Russia “will help Syria” in the event of a military strike: Putin
ST PETERSBURG, September 7, (Russia Today) – The alleged chemical weapons use in Syria is a provocation carried out by the rebels to attract a foreign-led strike, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the G20 summit. There was no 50/50 split of opinion on the notion of a military strike against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, [...]
Hezbollah, Iran and Syria prepare for counterattack
BEIRUT: Iran, Syria and Hezbollah have set up a joint military operations room to coordinate closely in the event of a U.S. strike on Syria, with Hezbollah mobilizing “tens of thousands” of fighters, senior political and diplomatic sources told Lebanon’s The Daily Star on Friday. Even though the US has so far succeeded in keeping [...]
Unsung heroes saluted at V awards
It’s that time of the year when the nation salutes the silent work of hitherto unknown volunteers for their selfless contributions. Nominations were opened for the National Volunteer Awards (V awards) 2013 at a media briefing held in Colombo last Tuesday, September 3. Three popular personalities joined hands with the V awards to endorse the [...]
Colombo Fashion Week goes to Galle
Fashion lovers will be swarming to Galle early next month when the Resort Wear edition of the Colombo Fashion Week hits the southern city. ”This is the second edition of the Resort Wear show,” said president of the organising committee Ajai V. Singh at a media briefing held last Wednesday, September 4 at the Jetwing [...]
Nepal plans to name Himalayan peaks after Hillary, Tenzing
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Nepal plans to name two Himalayan peaks after pioneering Mount Everest climbers Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a senior hiking official said, in a move designed to boost tourism in the beautiful but desperately poor country. New Zealander Hillary and his Nepali guide Tenzing made it to the 8,850-metre (29,035-foot) summit [...]
Mettasena takes new aim
He is best known as a photographer, but is also a writer and lyricist. Now Padmakumar P. Mettasena is venturing into new territory with his directorial debut- a silent short film entitled ‘Paragon’. The film, which is for mature audiences, deals with the social issue of extra-marital affairs. The main character, a middle-aged businessman and the [...]
Fair and fearless stories
When a friend told Nifraz Rifaz about Shyam Selvadurai’s ‘Write to reconcile’ project, he wasn’t certain he would be able to spare the time – there were the demands of his job in banking and the three degrees he was pursuing simultaneously; also recently engaged, Nifraz now had his wedding to plan. But standing before [...]
Australia election: Tony Abbott defeats Kevin Rudd
SYDNEY, Sept 7 (AFP) -Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced he would step down as Labor chief after a heavy defeat to the conservatives in national elections today following years of leadership ructions. ”I will not be recontesting the leadership of the parliamentary Labor Party. The Australian people I believe deserve a fresh start with our [...]
Critics savage”cheap and cheerless” Diana film
LONDON (Reuters) – Film critics have savaged a new movie of the late British Princess Diana’s relationship with a Pakistani doctor as an intrusive and embarrassingly cheap soap opera. British-born Australian actress Naomi Watts plays the jilted princess trapped in a gilded cage. English actor Naveen Andrews is heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, who gives her the [...]
S.Korea extends Japan fisheries ban as Fukushima concerns grow
SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – South Korea extended a ban on Japanese fishery imports to a larger area around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant due to growing concerns over radiation contamination. Further fuelling those concerns, the plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, said it was “very concerned” that radioactive water could flow towards a bypass it [...]
Samsung unveils Galaxy Gear smartwatch
BERLIN/SEOUL (Reuters)-Samsung and Qualcomm Inc recently unveiled their new smartwatches , tapping a potential “wearables” market worth an estimated $50 billion as the high-end mobile phone market becomes saturated. The companies launched the devices at nearly simultaneous events in Berlin and San Diego, and some analysts immediately questioned whether the devices were too costly, with expected [...]
Gadget ensures your phone is always charged
There is already technology that will save your phone’s location if its battery dies or can send text messages after the power has gone, but what if you could buy a phone that never loses power again because it was permanently on charge? It sounds too good to be true but that’s the idea behind [...]
Buddhist education of women: A feminine perspective
In complete contrast to the situation at the turn of the 19th century, today, the landscape of education shows a surge of girls and women in both secondary and higher education (I am moving away from the topic of women’s Buddhist education for a moment). Statistics from the Ministry of Education show that in 2011, [...]
The Arab Spring: There is a “third way”
AMMAN – Throughout the post-colonial period, Arab countries have consistently failed to produce an efficient – let alone democratic – system of government. Now, after a half-century of competition between military or royal dictatorships and militant Islamist regimes, many Arabs are again seeking a “third way” – a path toward a credible form of representative [...]
Law and disorder in Sri Lanka
The bulk of the Sri Lankan people, by which I mean those we refer to as the common man/woman, in other words, the non or under-privileged majority, are increasingly worried that the quality of the stewardship granted temporally by them to the present regime, from their viewpoint, has been steadily deteriorating. This, is also the [...]
