Major exodus as Pakistan launched all-out war against Taliban fighters
BANNU, Pakistan, June 21, (AFP) – Pakistani helicopter gunships pounded militant targets in the country’s northwest today, killing up to 30 rebels, as the number of civilians fleeing an long-awaited offensive there surpassed 300,000. The exodus from the North Waziristan tribal area, on the Afghan border, came this week after the military launched the assault [...]
How to find peace through the stillness of the mind
Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso Maha Thera, popularly known as Ajahn Brahm delivered a discourse on meditation at the BMICH Colombo on June 15 to a packed audience who attended this full-day programme. This Poson programme was organised by the BMICH Staff Welfare Association and the Ajahn Brahm Society of Sri Lanka. Ven. Ajahn Brahm Thera conducted [...]
Malinda launches Gratiaen prize-winning ‘Edges’
The auditorium of the National Library Services Board was brimming with admirers, supporters and friends of Malinda Seneviratne as he launched his latest collection of poetry “Edges”. The winner of the coveted Gratiaen Prize (2013) “Edges” is the fourth book of poetry authored by Mr. Seneviratne, currently the Editor in Chief of “The Nation”. Following [...]
WNPS opens its bungalows to wildlife lovers
The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) is now letting out its bungalows at Yala, Uda Walawe and Wilpattu to wildlife lovers. The bungalows are for a maximum of eight people including children and are given out at Rs. 7,800, Rs 5,400 and Rs. 7,800 respectively. For more information see www.wnpssl.org or call 011 2887390 [...]
Digging into the tunnelled history of Kotte
The Archaeological Department recently began excavations of the ancient tunnel situated at Kotte Ananda Sastralaya. The project is sponsored by the Municipal Council of Kotte. Most of the archaeological remains of Kotte were lost during the last century and therefore the action by the Kotte Municipal Council led by Mayor Janaka Ranawaka is commendable, a [...]
Three young scientists make fruity breakthrough
Three young researchers from the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), Nisala Gunasekara, Ayanthika Fernando and Dineth Samarawickrama were given the opportunity to work in the well-equipped laboratories of the Departments of Agriculture and Food Science at the University of Guelph in Canada under the supervision of Dr. Gopi Paliyath, Dr. Loong-Tak Lim and Dr. Jay Subramanian [...]
Egypt’s higher court confirms death sentence against Brotherhood leader and 182 followers
CAIRO, June 21 (Reuters) – An Egyptian court on Saturday confirmed death sentences against the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and at least 182 of his supporters, judicial sources at the court told Reuters. The court’s decision came two months after it referred the case against the Brotherhood’s general guide Mohamed Badie and hundreds [...]
Want whiter teeth?
Coffee and red wine are known offenders when it comes to staining teeth. But did you know there are foods that can actually help whiten them? Beverly Hills dentist Dr Harold Katz says dark chocolate, green tea and strawberries can all help. And to get the best results, they should eaten first thing in the [...]
Forget the self-driving car, how about a self-flying helicopter?
While Google and others have focussed on self driving cars, a European project aims to go one better – with a one seater personal helicopter that can fly itself. The MyCopter project hopes the one seater craft could allow commuters to simply tell the craft where they want to go. The craft can even spot [...]
Want your child to do well at school? Make them play outside
laying outside and going on sightseeing trips can boost the chances of children suceeding in the classroom, a new report revealed this week. Children who spend more time in less structured activities — from playing outside to reading books and visiting the zoo — are better able to set their own goals and take actions [...]
‘I fell in love with Letizia – but never told her’
Letizia looked every inch the regal monarch today after her official coronation as Queen of Spain. Chic and poised as ever, in a pastel, crystal-embellished coat by her favourite designer Felipe Varela, she was flanked by her handsome husband King Felipe and pretty daughters, Leonor, eight, and Sofia, aged seven. But when Prince Felipe of [...]
