BJP spokesman: No interference in internal affairs of Sri Lanka
India’s new Narendra Modi government is seeking a new relationship with Sri Lanka – a relationship based on the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, a ruling party spokesman said in Colombo. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party National Spokesman M.J. Akbar who visited Sri Lanka on a lecture tour told the Sunday Times that Sri [...]
Sri Lankan chefs head to the Culinary World Cup
Early next Sunday, a team of 18 chefs will leave Sri Lanka “with about 1000 kilos of excess baggage. Following their winning streak at the Culinary Olympics in 2012 that saw the team of 26 bring home 15 gold medals, this year too their bags are packed – ready for another challenge. Carrying everything from [...]
High Commissioner Sarrath Kongahage presents Credentials to President Jacob Zuma of South Africa
High Commissioner Sarrath Kongahage presented his credentials to President Jacob Zuma as the High Commissioner Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka, at a ceremony held at the Sefako M. Makgatho Presidential guest house in Pretoria, on Thursday, October 16. While presenting his credentials, High Commissioner Kongahage conveyed to the President of South Africa, warm personal [...]
WNPS lecture: ‘Living with bird flocks in Sinharaja’
Prof. Sarath Kotagama will present the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society’s monthly lecture on ‘Living with bird flocks in Sinharaja’ on Thursday, November 20 at 6.15 p.m. at the Department of Metereology auditorium on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7.Prof. Kotagama is Professor of Environmental Science, Department of Zoology, University of Colombo. His academic contribution spans across [...]
ASN and ASAD annual academic sessions
The three-day 8th Annual Academic Sessions of the Association of Sri Lankan Neurologists (ASN) and the 8th Annual Congress of the Asian Society Against Dementia (ASAD) were inaugurated on Friday with First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa as Chief Guest amidst a distinguished gathering of local and international delegates at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo. A [...]
Bimba Jayasinghe Tillekeratne appointed Solicitor General
Mrs. Bimba Jayasinghe Tillekeratne, President’s Counsel has been appointed as the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka with effect from October 23, 2014. She was called to the Bar in 1981, joined the Attorney General’s Department in 1983 and was appointed successively as State Counsel, Senior State Counsel, Deputy Solicitor General, Additional Solicitor General and Senior [...]
Nuke Disarmament: Dhanapala to receive IPS Award
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Jayantha Dhanapala, a former U.N. under-secretary-general for disarmament affairs (1998-2003) and a relentless advocate for a world free of nuclear weapons, will be the recipient of the 2014 International Achievement Award for Nuclear Disarmament sponsored by Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency. “Short of actually dismantling nuclear devices himself,” says Dr. [...]
The dolls of Japan come to Galle
The Japan Foundation in collaboration with the Japanese Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Galle Municipal Council is presenting a novel exhibition titled “The Dolls of Japan” at the Galle Town Hall this week. The exhibition which opens today, Sunday November 16 till November 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and from 9 [...]
Towards one world -Memoirs of Judge C.G. Weeramantry
This article is not a review but is intended to bring to the notice of the general public a signal event by an outstanding Sri Lankan judge and jurist which will occur in the next few days in several global capitals such as the Hague Netherlands and in the United Kingdom. On Monday, November 17 [...]
Why Downton is ‘perfect’ TV
Researchers have calculated a formula for the perfect TV episode – and found Downton Abbey consistently comes closest to the ideal. Studying the 50 most popular shows of the past decade, experts at Bournemouth University’s Media School found the best recipe for an episode was 65 per cent drama, 12 per cent shocks, nine per [...]
The Berlin Wall and the clash of ideology
To mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall Ameen Izzadeen’s interviews with three Colombo-based ambassadors was published last Sunday. While one might contest some of their conclusions, especially the denial that they employ different strokes for different blokes (read States), it is not my intention today to challenge their dubious [...]
