Captain Chelliah Kanagasabapathy, popularly known as Captain Pathy among his colleagues from British Royal Air Force celebrated his 100th birthday at his hotel in Trincomalee on 20 January. Captain Chelliah Kanagasabapathy from Uduvil, a village in Jaffna served in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during WWII. Capt. Pathy after completing his studies at Manipay Hindu, Jaffna Hindu Colleges and Ananda College, Colombo joined the RAF in 1941. He was among 18 Sri Lankans to be sent to Scarborough, England after which he was sent to Canada for further training in Neepawa, Manitoba.

"During one of my training sessions, at about 8000 ft above sea level, the engine of my plane ran out of fuel. I recall that it was dark at night and somehow I successfully managed to land the plane safely in the middle of a wheat field from where I was picked up by my instructor who praised me for my efforts," Capt Pathy said. Commenting on his role as an RAF pilot Capt.Pathy said: "During WWII I was enlisted in squadron no. 217. I flew Bristol Beaufighters, which was considered as one of the most difficult planes to fly in the world, and was involved in many operations. The one event I remember vividly is bombing German submarines over the coast of France. Once the war was over, I was posted as a Coastal Guard in Northern England. Eventually I moved back to Ceylon and joined Air India (AI) where I worked for 27 years. I received the war medal in 1944 for serving in the RAF."

Proudly claiming he was the first Lankan to fly a jet plane at that time with Air India (AI) he said that the American Boeing pilots who were sent to train the AI pilots singled him out as one of the best pilots. Capt Pathy also had flown the Indian troops to base during the Indo-China war and also flying PM Nehru from Jammu to Kashmir, where he went to meet Sheikh Abdullah, the Lion of Kashmir, to dissuade Kashmir from joining Pakistan."Nehru was with me in the cockpit and he generally talked about the weather," Capt. Pathy said.

After his retirement he worked at Air Ceylon for a while. Thereafter he started a hotel in Trincomalee."I trained both my sons to become pilots and they joined Singapore Airlines and have eventually become Captains. One of my sons retired and is currently taking care of the hotel. I eventually moved to Australia where I received honorary citizenship for having served in the RAF," Capt.Pathy said.

"I flew kites as a child and then I flew some of the greatest planes in this world. My life was very adventurous. My episode in Canada made me a man and I believe in the proverb that "a stitch in time saves nine". This is my life's story, " Capt.Pathy who is with enormous willpower even completing 100 years proudly narrated his story in retrospect.

(Courtesy-Confluence)

Amid concerns over the presence of Chinese research vessels conducting surveys in the Indian Ocean, the US nominee to Sri Lanka Elizabeth K. Horst assured the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee to work with Sri Lanka to ensure a moratorium on these vessels remains in place.

The Sri Lanka Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill which seeks to penalize those who share false information over the telephone and cause public commotion was presented to Parliament.

The Maradankerni Police have initiated an investigation following the suspicious death of a woman at a residence in Thalai Adi, Maradankerni, last night. Police said the deceased is a 44-year-old mother of three and a resident of Maradankerni.

Not only the on-arrival visa but the online visa system too should be stopped, as it already affects the number of foreigners who usually arrive in the country, a senior official of the Immigration and Emigration Department said.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is ready for the Presidential eletion but they are yet to find a candidate for the presidency, SLPP founder Basil Rajapaksa said today.

In a resounding display of solidarity with the Palestinian people, Sri Lanka cast its vote in support of Palestine's application for membership in the United Nations. This was announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Sabry via an X post.

In the wake of the Election Commission officially announcing that the Presidential election will be held between September 17 and October 16, a faction of both government and opposition MPs have expressed concerns as they prefer a parliamentary election first, Daily Mirror learns.

United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu will travel to India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh between May 10 and 15. His trip will strengthen bilateral cooperation with each country and demonstrate U.S. support for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

Innocent people including school children are arrested under the Yukthiya Operation for minor offences in some police stations and they are unreasonably charged under Act 54 of the Criminal Procedure, several government MPs charged today.

The expulsion petition filed by former State Minister Diana Gamage challenging the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) decision to expel her from party membership was today fixed for May 28 by the Supreme Court. Diana Gamage’s stance regarding this petition is to be informed to the court on the next date.

Mujibur Rahuman was sworn in as a National List MP before Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena a shortwhile ago. Rahuman fills the vacancy created by the unseatimg of Diana Gamage who was declared to be ineligible to remain as an MP by the Supreme Court.

Investigations have revealed that more than 80 Sri Lankan war veterans have been sent to the Russian-Ukrainian war front as members of mercenary groups by human traffickers.

The Election Commission formally announced that the 2024 Presidential election will be held on a day between September 17 and October 16.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today issued an order preventing State Minister Diana Gamage from leaving the country. Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage made this order in connection with a magisterial inquiry filed against her for allegedly committing offences under the Immigrants and Emigrants Act.

A total of 37 new liquor permits (FL4) were issued by the Excise Department during the first four months of this year, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said today. He told Parliament that 16 out of the 37 were issued to super markets.

Claiming that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa must take full responsibility over the issues faced by the country, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said today that if Premadasa had taken up the premiership on April 10, there would have been no issues.

There is no legal barrier for the non-citizens to register a political party, Former Chairman of Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday.

It has been reported that a group in the government ranks is attempting to file a case with the Supreme Court over the legitimacy of the main opposition party – Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

Leg-spinner Viyaskanth Vijayakanth was handed his Indian Premier League debut today after he was named in the Sunrisers Hyderabad playing XI against the Lucknow Super Giants. Vijayakanth was drafted into the Sunrisers squad after Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

The Supreme Court in another landmark judgment today held that State Minister Diana Gamage is disqualified to be a Member of Parliament and is thus not entitled to hold office as a Member of Parliament, as she was not a citizen of Sri Lanka.