Ebola’s next frontier: India
NEW DELHI – Which countries, beyond those in West Africa, are most susceptible to the Ebola epidemic? Most epidemiologists do not fear much for the developed world, with its effective quarantine measures and tracking procedures, or even for sparsely populated developing countries. An outbreak could easily be contained in both groups of countries. But large, [...]
Three-act tragedy
The Sathasivam case was closed six decades ago with a not-guilty verdict, but the murder that shook Colombo society continues to intrigue the public, with unanswered questions still hanging in the air, writes Stephen Prins Thirteen months before October 9, 1951 murder of Ananda Sathasivam, wife of Ceylon’s crack cricketer Mahadeva Sathasivam, the couple took [...]
Sri Lanka College of Venereologists annual scientific sessions
The Sri Lanka College of Venereologists held its 19th annual scientific sessions from October 16-18 at the Hotel Kingsbury in Colombo. The inauguration ceremony was held on October 16 under the guidance of the President of the College, Dr. Himali Perera. The chief guest was Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Prof. Athula Kaluarachchi and the guest-of-honour [...]
Soul Sounds to perform spiritual classics in new show ‘Sanctus’
The first choir to take part in an international competition, a Soul Sounds concert is now an eagerly anticipated event. Known for their colourful performances from a variety of genres, the all-female ensemble will focus this time on sacred and classical music. Since their advent as the Holy Family Convent Senior Choir, sacred music has [...]
Stamp honouring inventor Ray Wijeywardene
The Ministry of Technology and Research will issue a stamp in honour of scientist and inventor Ray Wijeywardene on October 31 at 3 p.m. at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre, D.R. Wijeywardene Mawatha. The stamp is being issued just prior to the opening of the Sri Lanka inventors ‘Innovation’ exhibition. The chief Guest [...]
Books mark 150 years of railway in Sri Lanka
To commemorate 150 years of railway in Sri Lanka, two books titled ‘The Golden Era of B.D. Rampala’ and ‘The Railway the British built in Ceylon’ written by Ranjith Dissanayake, will be launched on October 30 at 4.30 p.m. at the Central Bank auditorium, Rajagiriya. Mr. Dissanayake is a retired Personal Assistant to the General [...]
Lake House past employees’ get together
The annual Lake House past employees’ get together – the Adiwasi Day will be held at the Lankasiri Nikethana, Melder Place, Nugegoda on November 1. Pls contact -077 689762, 078 6320959, 071 8789865 for more details.
SR Project by Holcim (Lanka) Ltd. Executives’ Alumni Club
Ward No. 12 of the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama has been renovated by Holcim (Lanka) Ltd. Executives’ Alumni Club as a CSR Project on the occasion of their 10th anniversary. The renovated Ward No. 12 will be handed over to the hospital authorities at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 28 at a simple ceremony.
A free bird takes on the Fab Four
During the day Dr. Manella Joseph finds herself surrounded by blood slides and chemicals, her office deep in the pathological laboratory of the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital constantly teeming with people. But her evenings take her back to a time of flower power and Beatle mania as she prepares for her forthcoming concert ‘Dr. Manella Joseph [...]
Samkathana: A fabric of Sri Lankan culture
The ritual of lighting the ‘Traditional oil lamp’ today has become customary at all State functions devoid of the religious belief of the community, although the cock bird (savula) at the top of the brass lamp, according to Hindu mythology is the symbol of the Fire God (Agni). Brahmin families in Chunnakam (Jaffna) prepare food [...]
Should the first manned mission to Mars be all women?
To date, the overwhelming majority of astronauts have been men, with Russia as an example only recently sending a woman to space after an absence of female cosmonauts for several decades. But the first manned mission to Mars should be all women, a science writer who took part in a simulated mission to the red [...]
Helping Hambantota: Lawyers acquiesced when ex-CJ perverted justice
It is reported that the former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva has confessed that he did not give the right judgment in 2005 and tendered an apology for his ‘mistake’. The 2005 judgment referred to is his judgment in the fundamental rights application filed by the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to quash a CID [...]
That third term
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s eligibility to seek a third term as President has become a contentious issue ever since former Chief Justice Sarath Silva declared several weeks ago that President Rajapaksa is legally barred from contesting a third time. Some commentators have challenged Sarath Silva’s views and Chinthaka Mendis was one of them (‘Why Sarath Silva [...]
Jayalalithaa’s Diwali shock
Several eyebrows were raised as former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa has desisted from issuing Diwali greetings this year. Jayalalithaa was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment by a Bangalore Special Court on September 27 in a Rs. 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case. The Supreme Court granted her bail [...]
‘Many exposed’ to Mali Ebola girl
BAMAKO (Reuters) – A two-year-old girl who was Mali’s first case of Ebola died on Friday, shortly after the World Health Organization warned that many people had potentially been exposed to the virus because she was taken across the country while ill. The girl had travelled with her grandmother hundreds of kilometres by bus from [...]
Canada vows tougher laws as citizens worry in face of attacks
OTTAWA/HAMILTON Ontario (Reuters) – Canada vowed to toughen laws against terrorism in ways that critics say may curtail civil liberties as a country that prides itself on its openness mourned the second soldier this week killed by homegrown radicals. Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined a crowd at the National War Memorial in Ottawa to mark [...]
Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement gets computer game makeover
HONG KONG, Oct 25 (AFP) – How do you defend yourself against scores of tear gas wielding police while manning the barricades at Hong Kong’s protest camps? Unleash the wrath of Chinese deity Guan Yu. That’s just one of the options available to players of a new smartphone game which has swiftly become a hit [...]
Malaysian envoy in NZ police custody on sex charge
Wellington (AFP) – A Malaysian military attache extradited to New Zealand to face an attempted rape charge was remanded in custody following a brief court appearance today. Muhammad Rizalman Ismail, who stood silently in the dock as Malaysian High Commission staff watched from the public gallery, will reappear in court on Tuesday. Rizalman was flown [...]
Two dead in US school shooting after online warnings
LOS ANGELES, Oct 25 (AFP) – A US student who had issued chilling warnings on Twitter opened fire in a school cafeteria, killing at least one person and critically injuring three before taking his own life. Terrified classmates dived for cover as the gunman, identified by media reports and fellow students as Jaylen Fryberg, launched [...]
Look in the mirror Laura not over the shoulder
There was a time when diplomats posted to foreign capitals spent much time publicising their own countries. Showcasing, as it is called now, achievements at home was one of their responsibilities along with other official duties. Today western diplomats have stood that practice on its head. They have latched on to something new. Their main [...]
Washington Post editor who guided Watergate coverage dies at 93
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ben Bradlee, the hard-driving editor who reigned over the Washington Post with the style of a well-dressed swashbuckler and the profane vocabulary of a dockworker as the newspaper helped topple President Richard Nixon, died on Tuesday aged 93. Bradlee’s death at his Washington home of natural causes was announced by the Post, [...]
US teacher told not to use disciplinary ‘Wheel of Misfortune’
SEATTLE (Reuters) – A Washington state high school teacher has been warned not to have students spin a disciplinary “Wheel of Misfortune” to assign punishments for misbehavior that included being pelted with rubber balls by fellow students, school officials said. The Stevenson High School science teacher used the wheel to punish “low-level misconduct” instead of [...]
Ebola outbreak: What is the risk of catching it on a flight?
People who flew on a plane with a Texas nurse on the day before she came down with symptoms of Ebola are being tracked down by public health officials. What are the chances of catching the virus from another airline passenger? The Ebola outbreak has caused anxiety among some airline travellers. One woman was photographed [...]
