An adult at 18? Not any more
Adolescence no longer ends when people hit 18, according to updated guidelines being given to child psychologists. The new directive is designed to extend the age range that child psychologists can work with from 18 years old up to 25. It is hoped the initiative will stop children being ‘rushed’ through their childhood and feeling [...]
Japan’s luxury fruit masters grow money on trees
TOKYO (AFP)- With melons that sell for the price of a new car and grapes that go for more than $100 a pop, Japan is a country where perfectly-formed fruit can fetch a fortune. An industry of fruit boutiques has defied Japan’s sluggish economy to consistently offer luscious and lavishly tended produce for hefty prices-and it [...]
Gen. Giap: Vietnam war hero who defeated the French, Americans
HANOI, Oct 05, (AFP) – General Vo Nguyen Giap, who died on Friday aged 102, was considered one of history’s greatest military strategists and was the architect of Vietnam’s stunning battlefield victories against France and the United States. Second only to late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh as modern Vietnam’s most revered figure, the former [...]
Germans’ fascination for “The Land of Legends”
This year marks the 60th year of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Germany. However, stirrings of interest of Germans in Sri Lanka were in evidence long before diplomatic ties commenced. In fact, as far back as the 16th century, Germans had been visiting Sri Lanka as sailors, voyageurs, scientists and merchants and one of [...]
Three steps closer to global standard
Shaking off controversy owing to the fraud case reported in 2010, the Kennel Association of Sri Lanka (KASL), under the visionary leadership of prominent architect and ardent dog lover Nela De Zoysa, is seeking new heights in achieving international standards at their annual much awaited dog shows. This year’s All Breed Championship Dog Show, which [...]
The Pipe Piper of Wayamba
A bottle of the best bubbly is in order to the new Wayamba Chief Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera who ditched the jinxed Jonah driven UNP jalopy to hitch his wagon to the UPFA star. And didn’t he come up roses? What glorious change of fortune to a man who not even two months ago was destined [...]
Sri Lankan flag flies high in Chicago
K.R. Ravindran, a member of the Rotary Club of Colombo since 1974, has been unanimously elected as Rotary International President for the year 2014/15. Previously, he has served Rotary International as Trustee of the billion dollar Rotary Foundation and as Treasurer and Board Member of Rotary International. Ravindran, a Thomian and Managing Director of Printcare [...]
Being British really does open doors
Britons enjoy the widest range of visa-free travel in the world – being able to visit 173 countries with just a passport, it was revealed today. The UK’s citizens are on a par with those from Finland and Sweden for visa-free access – while nine out of the top ten in a new index are [...]
Bypassing bypass: A much debated alternative
Western Medicine has for a long time been using a substance called EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) in the treatment of heavy metal poisoning in humans, especially lead and mercury poisoning. This substance works by binding to the heavy metal as though by means of a claw, to form a new compound that can [...]
Doctors still prescribe antibiotics too often: US study
WASHINGTON, (AFP) – US doctors prescribe antibiotics to six out of 10 patients with a sore throat, even though only one infection in 10 is severe enough to merit them, researchers said. Overprescribing of antibiotics is dangerous because it contributes to the rise of superbugs that do not respond to treatment. US health officials have [...]
Puff by puff, towards a heming-heming policy on tobacco
Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake had a pragmatic guideline in politics expressed by the home grown homily, heming-heming (Slowly-slowly) as compared to his fire-breathing Marxist Opponents who were for an instant ‘Revolution’. Senanayake’s pragmatism enabled this country to win Independence which his critics slammed it as pseudo-Independence. Sixty five years after, with Sri [...]
India announces warm-up for world’s biggest election
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will hold five state elections in November and December, authorities said on Friday, kicking off a contest that is expected to boost the profile of Hindu nationalist opposition leader Narendra Modi ahead of a general election next year. The polls, set to begin on November 11, are seen as a [...]
