BAFTA’s 2026
The 79th British Academy Film Awards, better known simply as the BAFTAs, unfolded on the 22nd of February 2026 in London with a ceremony that balanced reverence for established cinema, celebration of fresh voices, and an unmistakable sense of unpredictability. Hosted for the first time by Alan Cumming, the event presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts showcased a vibrant mix of global storytelling, technical mastery, and bre
Overconsumption Is the New Smoking
There was a time when smoking was aspirational. In the early and mid-20th century, cigarettes were marketed as symbols of sophistication, independence, even health. Doctors appeared in advertisements. Film stars held them with effortless glamour. Ashtrays sat comfortably in living rooms, offices, airplanes. It was normal Until it wasn’t. The science caught up. The cultural shift followed. What once signified status slowly became shorthand for har
Raising Creative Humans: A Letter to Parents
A child sits on the floor with a cardboard box. To an adult, it’s just a box. Something destined for recycling. But to that child? It’s a spaceship. A cave. A castle. A hundred different things limited only by what their mind can imagine. This isn’t just cute. It’s not just play. It is the foundation of everything.
EVERY WORD CARRIES A WORLD
Languages are one of those things we use every single day without really pausing to marvel at them. They sit quietly in our conversations, our texts, our headlines, our love letters, and even our arguments. Yet if you zoom out for a second, the world of languages is wild, layered, and constantly shifting. Today, linguists estimate that there are over 7,000 languages spoken across the globe, a number often cited by sources like Ethnologue. That’s
From Specific to Universal Stanford’s Immune Reboot
For more than two centuries, vaccines have followed a remarkably consistent principle. Expose the immune system to a weakened or partial version of a pathogen and allow it to develop memory. When the real infection arrives, the body responds faster and more effectively. From smallpox to polio to measles, this strategy has saved hundreds of millions of lives. Yet it has one important limitation. Each vaccine is designed for a specific pathogen. Wh
Jayaflava Premiere Celebrates Sri Lankan Stories
The official premiere of Jayaflava was held at City of Dreams Colombo, bringing together distinguished guests, media personalities, and industry representatives for an evening celebrating Sri Lankan culture and storytelling.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S TARIFF AGENDA FACES SUPREME COURT DEFEAT AND A NEW PHASE OF ECONOMIC CONFLICT.
In a striking rebuke to executive authority and a major defeat for an economically pivotal policy of the Trump era, the U.S. Supreme Court on February 20th 2026, struck down broad global tariffs imposed by President Donald J. Trump, declaring they exceeded presidential powers under existing law. The 6-3 decision rejected the administration’s claim that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorized sweeping import taxes, signi
The Wait
Just imagine waiting for something. Not the moment of action. Not the moment of decision. Not even the moment when everything finally unfolds. Think about the pause in between. That quiet, stretched space where nothing seems to happen on the outside, yet everything is happening within you. Waiting carries a different kind of pressure. It is not the pressure of effort. It is not the strain of choosing. It is the weight of uncertainty. It is standi
The Lives We Pass: How Nazly Ahmed Sees What We Overlook
Colombo is often described in headlines and statistics. A financial hub. A city in recovery. A coastline of commerce and contradiction. But cities are not built only of policy or crisis.
The Thriller You Didn’t Notice, but Should: The Hunting Party
The way I see it, you have two types of shows: shows that arrive with a bang and others slip in quietly, do their job well, and slowly build a following among people who just enjoy a good story. The Hunting Party falls into that second category. It may not dominate headlines or social media trends, but for viewers who like procedural crime dramas with a thriller edge, it offers something solid, steady, and surprisingly gripping.
Strengthening Mental Health Training: King’s College London Team Visits Sri Lanka.
Samutthāna, a Colombo-based non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening mental health capacity in Sri Lanka, recently hosted a visiting delegation from King’s College London, comprising senior clinicians and academics involved in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training. The visit marked another milestone in a partnership that has spanned nearly two decades, rooted in shared commitments to professional training, academic collaboration, and ev
Hanging in There: What Punch’s Story Really Says About Belonging.
Seven months old. No mother to cling to. No clear place in the group. Punch, a young macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo, did not set out to become a symbol. He was simply born during a heatwave, abandoned shortly after birth, and hand-raised by zookeepers. When he was reintroduced to the troop at “monkey mountain,” he struggled.
Fame Game Season 02 Concludes with Elegant Wrap-Up Soirée
The successful completion of Fame Game – Season 02 was marked with an exclusive wrap-up soirée hosted by Christophe and Beatrice Coucaud. The evening brought together distinguished guests to celebrate the journey and achievements of the season in a refined and intimate setting.
Chasing The Rush
Risk has a strange pull. It is the reason someone drives too fast on an empty highway, experiments with substances, or stands at the edge of a cliff just to feel something. There is a thrill in pushing limits, a sensation that hits the body and mind in a way nothing else does. That sensation, the adrenaline rush, is both exhilarating and dangerous. Adrenaline, or epinephrine, is a hormone designed for survival. It prepares the body for immediate
The Red String Theory: An Invisible Bond That Transcends Time.
