Sri Lankan Specialist Brings Glory To Her Motherland – By Dr Tilak S. Fernando Dr Yanushi Dullewe Wijeyeratne is the granddaughter of the late Dr Nissanka Wijeyeratne (one-time Minister of Education and Justice of Peace in Sri Lanka). Dr Yanushi Dullewe Wijeyeratne works at St. George’s University Hospital in London as a Speciality Registrar and Fellow in Electrophysiology and Devices NIHR Clinical Lecturer. In 2022, she was awarded the highly competitive NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Clinical Lectureship in Cardiology at St George’s, University of London. National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Lectureships in Cardiology are highly sought after in the UK, with less than ten awarded annually. In such circumstances, it is an honour for a Sri Lankan to receive such an award. She holds a double doctorate, having recently completed her PhD in Cardiac Genetics and Stem Cell models of inherited cardiac conditions at the world-renowned St George’s, University of London. Background. Dr Wijeyeratne was a past student at Colombo International School ...
Tilak S Fernando
Lessons Learnt from Commonwealth Games Ceylon Today. – By Dr Tilak S. Fernando The youngest Sri Lankan medallist in the history of the Commonwealth Games, Nethmi Hansika (18 years old) brought honour to her motherland, Sri Lanka. Nethmi managed in Birmingham, UK, at the 22nd Commonwealth Games in August 2022 to defeat her opponent, Australian Irene Symeonidis, to win the historic bronze medal for women. It was a 57 kg ‘Freestyle Wrestling’ event at the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham. She chose to contest against the Australian competitor, forgetting her coach’s advice on her own to fight the competitor, who was twelve years senior and more experienced than Nethmi. Her coach’s advice was to fight the Indian competitor who fought against her in the semi-finals. Nethmi Fernando had a one-pointed resolution to bring honour to her motherland, as opposed to some elements who intermingled with the harmless protestors at the ...
Accountability of Parliamentarians – By Dr Tilak S. Fernando –Daily News-Tuesday, September 13, 202 The world is keeping an eye on the worsening political, economic and widespread suffering of Sri Lankans. Citizens of this country hope to find answers to overcome the high Cost of Living and to have adequate fuel and medical supplies to bring the situation under control. People, once again, experience difficulty with the ‘QR system’ to obtain fuel from petrol stations. It is no surprise to hear from the public that all 225 Parliamentarians should go home, and the Parliament should have young and energetic members. It sounds sensible because they have ruined the country for the last 74 years. Today, the Cost of Living is skyrocketing, and people find it very difficult to manage their day-to-day affairs. The President is calling on all parties to unite and rebuild the economy. Still, some political parties are ...
Can you remember the Bioscope days? – By Tilak S. Fernando Ceylon Today Daily-Columns- September 13, 2022 I received this information on the metamorphosis of ‘Colombo cinemas’ sent by a friend based in London. It was a text by a historian, Asiff Hussein. Hussein gives a historical account going back to the ‘tent’ days when the ‘silent’ English movies were shown. He deals with the history of the Colombo cinema, its evolution, and the development of cinema halls in Colombo, Sri Lanka. According to Asiff Hussein, an Englishman named Warwick Major was the first person to show silent English films in a ‘tent’ at the site of the old Regal theatre grounds. In the early1900s, the movies were called bioscopes. The American Consul for Ceylon, Stillman Eells, wrote to American Motion Pictures in 1931 explaining how a touring ‘Electric Bioscope’ was screened. Those films were shown in various venues ...
Significance of promoting Eco-Tourism hotspots – By Dr Tilak S. Fernando An Australian-based premium company in healthcare named AusCeylon and PhytoMedica Pvt Ltd want to develop an Eco Resort and a medicinal Plant Garden at Agbopura 227/C in the Kanthale district. Kanthale is one of the most famous travel destinations worldwide for centuries due to its unique and pristine biodiversity and culture. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka remained the fourth most popular destination for tourism in 2020. The company believes vigour and health are vitally important to human beings as much as their culture and food. They believe that healthiness can be promoted through Natural Medicines found in Sri Lanka. The Australian-based company commenced operations in mid-January 2021 in Ratnapura and initiated its second project in Pasikudah and third at Royal Beach Villas in Mankadawala, Anuradhapura. These were eco-resort and medicinal gardens. Their fourth project in Sri Lanka would ...
