Samata Sarana : Scent of selfless love from former rubbish dump
It’s hard to believe that the solid five-storeyed building on Mutwal’s Aluthmawatha rose from a rubbish dump. But then the story of ‘Samata Sarana’ (Help for all) which celebrates its 25th anniversary on October 1 is all about faith. Every weekday, some 500 people, from the very young to the very old from the neighbouring [...]
Bin Laden’s death one big lie: Obama, the NSA and the ‘pathetic’ American media
(Guardian, UK) – Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism – close down the news bureaus of NBC and ABC, sack 90% of editors in publishing and get back to the fundamental job of journalists which, he says, is to be an outsider. It doesn’t take much to fire up [...]
Obama’s rocky path to success in Syria
NEW YORK – In my experience, if you are attacked for your diplomacy from both left and right, by doves and hawks, and by internationalists and isolationists, you probably have it just right. In the avalanche of commentary on this month’s US-Russia deal on Syria’s chemical weapons, few have been prepared to call it a [...]
A lifelong passion
Being a performing artiste is a full time job. Working hours are not limited to a “nine to five” basis and one’s office doesn’t comprise a cubicle, desk and chair. Instead you travel around the globe, performing for thousands, juggling nerves, anxiety and passion held together by endless rehearsals and practices. Opera singer Helen Massey [...]
20 years of service to Hungary
Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover in recognition of Rohan Nanayakkara’s 20 year service as the country’s Consul in Sri Lanka held a reception in the Hungarian parliament on September 13. Several dignitaries and religious leaders were invited to the reception in what was seen as a rare honour bestowed on a Sri Lankan representing a foreign [...]
Ranil: The final stake
Fate rarely beckons a man to bear the heavy burden of ignominious defeat repeatedly without relent or pause. But for Lanka’s Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe it has gone the extra mile to drive the final stake into the moribund corpus of his long party leadership by pinning on his well worn bespoke suit the crucifix [...]
Map reveals the countries with the world’s worst air pollution
Air pollution is said to account for 2.1 million premature deaths worldwide, according to new research, and mortality rates can vary widely between certain countries. To highlight the risk, Nasa’s Earth Observatory has used these numbers to create an air pollution map that shows, at a glance, how levels of a type of pollution called [...]
68 years on, Azeez’s vision for Muslim education
The Ceylon Muslim Scholarship Fund has rendered yeoman service to Muslim education over the past 68 years. The Architect and founder of the CMSF was Dr. A.M.A. Azeez, eminent educationist, efficient administrator, erudite scholar, visionary and community worker. Aboobucker Mohamed Abdul Azeez was born in Vannarponnai, Jaffna on October 4, 1911. His education in the [...]
China’s richest man aims to rival Hollywood
QINGDAO, China (AFP) – An ambitious studio complex built by China’s richest man will be a major boost for the country’s film industry but experts say it needs more than sprawling grounds to rival Hollywood. Global A-listers Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and Catherine Zeta-Jones showed up on Sunday for the lavish event to showcase plans for [...]
Gujarati film ‘The Good Road’ is India’s Oscar entry
“The Good Road”, a Gujarati-language film, has been chosen as India’s entry to the 2014 Oscars, stealing attention from a critically acclaimed love story that was screened at the Cannes film festival this year. Gyan Correa’s debut film about two children lost in the Kutch desert won a national award for best Gujarati-language film this year, [...]
Maldives delay presidential vote amid underpant protests
MALE, Maldives, Sept 27 (AFP) -Maldives election officials late Friday said it would honour a court order preventing a presidential run-off vote, as police said they had arrested 14 protesters who had hung underpants outside a courthouse. The independent Maldivian Elections Commission ended a standoff with the Supreme Court by agreeing to delay indefinitely a [...]
Hero of Kenya massacre revealed
A Somali Muslim has been hailed a hero after rescuing a mother and her three daughters from the Nairobi shopping mall as gunmen threw grenades and sprayed bullets yards away. Katherine Walton feared she and her children would not get out alive after becoming trapped under a table outside a supermarket in the Westgate complex. But [...]
