the treetops.
3 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Denial of an ethnic problem: issue purely terrorism
Mahinda and Gotabaya's war marked a regression to a time before the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, when the existence of an ethnic problem in Sri Lanka and the need for a political solution to it was routinely denied by Sinhala politicians. The country's ethnic conflict was reduced to a “terrorist issue”, and all Tamils were labeled terrorists. This was the justification for Black July - the anti-Tamil pogrom of July 1983, in response to the LTTE killing 13 soldiers in Jaffna, that ignited the Eelam War.
8 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
The Impossible Object of Sex: My talk with Alenka Zupančič
How psychoanalysis reveals the fractures in subjectivity that structure desire, sex, and identity
8 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Wijetunga calls a general election and my first time in Parliament
I had several meetings with Ronnie at his home in Charles Drive and he agreed to join Wijetunga and the UNP since his \"bete noir\" Premadasa had left the scene. With Anura and Gamini on his side Wijetunga was trying to add to his winning streak by inducting Ronnie amid much appreciation from the party and the media as a unifier after the inter party conflicts which marked the earlier regime. He also recruited Rajitha Senaratne who had left Vijaya-Chandrika's Mahajana Party after it decided to ally itself with the revitalized SLFP, now virtually led by its former chief CBK.
8 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Can Bangladesh build a democracy?
In a quiet village in Bangladesh, an elderly woman sits on a bamboo stool, her eyes half-squinting in the afternoon light.
4 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Govt. vows to overhaul loss-making national airline
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake vowed Friday to overhaul the country's loss-making national airline after the government failed to find a buyer, in line with commitments under an IMF bailout.
1 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
The reality of daily events at Gaza from the eyes of a 13-year old
Every day, I see videos and photos from Gaza that linger in my head. Buildings that used to be joy-filled homes are now piles of wood and concrete, nothing stands in place to tell all the memories made. Streets are filled with dust and weeping families. I see children with blank faces standing in the middle of chaos, not knowing where to go or who's still alive, completely lost in the midst of a raging war.
5 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
ITAK protests against some pending appointments to Office of Reparations
The ITAK (Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi) has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake protesting against an alleged move to appoint some individuals with a defence sector background to vacant posts in the Office of Reparations.
1 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Explosions heard near Sudan capital: witnesses
Explosions were heard near the army-controlled Sudanese capital Khartoum on Friday, witnesses told AFP, a day after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they agreed to a humanitarian truce.
1 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Grassroots to global: The personal story behind a newly-elected, politically transformative mayor
Meeting Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani in New Delhi when Zohran was a teenager offers insight into the humanism, empathy, and politics shaping New York City's new mayor
5 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Addressing Conservation Challenges through Female Entrepreneurship: A paradigm shift
WNPS PLANT, Otter Fonds from Netherland and the Lanka Environmental Fund joined hands to empower Female Entrepreneurs to commence their own forest plant nurseries through a powerful groundbreaking initiative recently.
5 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Aaliah's journey of excellence - from Sri Lanka to Canada
Graceful, determined and deeply compassionate, Aaliah Bint Sadoon embodies the perfection of intellect and heart.
2 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Student suspect investigated after Indonesia mosque blast injures dozens
Injured are taken to hospital after an explosion occurred during Friday prayers at a mosque inside a school complex in the capital.
1 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Rs. 33,600 extra per consumer looms as govt. fast-tracks 10 controversial solar projects
Electricity Consumers' Assoc. accuses govt. of attempting to approve ten solar power projects through backdoor
1 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Kanchuka Dharmasiri’s “Nuga Gahak” Takes the Stage at BMICH Kamatha New Theatre
Kanchuka Dharmasiri’s latest theatre production, “Nuga Gahak, will be staged on November 13, 14, and 15 at 6:45 p.m. at the Kamatha New Theatre, BMICH, Colombo.
1 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
New York and America rebuke Trump
New York, New York ... City that doesn't sleep ... king of the hill, top of the heap ... where if you make it, you can make it anywhere - made the most sensational news this week, but not for anything the paean of a song that John Kander wrote and Frank Sinatra immortalized.
5 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
Peace in Sudan? Three reasons why mediation hasn't worked so far
Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the two parties.
4 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
India—Sri Lanka Policy Dialogue sets new course for regional environmental cooperation
A landmark Indo-Lanka Policy Dialogue on Regional Environmental Cooperation, held recently at the University of Colombo, has charted a bold new path for strengthening bilateral environmental collaboration between the two neighbours.
3 min |
November 09, 2025
Sunday Island
SLT-MOBITEL Powers “Techno 2025 — Engineering for a Smart Nation” as Principal Sponsor
SLT-MOBITEL, the National ICT Solutions Provider, took the spotlight as the Principal Sponsor of Techno 2025, the country’s most prestigious engineering and technology exhibition which was held at the BMICH from the 10th to 12th October 2025.
1 min |