So who really is Narendra Modi?
1.Vadnagar, an ancient town that is almost 2,500 years old, is Narendra Damodardas Mulchand Modi’s birthplace. Indians strongly identify themselves with their janambhoomi, and Modi is no different. He likes the Hatkeswar Mahadeo temple, built in the 15th century, in his home town. His birthplace is unique in that it saw both Hinduism and Buddhism [...]
Gen. (Retd) Srilal Weerasooriya felicitated for promoting Pakistan-Lanka relations
The Pakistan High Commission this week felicitated former Army Commander and Sri Lanka’s former High Commissioner to Pakistan, General (Retd) Srilal Weerasooriya who was conferred the Sitara-i-Pakistan award on the National Day of Pakistan by Pakistani’s President Mamnoon Hussain. The Sitara-i-Pakistan was awarded to General Weerasooriya by the government of Pakistan in recognition of his [...]
Waveless boat makes maiden voyage at Colombo Rowing Club
The dazzling night of October 17, 2012 when Indra Sri Karunatilake won the inaugural Ray Award for his invention of an eco-friendly boat was just the beginning. Being awarded “The Ray” by the Ray Wijewardene Charitable Trust along with the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) and the Commercial Bank saw this former accountant invest all [...]
TV programme on children and autism
The majority of Sri Lankans are unaware of the extent of prevalence of Autism and the need for awareness and education is only now being recognised. In January this year Johnson’s Baby started a television programme devoted to mothers with young children called ‘First Lessons in Love’ (Aaddaraye Palamu Paadama) hosted by Yehali Sangakkara, wife [...]
UKIP surge challenges Britain’s 3-party hold
LONDON, May 24 (AFP) – Britain’s UK Independence Party was hoping today its local election success is replicated in the European Parliament polls as commentators said Nigel Farage’s group had broken the three-party mould.The anti-EU, anti-immigration party immediately began targeting seats in the national parliament at the May 2015 general election after taking votes from [...]
Doctor exposes China’s medical corruption epidemic
MIANYANG, China, May 23 (AFP) – Ordering an unnecessary pacemaker, urging a woman to be hospitalised for a sore throat — a doctor’s allegations of corruption spotlight troubles so endemic in China’s healthcare system that patients frequently turn violent. Lan Yuefeng, a former hospital ultrasound chief, ignited fury when she accused her hospital of exploiting [...]
Get a leg-up: Chinese students rent out their legs for commercials
More than a hundred students have responded a Chinese advertising company who wanted to hire space on girls’ legs for the day to advertise a product. According to the advertising firm, they managed to get dozens of girls to sign up for the campaign after visiting the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law campus in [...]
Pope to start delicate Middle East trip in Jordan
AMMAN, May 24 (Reuters) – Pope Francis arrives in Jordan today to start an intense three-day trip to the Middle East, bringing hope to the dwindling Christian population and an appeal to members of all religions to work together for peace. “This is not a protocol visit,” Patriarch Louis Sako, Iraq’s senior Churchman, told reporters [...]
Rankin’s homily: A façade that hides the truth
In a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day, John Rankin, the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka said: “Across the world journalists face constant threats because of their work.” He is right of course. But then he went on to refer to Sri Lanka and tangentially admonish the Sri Lanka Government to renew its [...]
‘Arrogance’ of ignoring the importance of sleep can kill us
Society has become “supremely arrogant” in ignoring the importance of sleep, leading researchers have told the BBC’s Day of the Body Clock. Scientists from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Manchester and Surrey universities warn cutting sleep is leading to “serious health problems”. They say people and governments need to take the problem seriously. Cancer, heart disease, type-2 [...]
For a longer life… eat lots of hot curries
A curry or stir fry for dinner won’t just spice up your evening — it could also help you live longer. Scientists say that blocking the body’s ability to feel pain boosts lifespan — and that one way of switching off pain is by regularly eating chilli peppers. The culinary advice follows experiments in mice, [...]
Could grapefruit beat lung disease?
Eating grapefruit, bananas, fish and cheese could help patients suffering one of the most common lung conditions in Britain, say scientists. Research showed a direct link between the foods and improvements in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Scientists from the US and Europe used diet records for 2,167 COPD sufferers over a three-year [...]
‘We will find alien life in 20 years’
Aliens are real – not little green men visiting Earth as depicted in movies, but rather microbial life in our own solar system and intelligent life beyond. That’s according to two leading Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Seti) researchers, who this week took part in a hearing at the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology [...]
Security tight in China’s Urumqi after market attack
URUMQI, China, May 24 (AFP) – Security was tight today in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang, two days after the volatile Muslim Uighur homeland suffered its bloodiest attack in years, leaving 43 people dead, including four assailants. Armed paramilitary police were on patrol at many locations across the city, after attackers in two vehicles [...]
Opposition to Thai coup simmers
BANGKOK, May 24 (Reuters) -Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was in a “safe place” today, an aide said, after being held by Thailand’s army following its seizure of power this week, as opposition to the coup grew among her supporters and pro-democracy activists. The army moved on Thursday after failing to forge a compromise in [...]
From MDG to SDG: Setting the right global goals
COPENHAGEN – The world has generally become a much better place during the last half-century. Skeptics will scoff at the idea of overall improvement, but the numbers don’t lie. The task we face now is to make the world even better. In 1960, 20 million children under the age of five died. In 2011, far [...]