In a world driven by logic, technology, and carefully planned futures, the idea that destiny quietly shapes our most meaningful relationships can feel both comforting and magical. The Red String Theory sometimes called the Red Thread of Fate is one such belief that has fascinated generations. It proposes that an invisible red thread connects individuals who are meant to meet, regardless of time, distance, or circumstance. Though rooted in East As
The Arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: A Historic Moment for the British Monarchy.
On the 19th of February 2026, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III and a once-prominent figure in the British royal family, was arrested by police in a move that has reverberated across the United Kingdom and around the world. The former prince was taken into custody on ‘suspicion of misconduct in public office,’ marking the first time in modern history that a senior member of the royal family has been arr
Beyond Leopard: The Rise of “Bambi,” Zebra and Dalmatian Prints
For decades, animal print in fashion meant one thing: leopard. Bold, glamorous, slightly dangerous, and unmistakably statement-making, leopard print has long symbolised a particular kind of confidence. It evoked nightlife in the early 2000s, power dressing in the 1980s, and more recently, the hyper-feminine excess of the “mob wife” aesthetic that dominated social media feeds. Leopard was never subtle. It was designed to be seen, to command attent
Wuthering Heights 2026 Is a Beautifully Made Storm of Desire and Damage!
Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation of Wuthering Heights arrives with the weight of expectation and controversy already built into its DNA. Emily Brontë’s novel has resisted definitive screen translation for decades, partly because its violence of feeling and moral ambiguity are so deeply tied to its strange narrative structure and its bleak, elemental setting. Fennell approaches the material not as a dutiful period dramatist but as a provocateur w
Silent Strokes Showcases Contemporary Voices in Art
Art enthusiasts gathered for Silent Strokes – The Noise of Paintings, a compelling group exhibition hosted at Radicle Art Gallery. The exhibition brought together a diverse group of emerging and established artists, offering visitors an opportunity to experience a rich collection of contemporary works that explored emotion, expression, and visual storytelling.
Hoppers Opens in Shoreditch: A New Decade of Discovery Where Sri Lanka Meets South India.
Ten years on from the opening of its cult Soho original, Hoppers has arrived in East London with the launch of Hoppers Shoreditch, its fourth London restaurant and the start of a new chapter for one of
Jayaflava: A Love Letter to Sri Lanka in Six Dishes.
For decades, Sri Lanka has been sold to the world through postcard images of palm-fringed beaches and colonial-era charm. But beneath the glossy travel brochures lies a far more complex,
What Every Child Wishes Parents Knew: The Secret Language of Milestones
There’s a moment every parent waits for; that first wobbly step. The camera comes out, the grandparents are called, and we celebrate like our child just won an Olympic gold medal. And we
A Toast to Death: Beneath the Veneer of Polished Society
When was the last time we looked closely at the airiest of aristocratic conversations and paid attention to the babble about culture, stability, propriety, and asked whether what was being celebrated was
Trek4Ceylon 2026 High Tea Highlights Upcoming Charity Trek
A special high tea was held in support of Trek4Ceylon 2026, organised by Ride for Ceylon, bringing together supporters ahead of this year’s charity trek scheduled from February 10–14. The gathering
How Women in Art Fair Is Redefining Visibility in the Art World. In Conversation with Jacqueline Harvey, Founder Women in Art Fair
As conversations around equity in the arts grow louder, meaningful structural change remains slow. Despite decades of progress, women artists continue to face disparities in representation, visibility and market value across galleries, auctions and institutional collections. Against this backdrop, Women in Art Fair has emerged as a vital platform working to rebalance the scales by creating tangible opportunities for women artists within the comme
Ash Wednesday: The Gentle Start of a Spiritual Reset
Ash Wednesday always arrives quietly. There’s no countdown, no decorations in the streets, no loud music announcing it. Yet for many Christians around the world, it marks the beginning of one of the most reflective seasons of the year. It’s the day that gently reminds people to pause, look inward, and begin again. Falling at the start of Lent, Ash Wednesday opens a forty-day journey of reflection, prayer, and often sacrifice. The number forty its
The MMDA Reform is Not an Attack on Islam
I have watched this fight for most of my adult life. I have watched Muslim women beg for dignity and be told to wait. I have watched men invoke God to justify cruelty. And I am done pretending this is a ’’complex debate.’’
Machu Picchu
There are destinations in the world that people visit for relaxation, others for adventure, and a rare few that completely transform the way we think about history and nature. Machu Picchu, hidden high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, belongs to that final category. It is not merely a famous landmark or a tourist attraction it is an emotional experience, a living museum, and a breathtaking encounter with the past all at once. Often referred to as
The Spectrum, the Spot
A spectrum suggests range. It implies measurable variation, a gradual shift between distinguishable states. In physics, it is light refracted into visible color. In psychology, it is temperament distributed across gradients of intensity. In biology, it is development unfolding through stages. A spectrum promises direction and difference. I
Valentine’s Day Celebration Brings Together an Evening of Love and Cheer
A special Valentine’s Day celebration was recently held in Colombo, bringing together guests for an evening dedicated to love, friendship, and happiness. The event featured a warm and festive atmosphere, with attendees enjoying the occasion in keeping with the red and black dress theme.
