Peacocks’ tragic dance of death on expressway
Huge warning boards recently erected at the Matara end of the Southern Expressway carry an unusual caution: “Danger – Peacocks Ahead”. “After the Galle-Matara stretch of the Southern Expressway opened in March we found that dozens of peafowl were colliding with vehicles,” said an expressway official, explaining why the boards were erected. The accidents are [...]
Ananda Guruge: Chronicler of the Buddhist revival
When Dr. Ananda Guruge died a week ago, Sri Lanka’s Buddhist revival, which he chronicled, and its international spread, especially in the West, were reaching the desired heights. Beginning in the 1950s, yoga started to take hold among the white middle classes in the West to become today a key element of Western physical culture. [...]
Commonwealth Countries League elects new president
Nalini Paranavitane was elected unanimously as the President of the Commonwealth Countries League at the AGM held at the Tara Hotel in High Street, Kensington, London. The objectives of the League are to secure equalities of liberties, status and opportunities between men and women, promote mutual understanding and friendship throughout the Commonwealth countries, promote the [...]
‘The Vagina Monologues’: Only one show
There will be only one show of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ today, August 24 at 7 p.m. at the British School auditorium and not two shows as originally advertised. Tickets purchased for the 3.30 p.m. show will be valid for the 7 p.m. show, the organisers the Zonta Club of Colombo III said.
First ‘Craftalive’ show this month
In a continuous effort to develop fashion designers who bring design innovations to crafts, the National Craft Council in partnership with Colombo Fashion Week recently announced their ‘Craftalive’ initiative. NCC and CFW will present their first ‘Craftalive’ show on August 28 against the backdrop of Independence Square. Chairman, NCC Buddhi Keerthisena stated, “At the National [...]
Brochure launch commemorates Indian Independence
The Indian High Commission launched a brochure “India and Sri Lanka- A Partnership that Transcends Time” at the Taj Samudra Hotel last week in the presence of the Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa. The launch also commemorated the 68th Independence of India. “The brochure was published to strengthen the extensive bonds India has had [...]
Sri Lankan crowned Toastmasters world champion at International Convention
Dhananjaya J Hettiarachchi was crowned the world champion of Public Speaking at the Toastmasters International Convention 2014. A student of S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia with a humble beginning Dhananjaya represented Sri Lanka at the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, the world’s biggest event in public speaking, in the final bout for the heavyweight [...]
Launch of law books
Justice C.G. Weeramanthry will be the chief guest at the launch of two law books on Saturday August 30 at 3.30 pm at the Moors Islamic Cultural Home at Lily Avenue Wellawatte. The two books – ‘The Concept of Marriage: Logic and Reasons’ and Al-Ameen Law Report: Volume VI-2014 – will be reviewed by M.M. [...]
Wekanda Mosque opens for tourists
Wekanda Jumma Mosque in Slave Island recently announced that it will be open to tourists to visit and be taken around the mosque as part of a cultural tour. The Open Mosque day which will commence on Sunday, August 31 at 10 a.m. will thereafter continue every Sunday (morning and evening). Tourists could visit the [...]
Experts split on India’s new rotavirus vaccine
[MUMBAI] Public health experts in India are divided over a government decision to introduce an indigenously developed rotavirus vaccine into the country’s universal immunisation programme (UIP) with questions being raised as to its efficacy, risks and costs. This month (August), results for phase 3 trials of the vaccine, called Rotavac, published in Vaccine reported an [...]
Earth is in overdraft just eight months into the year
Humans have used up the natural resources the world can supply in a year in less than eight months, campaigners have warned. The world has now reached ‘Earth Overshoot Day’, the point in the year when humans have exhausted supplies. This includes natural resources such as land, trees and fish, and means today we have [...]
Specks of star dust likely first from beyond solar system
CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (Reuters) – A NASA spacecraft dispatched 15 years ago to collect samples from a comet also snared what scientists suspect are the first dust specks from interstellar space. The Stardust robotic spacecraft was launched in 1999 to fly by a comet and collect samples from Comet Wild 2 (pronounced “Vilt 2″) and [...]
