MH370 debris breakthrough in new area
PERTH, Australia, March 29 (AFP) – Searchers scoured a new area of the Indian Ocean for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 today hoping to salvage possible debris from the doomed jet after several hopeful sightings. But despite having access to considerable assets, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the search teams faced a formidable task given [...]
UN watchdog urges Obama to review deadly drone policy
GENEVA, (Reuters) – A U.N. human rights watchdog called on the Obama administration on Thursday to review its use of drones to kill suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants abroad and reveal how it chose its targets. In its first report on Washington’s rights record since2006, it also called for the prosecution of anyone who ordered [...]
Singapore uplifts English language learning facilities in Jaffna
A high powered ministerial delegation from Singapore will ceremonially open the refurbished youth section of the Jaffna Public Library on April 4 as part of a year-long capacity building project aimed at improving English language skills of Jaffna students. The event will also see the donation of a mobile library which will help provide easy [...]
International conference on post shelter reconstruction
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) partnered with the European Union Delegation of Sri Lanka, the Government of Australia and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to host a conference on post emergency shelter reconstruction on March 24-25 in Colombo at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel. The two-day conference provided a platform for [...]
Germans cherish business ties with Asia-Pacific
The German Asia-Pacific Business Association in Bremen celebrated its 113th Anniversary recently with the Ambassador of Sri Lanka Sarath Kongahage as Guest of Honour and keynote speaker. The German Asia-Pacific Business Association is a strong network of German business companies in the fields of trade, industry, banking and small and medium size enterprises with activities [...]
Beating rural poverty with Agarwood
Three towns belonging to Panawela Secretariat, Avissawella, Dehiowita and Eheliyagoda have formed a farming society for Agarwood cultivation with the aim of beating rural poverty. This initiative will remarkably reduce the misuse of Wallapatta plant for commercial purposes, allowing instead for farmers to cultivate Agarwood under professional guidance and earn good revenue. The tree species [...]
CANSA and SLPI conduct second workshop on ‘Climate Change and Development Journalism’
Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Press Institute conducted the second Workshop on ‘Climate Change and Development Journalism’ for local journalists on Thursday March 20 at the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), Colombo 5. The workshop focused on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), science and climate change [...]
Singapore crowned the best airport in the world
BARCELONA (AFP)- For the second year in a row, Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named the best airport in the world by millions of international flyers for features like tropical rooftop gardens, movie theaters, Jacuzzi and free foot massages. The Singapore airport beat 410 hubs around the world to take the top spot at the [...]
At UN climate talks, many seek sterner warnings of GDP losses
OSLO, March 29 (Reuters) – Many governments want sterner warnings of probable economic damage from global warming in a draft U.N. report due on Monday, saying that existing estimates of trillions of dollars in losses are only part of the picture. A final draft before talks this week among governments and scientists in Japan projected [...]
Act fast to protect vanishing urban wetlands
Urban wetlands in the Western Province are one of the important eco-systems in our country but they are in danger of vanishing within our lifetime. Throughout generations, these wetlands have played a significant role in contributing eco-system services towards fisheries, agriculture, wildlife, nutrient retention, wastewater treatment and flood-control. The urban wetlands such as Muthurajawela also [...]
UN diplomats in bank war; money in mattresses
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Addressing a closed-door meeting of the Group of 77 (G77) developing countries last week, a visibly angry Latin American delegate recounted the growing new hostility towards foreign diplomats in New York city. In some residential buildings, he said, there were covert signs conveying an unfriendly message: “Pets and diplomats not welcome.” [...]
Turkey calls Syria security leak ‘villainous,’ blocks YouTube
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday denounced as “villainous” the leaking of a recording of top security officials discussing possible military action in Syria to the video-sharing site YouTube. Turkish authorities ordered the shutdown of the site. Erdogan’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the posting a “declaration of war,” an apparent [...]
The forgotten Aussie coup
Washington’s role in the fascist putsch against an elected government in Ukraine will surprise only those who watch the news and ignore the historical record. Since 1945, dozens of governments, many of them democracies, have met a similar fate, usually with bloodshed. Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries on earth with fewer people than [...]
‘Angels’ organ’ makes heavenly comeback
LOS ANGELES, (AFP) – Only a handful of professional musicians can play it, but a rare instrument banned in the 19th century is making a comeback, and even seducing a new generation of rock and electro stars. The glass armonica, invented by US founding father Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century, was blamed for driving [...]
The Gulf states’ widening gulf
President Barack Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday at a critical moment for the country. Its recent decision to withdraw its ambassador from Qatar has revealed the gravity of the crisis in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), composed of the Kingdom’s most immediate neighbours. Indeed, Gulf politics is shifting toward a new balance in [...]