Prolonged political crisis could weaken US: Kerry
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Oct 5 (AFP) -Secretary of State John Kerry warned today the “reckless” political standoff paralysing Washington could weaken the United States on the world stage if it did not end soon. The country’s top diplomat said the bitter struggle between Republicans and Democrats that has led to a partial government shutdown was [...]
Divers hope to resume search in migrant boat tragedy
LAMPEDUSA, Italy, Oct 5 (AFP) -Italian divers hoped to resume the search for bodies today after a Mediterranean shipwreck tragedy in which 111 African asylum-seekers have been confirmed dead and scores more are missing. Rough seas have forced the suspension of the operation off the remote island of Lampedusa, where fishermen on Saturday laid a [...]
Commonwealth in dismay at Gambia exit
LONDON (AFP) -The Commonwealth expressed dismay after Gambia’s shock announcement that it had pulled out of what it called a “neo-colonial institution”. The west African republic’s government said in a statement Wednesday that it had left the 54-country organisation “with immediate effect”, branding it “an extension of colonialism”. The bloc’s Marlborough House headquarters in London [...]
Japan’s luxury fruit masters grow money on trees
TOKYO (AFP)- With melons that sell for the price of a new car and grapes that go for more than $100 a pop, Japan is a country where perfectly-formed fruit can fetch a fortune. An industry of fruit boutiques has defied Japan’s sluggish economy to consistently offer luscious and lavishly tended produce for hefty prices-and [...]
Penis hotpots and snake blood: Asia’s libido-boosting foods
BEIJING (AFP)-Holding aloft a half-metre long horse penis, chef Xiao Shan confidently declares it “the most delicious” of the ingredients in a Chinese hotpot of male genitalia, one of many supposed Asian remedies to boost the libido. Penises and testicles from donkey, goat, dog, bull and deer, the other contributors to the $200 feast are [...]
Just what is in that chicken nugget?
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Stand-up comedians have long joked that some things, like the actual components of chicken nuggets, are better left mysterious. Recently, Mississippi researchers found out why: two nuggets they examined consisted of 50 percent or less chicken muscle tissue, the breast or thigh meat that comes to mind when a customer [...]
Oceans face ‘deadly trio’ of threats, study says
OSLO (Reuters) – The world’s oceans are under greater threat than previously believed from a “deadly trio” of global warming, declining oxygen levels and acidification, an international study said on Thursday. The oceans have continued to warm, pushing many commercial fish stocks towards the poles and raising the risk of extinction for some marine species, [...]
Fear of bad luck really can be reversed by touching wood and throwing salt
The fear of bad luck really can be reversed by carrying out rituals like touching wood and throwing salt, according to a new study. Touching wood is the most common superstition in Western culture used to reverse bad fortune or undo a ‘jinx’, while other cultures maintain similar practices, like spitting or throwing salt, after [...]
Pope Francis continues assault on Vatican traditions
The Pope has accused many of his predecessors of being ‘narcissists’ who have let themselves be flattered by ‘courtier’ aides. Reformist church leader Francis promised to do everything in his power to change the Vatican’s mentality, saying that the Holy See had been too focused on his own interests. Refusing to mince his words, the [...]
Gods forbid: India’s temples guard their gold from government
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (Reuters) – India’s Hindu temples are resisting divulging their gold holdings – perhaps nearly half the amount held in Fort Knox – amid mistrust of the motives of authorities who are trying to cut a hefty import bill that is hurting the economy. The central bank, which has already taken steps that have [...]
Snowden and the Pope
NEW YORK – Pope Francis increasingly resembles a gust of fresh air blowing through the musty chambers of the Catholic Church. He looks and behaves like a normal human being. He wears shoes instead of red velvet slippers. He has good taste in books: Dostoevsky, Cervantes. And he has a more humane attitude toward homosexuals, [...]
Brazilian president: US surveillance a ‘breach of international law’
Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, has launched a blistering attack on US espionage at the UN general assembly, accusing the NSA of violating international law by its indiscriminate collection of personal information of Brazilian citizens and economic espionage targeted on the country’s strategic industries. Rousseff’s angry speech was a direct challenge to President Barack Obama, who [...]