Two great Queen’s Counsel: Father-son duo in rare feat
Several years ago, I read an article about two great father and son lawyers — the Tiruchelvams. I had intended to write an article about another father and son combination — Guy Wikramanayake and his son, Nimal, but could not get round to writing it. It was only recently when 1 learnt that Nimal had [...]
Constable Sumith’s case: Searchlight on beleaguered Police
There is media hype over action taken against Constable Sumith Kumarawansa who was attached to the Borella Police Station. These news items call to question several aspects in the administration of the Police Department. While Constable Sumith is being accused of insubordination, disobedience to orders, neglect of duty and passing information to the media, he [...]
Japan landslide death toll rises to 46
TOKYO, Aug 23 (AFP) -The death toll from devastating landslides in western Japan rose to 46 today, as rescuers worked around the clock to comb through destroyed houses searching for survivors. Local police said they cannot confirm the whereabouts of 41 local residents in the disaster-hit area of Hiroshima, where heavy rain early Wednesday triggered [...]
Israel strike kills family of 5 in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, Aug 23 (AFP) -Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza on Saturday, killing five Palestinians from the same family, two of them children, as the war between Israel and Hamas entered a 47th day. Eighty-one Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have been killed and nine Israeli civilians wounded since Tuesday, when truce talks [...]
US brands Foley’s beheading ‘terrorist attack’
BAQUBA, Iraq, Aug 23 (AFP) -Washington branded the beheading of a US journalist a “terrorist attack”, upping the stakes in its confrontation with jihadists, as Shiite militiamen killed 70 people at a Sunni mosque in Iraq. The apparent revenge attack at the mosque in Diyala province Friday will increase already significant anger among Iraq’s Sunni [...]
Two Pakistani civilians die in Indian border fire: officials
ISLAMABAD, Aug 23 (AFP) -Pakistani officials today accused Indian troops of killing two civilians in “unprovoked firing” across the border in its eastern province of Punjab. India and Pakistan often accuse each other of violating a 2003 ceasefire agreement. The two countries have fought three wars, two of them over the divided and disputed Kashmir [...]
Tensions over Russian aid convoy as Merkel heads to Kiev
KIEV, Aug 23 (AFP) -Parts of a mammoth aid convoy from Moscow today crossed back from rebel-held east Ukraine to Russian territory, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel jetted into Kiev for crisis talks. The West had demanded that Russia withdraw its disputed trucks after the Kremlin unilaterally sent them to the insurgent stronghold of Lugansk [...]
Philippines to repatriate its UN troops in Liberia over Ebola fears
MANILA, Aug 23 (AFP) -The Philippines said today it will repatriate over 400 of its troops serving as UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights and Liberia amid security threats and concerns over the Ebola virus. “To ensure the safety and security of the Philippine military troops deployed to conflict-affected areas, the country’s contingents in the [...]
We are neurotic in our thirties and honest in our forties
It is great news for those in their thirties and forties worried life is over. Researchers say that in fact, our personalities develop until well into our fifities. They say our personality becomes most stable during middle age – but then begins to decline again. Experts found that the stability of personality increases through youth, [...]
How animals talk
Whale song, wolf howls, frog croaks and bird chirps are complex forms of communication – just like human speech, according to new research. These creatures may not be able to master advanced language techniques, but their unique calls are much more than just random noises, a study shows. The ‘speech’ of seven different species of [...]
The Middle East’s three timelines: A clue to understand the crisis
BERLIN – Three distinct timelines are shaping developments in the Middle East: the short-term timeline of daily struggles and politics; the medium-term timeline of geopolitical shifts, which is measured in decades; and the long-term timeline of sociocultural transformation, or what the historian Fernand Braudel called the longue durée. Understanding each is essential to craft an [...]
A registry of qualified medical specialists the need of the day
The recent tragic death of a doctor at a ‘cosmetic surgical clinic’ in Bambalapitya has once again raised issues relating to standards and quality of medical care and the qualifications and experience of doctors providing treatment to the general public in such specialised clinics. However, this was not the first time that such a tragic [...]