Selling the soul to deal with Lucifer
All Sri Lankans must be thankful to the Sunday Times for the forthright exposure of the calamity the country is heading for. The Sunday Times editorial of March 23 brings to the fore a most pertinent question of the Government “nurturing a nation of gamblers”. It warns that “Government is vigorously promoting a culture of [...]
Unprotected railway crossings: Even presidential decrees unheeded
The yakada yaka, the iron monster we call the train, snuffed out the lives of eight people within a week recently and the media were abuzz with the news. There was a public outcry about the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities in providing proper protection at railway crossings throughout the country. Some finger pointing was [...]
‘Guardian’ threatened with closure over Snowden leaks
March 27, 2014 “Information Clearing House – “Irish Times”- The Guardian newspaper was threatened with closure by the British government over the Edward Snowden spying affair, the Radiodays Europe conference has been told. The paper’s deputy editor Paul Johnson said Britain’s intelligence agencies visited them and told them they would be closed if they persisted [...]
Tragic stories emerge as US landslide toll inches up
LOS ANGELES, March 29 (AFP) – Tragic stories have emerged of individual victims of a massive US landslide, as the confirmed death toll inched up Friday amid fears the eventual number dead will be much higher. Ninety people remain missing after the mudslide crashed down on the Washington state town of Oso last weekend, in [...]
Putin suggests to Obama ‘joint steps’ to calm Ukraine
MOSCOW, March 29 (AFP) -Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested to his US counterpart Barack Obama in a phone call between the two leaders that the international community could examine joint steps to calm the situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin said today. Putin in the call also raised alarm over what he described as the “continued [...]
Thai protesters rally against PM ahead of Senate vote
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Thai anti-government protesters rallied across Bangkok today in their latest bid to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day before a crucial vote to elect a new Senate. Waving flags and blowing whistles, protesters marched from Lumpini Park in the business district of Bangkok, where protesters retreated to [...]
Tamil Nadu could shape India’s next government
TIRUVANNAMALAI, India (Reuters) – The politics of forming India’s next government could come down to how many seats a 1960s matinee siren can wrest from a rival named Stalin in Tamil Nadu. At stake are 39 parliamentary seats in Tamil Nadu, a state known for its ancient Hindu temples, its modern auto industry – and [...]
French minister in the soup over ‘disgusting’ food
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s trade minister had to eat humble pie after she was caught on film saying that food served at a state dinner for China’s President Xi Jinping was “disgusting”. President Francois Hollande and Xi were all smiles at the dinner Wednesday at the Elysee presidential palace. But Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq [...]
In between life and death
It sounds like something out of Star Wars – doctors are to attempt to save the lives of ten patients by putting them in ‘suspended animation’, when they are neither alive or dead. Medics in the U.S. will use the futuristic-sounding technique to buy themselves time to save knife and gunshot wound victims whose injuries [...]
Cartoon girls capture fans for Japan’s military
TOKYO (Reuters) – Being a soldier in Japan after World War Two was seen as a job for failed police recruits and unemployed youth from depressed rural towns. But as tension with China chips away at Japan’s post-war pacifism, the military is regaining its prestige – helped by a blitz of television dramas, movies and [...]
Tackling inequality: Where a president meets a pope
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama heard the Catholic Church’s concerns over his health care plan while on a visit to the Vatican on Thursday, but drew a cheerful response from Pope Francis when inviting him to visit Washington. The president appeared at ease and joked during the parts of his meeting with [...]
Islamic scholars establish prizes for peace
ABU DHABI (Reuters)- Muslim scholars aiming to combat religious extremism in the Islamic world have established annual prizes for the best studies on peace and the best initiatives to promote peace in the region. At a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday and Monday, they also recommended the creation of a team of young Muslims [...]
This is the way the Afghans go to vote
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, (Reuters) – Growing violence in the southern province of Kandahar ahead of Afghanistan’s presidential election next week highlights a rift between Pashtun tribes that could tip the country back into civil war. The fate of Kandahar, birthplace of the Taliban insurgency, is crucial. Some Afghans fear a loss in the vote for Zalmai [...]
Putin The rebuilding of ‘Soviet’ Russia
The world was stunned when Russia invaded Crimea, but should it have been? Author and journalist Oliver Bullough says President Vladimir Putin never kept secret his intention to restore Russian power – what’s less clear, he says, is how long the country’s rise can continue. On 16 August 1999, the members of Russia’s parliament – [...]
The many British connections to massacres of Sikhs
Murky British connections to the Indian government’s attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984 have fuelled demands for full disclosure in UK and India. Prime Minister David Cameron ordered a review when documents released to the public after 30 years showed that India had sought, and Britain had provided, assistance for the operation. [...]