STRINGENT MEASURES TO FIGHT BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION. – By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando The current economic crisis is exacerbating day after day. People line up in extended queues, although the Government advises not to line up in long rows. The general public does that because they may lose their place in the queue once they leave. Therefore, desperate folk stand in queues day and night and sleep wherever possible because of this problem. The Sri Lankan people have never seen such a predicament in the last 74 years since ‘Ceylon’ gained Independence. Ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has left Sri Lanka and is in hiding, initially in the Maldives. The latest news is that he has travelled to Singapore, but his permanent residence is still unknown. Also, that US immigration rejected his visa to enter the U.S.! Meanwhile, Basil Rajapaksa, who attempted to flee the country was blocked at the Katunayake airport ...
OUR-DAY WEEK-By Tilak Fernando Employees at work. In June 2022, the Sri Lankan Government declared a ‘four-day week’ for Public Sector workers for three months, except for the essential services. It started on Friday, June 17th, giving a holiday to public sector employees. Critical services are categorised as the public sector for employees in the health, water supply, power and energy, education, and security; such essential services were exempted from the regulation. The decision to make the four-day week was not in line with the list of other countries in the world that are experimenting with a shorter week following the COVID-19 pandemic. In Sri Lanka, of course, it is due to fuel shortage in the country and to restrict the usage of fuel by millions of public service employees to cut down on the transport and other costs during commuting to work during this period of uncertainty. ...
Silver Lining in Tourism – By Dr. Tilak S Fernando Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando appointed Priantha Fernando as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTB). Priantha Fernando is a professional with many years of experience. He qualified for an M.Sc. in tourism at the University of Surrey. Also, he gained experience in Hotel Management and Tourism at Belair College, UK. Priantha Fernando held a number of senior positions in the public and private sector. When his appointment as the Chairman of the SLBT was announced, he was in Bangladesh on a significant project of the Bangladesh Tourism Board, which the IPE Global of India funded. After becoming Chairman of the SLBT, Priantha Fernando appeared in the ‘Big Focus’ programme on Derana TV with Janaka Gajaba, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau. They were on the ball and announced around 4,000 tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka up ...
SOLVING ECONOMIC CRISIS – By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando For weeks, motorists in Sri Lanka continuously lined up in long queues to obtain diesel and petrol. It has turned out to be a daily routine at present. Many women line up in rows to receive LP Gas or kerosene while their husbands spend long hours in petrol queues. Thanks to swift action by the authorities, it appears that mile-long queues are diminishing gradually for petrol. Meanwhile, diesel queues are getting longer and longer. All of these were due to the adamant policies adopted by the authorities, causing a scarcity of dollars in Government coffers. Some blame the ex-Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the ex-Governor of the Central Bank, Nivard Cabraal, for the current adversity. Leaving aside who is to blame for the current adversity, the sudden increase in the Cost of Living has caused ...
SRI LANKA NEEDS FEWER POLITICIANS AND MORE TECHNOLOGISTS – By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando “There are rumours that Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had to take over the finance portfolio since no member of the Sri Lankan Parliament was willing to take up this challenge of managing the country’s finances. Instead of looking at the scenario negatively, it would be appropriate to think that the Prime Minister taking over the finance portfolio is also a progressive step, as the finance portfolio requires the maximum attention at this stage,” says veteran Indian journalist N.S. Venkataramanin in his latest article, which landed in my email ‘in box’. He further states that ‘when the Sri Lankan Government negotiated with the IMF to obtain financial support, the present scenario appears to be that the IMF is procrastinating the issue and has not given a firm assurance to the Sri Lankan Government. When ...