Why Icelanders are wary of elves living beneath the rocks
REYKJAVIK (BBC News) – Plans to build a new road in Iceland ran into trouble recently when campaigners warned that it would disturb elves living in its path. Construction work had to be stopped while a solution was found. From his desk at the Icelandic highways department in Reykjavik, Petur Matthiasson smiles at me warmly [...]
Maliki slammed as US delays military action
BAGHDAD, June 21 (AFP) – Iraq’s top Shiite cleric has urged all of its people to unite and expel Sunni Muslim insurgents, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki came under growing pressure at home and abroad. The call came on Friday after US President Barack Obama stopped short of acceding to Maliki’s appeal for air strikes [...]
Mideast sees ‘worrying’ rise in HIV cases: UN
TUNIS, June 21 (AFP) – A sharp rise in new HIV infections in the Middle East and North Africa is a worrying trend, despite some positive developments, UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe told AFP on Friday. While the epidemic remains very “concentrated” within the region, with homosexuals, sex workers, migrants and drug addicts comprising the vast [...]
India stops workers’ Iraq travel clearance over hostage crisis
NEW DELHI, June 21 (AFP) – India announced it would stop granting its nationals permission to travel to Iraq for work as it stepped up efforts to secure the release of 39 Indians abducted by gunmen. “The overseas affairs ministry has stopped granting immigration clearances to Indians travelling to Iraq for one month,” foreign ministry [...]
UN says 10.8 million Syrians need aid
UNITED NATIONS, June 21, 2014 (AFP) – The number of Syrians in urgent need of humanitarian aid has jumped to 10.8 million — nearly half of Syria’s population of 22 million — United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday. In his monthly report to the UN Security Council, Ban said that a total of 4.7 [...]
Ukraine leader declares week-long ceasefire in east
SLOVYANOGIRSK, Ukraine, June 21 (AFP) – Ukraine’s new Western-backed president declared a week-long unilateral ceasefire and unveiled a sweeping plan for curbing a pro-Russian insurgency that killed 13 more soldiers in fierce clashes in the eastern rustbelt. But both the Kremlin and a senior rebel commander immediately rejected Petro Poroshenko’s proposals for ending the battles [...]
China says 13 attackers killed in Xinjiang assault
BEIJING, June 21, (AFP) – Chinese police shot dead 13 people in the restive Xinjiang region after they drove into a police building and set off an explosion today, regional authorities said. The vast and resource-rich region in China’s far west is home to the mainly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority and has faced a series [...]
Protest in India over steep rail fare hike
NEW DELHI, June 21, 2014 (AFP) – Angry demonstrators blocked a railway track in northern India Saturday in protest against a steep hike in rail fares announced by the government in its first tough step aimed at reforming a sluggish economy. Scores of flag-waving protesters shouted slogans demanding an immediate rollback in the fares during [...]
Asia to overtake America in millionaire race
Asia is close to overtaking North America in the global wealth stakes, as the number of millionaires living there continues to grow faster than anywhere else in the world. Millionaires based in the region rose by 17.3 per cent in 2013, taking the total to 4.32million – just 10,000 behind those living in the U.S. [...]
Nehru’s last stand: India must shine for all its citizens
NEW DELHI – The victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its leader, Narendra Modi, in India’s general election last month has raised a crucial question about the country’s future. With the BJP sweeping to power on a platform of aggressive nationalism and business-friendly corporatism, has the socioeconomic consensus dating to India’s first prime minister, [...]
Yashwant Sinha released from jail
Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and 61 party workers were on Thursday released from jail, a day after a local court granted them bail in a case of alleged assault of a government official. Sinha, who spent a fortnight in jail, was released from jail on Thursday after furnishing two surety bonds of Rs 7,000 [...]
Pak woman raped, killed and hanged from tree
MULTAN, Pakistan, June 20 (Reuters) – A 20-year-old woman has been gang-raped, killed and hanged from a tree in Pakistan in a case with a chilling resemblance to a double rape and murder that caused outrage in neighbouring India last month. Pakistani police said Muzammil Bibi, 20, was attacked by three men in a field [...]
