Sunday Times 2
CIA’s secret ops get first female boss
By Hugo Gye A woman has become head of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service for the first time, it emerged today. The unnamed operative was made acting director of the service last month – evoking parallels to fictional female spies from the likes of Homeland and Zero Dark Thirty. For the woman to be given the [...]
Sunday Times 2
Get the feel of freedom in the north
Defence Secretary says many countries are still unaware of positive developments taking place after the war By Shaveen Jeewandara “This is not so much about Gotabaya Rajapaksa the Defence Secretary, but Gotabaya Rajapaksa the soldier,” said well-known planter and author Malinga Herman Gunaratne, delivering the introduction last Monday at the Lighthouse Hotel, Galle, to ‘A [...]
Sunday Times 2
Gota: Everyone has benefited from the defeat of terrorism
Excerpts from the text of the speech delivered by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Serendib Coast Festival 2013, a literary event held at the Galle Lighthouse Hotel on Monday. I would like to thank Mr. Geoffrey Dobbs, Mr. Herman Guneratne and the others involved in the Serendib Coast Festival for inviting me to speak [...]
Sunday Times 2
N. Korea declares ‘state of war’ with South
SEOUL, March 30 (AFP) -North Korea on Saturday declared it was in a “state of war” with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict. The United States said it took the announcement “seriously”, but noted it followed a familiar pattern, while South Korea largely dismissed [...]
Sunday Times 2
Suicide bomber kills policeman, wounds six in NW Pakistan
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, March 30 (AFP) -The head of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said on Saturday that ministers from OIC states will meet on April 14 in Saudi Arabia to discuss deadly violence against Muslims in Myanmar. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement that a contact committee of OIC foreign ministers would gather in the [...]
Sunday Times 2
‘I love Paris’ may soon be passe for Chinese tourists
PARIS, March 30 (AFP) -Mass muggings and attacks on Chinese tourists in Paris have spawned alarm and warnings of a decline in the number of free-spending visitors from the Asian giant who swarm to France. More than one million Chinese visitors come every year to France, a country which for them epitomises luxury, romance and quality [...]
Sunday Times 2
S.Africa’s Mandela “comfortable”, treated for pneumonia
JOHANNESBURG, March 30 (AFP) – Nelson Mandela was comfortable and breathing without difficulty after being treated for pneumonia, the presidency said today as the anti-apartheid icon spent a third day in hospital. Messages of concern for the ailing 94-year-old, one of the towering figures of modern history, have poured in since his admission late Wednesday for [...]
Sunday Times 2
Holi colours toxic for environment
If you thought playing with colours was a safer option than Diwali fire crackers, it may be time to think again. Scientists have found that Holi, like the festival of lights, is an environmental hazard. Researchers Joy Joseph Gardner from University of Rajasthan and Deepanjali Lal from Jaipur National University have studied the effects of [...]
Sunday Times 2
Catholics nailed to cross in Philippine folk ritual that Church opposes
About two dozen Filipinos were nailed to crosses on Good Friday in an extreme display of devotion that the Catholic church looks down upon as a form of folk religion but appears powerless to stop. The re-enactment of the passion of Jesus Christ draws thousands of tourists to the Pampanga region, 80 km (50 miles) north [...]
Sunday Times 2
Three men arrested by the Egyptian army for ‘cutting undersea cable’
By Amanda William Three men have been arrested by the Egyptian army for apparently trying to cut through an undersea Internet cable. A patrol stopped a fishing boat near the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and arrested three divers, an army spokesman said on his official Facebook page. It is believed they were trying to [...]
Sunday Times 2
Be calm and carry on
Living in the moment will improve your memory, working life and relationships, researchers say By Fiona Keating Just two weeks of mindfulness training on how to ‘live in the momemt’ can significantly improve reading comprehension, memory capacity and the ability to focus. Many psychologists define mindfulness as a state of non-distraction characterised by full engagement with [...]
Sunday Times 2
Pope shuns regal papal apartments for simple home
By Mario Ledwith His impromptu walkabouts and trips on the bus have already garnered him a reputation as the People’s Pontiff. Now Pope Francis has bolstered his humble reputation by shunning the Vatican City’s papal apartment preferred by his predecessors for a simple suite at a hotel-style building. The grand apartment on top of the Apostolic [...]
Sunday Times 2
What stopped India’s “anti-rape” law from being a landmark?
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – So, three months after the outrage which sent thousands of Indians spilling out onto the streets to protest at the fatal gang rape of a woman on a bus in New Delhi, the country’s parliamentarians were forced to sit up and listen and approve a tough new law to curb rising [...]
Sunday Times 2
Schoolgirl who defied the Taliban signs book deal ‘worth £2m’: Malala steps up global campaign for women’s education
By James Rush A 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban as she returned home from school has signed a book deal worth a reported £2m. Malala Yousafzai’s book will tell the story about the traumatic event and her long-running campaign to promote children’s education. Publisher Weidenfeld and Nicolson announced that [...]
Sunday Times 2
Woman teacher is killed in drive-by shooting in Pakistan
By Suzannah Hills The drive-by shooting of a female teacher 200 metres from her school in Pakistan yesterday has sparked calls for protection of the girl pupils being taught there. Shahnaz Nazli, 41, was on her way to the all girl’s school where she worked in Shahkas, near the country’s volatile tribal belt on the [...]
Sunday Times 2
What stopped India’s “anti-rape” law from being a landmark?
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – So, three months after the outrage which sent thousands of Indians spilling out onto the streets to protest at the fatal gang rape of a woman on a bus in New Delhi, the country’s parliamentarians were forced to sit up and listen and approve a tough new law to curb rising [...]
Sunday Times 2
Can’t quit smoking? Your genes might be to blame
By Anna Hodgekiss Genes, rather than feeble willpower, may be the reason why some people just can’t stop smoking. Scientists have identified genetic variants that increase a person’s likelihood of becoming a lifelong heavy smoker. Those affected are more easily hooked as teenagers and quickly progress to smoking 20 or more cigarettes a day. As adults, they [...]
Sunday Times 2
The New Delhi consensus for capitalism mantra
By Shashi Tharoor NEW DELHI – One of the more remarkable (though largely unremarked) developments in recent Indian politics has been the startling shift in the country’s discourse about capitalism. As in many developing countries, “self-reliance” and economic self-sufficiency were India’s national mantras after independence – and, in India’s case, remained so for more than [...]