Japan releases world’s longest serving death row inmate
A Japanese court has ordered the release of the world’s longest serving death row inmate because the evidence used against him was likely made up. Iwao Hakamada, 78, a former professional boxer convicted of the 1966 murder of a family, has spent the last 45 years behind bars on death row, a Guinness World Record [...]
Could we condemn criminals to suffer for hundreds of years?
Sentencing a criminal to 1,000 years in an artificial hell may one day become a reality. At least, that is the claim of scientists at Oxford University who have been exploring controversial technologies that could extend human life. They say billions are being invested in techniques that could mean the cruellest criminals will be kept [...]
World execution toll rose in 2013: Amnesty
LONDON (AFP) – The number of known executions worldwide rose to at least 778 last year following a surge in Iraq and Iran, Amnesty International said, but China remains the world’s biggest state executioner by far. Beijing is thought to have killed thousands of its own citizens, more than the rest of the world put [...]
30 second test for date rape drug
Chemists in Singapore have unveiling a groundbreaking new instant test for the most popular date rape drug. The flourescent sensor can change the colour of drinks within second to warn people drugs have been added. It can detect Gamma-Hydroxybutyric (GHB), or ‘liquid ecstasy’, which can make anyone fall into a deep sleep. Current tests for [...]
Dark side of the moon
Slept badly? Had strange dreams? Blame the moon. People have more weird and wonderful dreams around the time of the full moon, a British study found. The content of our dreams doesn’t vary with the seasons or with the days of the week, it showed. But in the week or so surrounding a full moon, [...]
Fly brain ‘atlas’ opens door to linking human neurons to actions
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Research unveiled on Thursday identifies the brain neurons that cause every behaviour fruit fly larvae execute, raising the tantalising possibility that neuroscientists will be able to construct a similar “atlas” in people. The accomplishment is an advance toward linking the neurons that fire when people make specific movements, and possibly even [...]
Bamboo-munching giant panda also has a sweet tooth
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Giant pandas eat plenty of veggies, but apparently they like dessert, too. Scientists studying the endangered black-and-white bears said on Thursday that while pandas almost exclusively eat bamboo, which contains only tiny amounts of sugars, they showed a strong preference for natural sweeteners in an experiment. The researchers also examined panda DNA [...]
Leaf me alone: ancient insect blended in with foliage
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sometimes it is better not to be noticed. A number of insect species look so much like sticks or leaves that they simply blend in with the foliage, providing camouflage that helps keep them out of the beaks of hungry birds hankering for a big bite of bug. But this is no [...]
And the award for the best dad goes to…the owl monkey
Study found all the male and female owl monkeys that cared for the young were the infants’ biological parents, suggesting the species never cheated True monogamy is rare in the animal kingdom – even in species that appear to mate for life, tests have revealed cheating is common place. However, a new study by University [...]
Crows solve Aesop’s fable puzzles, offer clues to cognition
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A species of crow native to islands east of Australia has long wowed scientists with its intelligence, and now it has shown it can solve at least one puzzle as well as the average 7-year-old child, scientists reported on Wednesday. Like other research on the cognitive abilities of nonhuman animals, the [...]
Facebook to use satellites, drones to spread the Internet
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc is harnessing satellite, drone and other technology as part of an ambitious and costly effort to beam Internet connectivity to people in underdeveloped parts of the world. The world’s No. 1 social network said on Thursday it has hired aerospace and communications experts from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and [...]
Success really does smell sweet
Success smells sweet on women, but men need a musky smell with notes of spicy black pepper in order to give off a whiff of accomplishment, according to a new study. A panel of 200 of ‘sophisticated noses’ sorted through more than 100 individual smells from stale dirty linen, urine and nail polish to fresh [...]
Fishing with otters
In Southern Bangladesh, fishermen are busy at work and receiving a helping hand from an unlikely group of companions. Swimming in circles alongside the fishing boat, two short-haired otters shriek excitedly as they navigate their way through the river which feeds into the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. The setting is Narail, some 130 [...]
Anyone for a locust pizza or worm taco?
When most people go on a health kick they eat more lettuce or hit the gym. Not so one PhD student who has taken healthy eating to a whole new level. Peter Bickerton has admitted he eats tens of thousands of insects in a bid to ward off heart disease. The 24-year-old has gorged on [...]
Are you addicted?
A Spanish doctor claims to have found the first case of ‘WhatAppitis’ – and warned users of the app it could harm their health. The unnamed patient complained of pain in both wrists one morning. After investigating the case, doctors found it was caused by six hours of replying to WhatsApp messages. The case, described [...]