A physiologist with public interest at heart
In 1968, at age of 39, Kirthi Nissanka Seneviratne became Professor of Physiology in the Colombo Medical School founded in 1870, one of the oldest in Asia. If, as Alexander Pope said, “the proper study of mankind is Man,” then physiology is the main subject to study. What makes Man and (Woman) tick? Physiologist can [...]
Tamil Nadu Govt. disqualifies Jayalalithaa from contesting polls for 10 years
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has released a gazetted notification which officially declares AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa as disqualified from contesting elections for 10 years “Consequent upon the conviction of Selvi J Jayalalithaa, Member of the Legislative Assembly, she stands disqualified for being a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the date of [...]
Systematic problems threaten US nuclear force: Defence Sec.
WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (AFP) – The US nuclear force is plagued by low morale, manpower shortages and mismanagement that could jeopardize its safety and effectivenesss, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday. Pentagon reviews, he said, “found evidence of systematic problems that if not addressed could undermine the safety, security and effectiveness of elements of the [...]
The Queen v. Sathasivam
Quite by chance, the existence of a legal document that was a byproduct of the famous 1953 Sathasivam murder trial was brought to our attention. The find was serendipitous. We had been reading about the case and had gone through all the published letters and statements relating to the trial, but did not recall seeing [...]
Russia and China: The reel, reality and the real estate
NEW YORK – The times we live in are often most clearly reflected in the mirror of art. Much has been written about post-communism in Russia and China. But two recent films, Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin, made in China in 2013, and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan, made in Russia in 2014, reveal the social [...]
Divorce among Sri Lankan Muslims
Islam, according to its teachings, does not approve of divorce. However, it is permitted more as an exception to the rule, “…Expel them (women) not from their houses nor let them go forth unless they commit open immorality…” (Holy Quran — Surah 65). “Of all things permitted by law,” said the holy prophet, “divorce is [...]
Better dead than different
“It’s like we’ve forgotten who we are,” the hero of Interstellar complains. “Explorers, pioneers, not caretakers … We’re not meant to save the world. We’re meant to leave it.” It could be the epigraph of our age. Don’t get me wrong. Interstellar is a magnificent film, true to the richest traditions of science fiction, visually [...]
Lame duck out of the Silk Road caravan
There’s hardly a more graphic illustration of where the multipolar world is going than what just happened at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing. Take a very good look at the official photos. This is all about positioning – and this being China, pregnant with symbolic meaning. Guess who’s in the place of [...]
How coffee can help keep diabetes at bay
Drinking up to four cups of coffee a day can slash the risk of diabetes by 25 per cent, according to new research. The study has found that drinking decaffeinated filtered coffee at lunchtime is also the best time of day to have a cup to lower the chances of diabetes. The risk of developing [...]
Children’s rhymes to challenge sexist attitudes in Indian families
NEW DELHI, Nov 13 (Reuters) – When Indian feminist Kamla Bhasin had her first child and began introducing her daughter to books, she was horrified to find that sexist messaging was rampant in children’s literature. Concerned at the prospect of her daughter growing up believing in the stereotypical roles of men as providers and women [...]
The end of the mean girls?
They are a fixture of every upbringing – the cliques that rule the school. However, researchers have been baffled by the fact some schools have more cliques than others. Now, they say the organisation of the school – even including the number of classes it offers, could explain it. At almost any American high school, [...]
Rat poison chemical found in pills linked to India sterilisation deaths
BILASPUR India (Reuters) – Tablets linked to the deaths of more than a dozen women who visited a sterilisation camp in eastern India are likely to have contained a chemical compound commonly used in rat poison, a senior official in Chhattisgarh state said today. Preliminary tests of the antibiotic ciprocin tablets were found to contain [...]
Obama pushes for world climate pact after China deal
BRISBANE, Australia, Nov 15 (AFP) -A Sino-US breakthrough on reducing carbon emissions proves a global deal on climate change is achievable, US President Barack Obama said today, as campaigners hailed new momentum in long-stalled talks. Announcing a $3 billion contribution to a UN-backed climate change mitigation fund, Obama said the China-US deal showed the way [...]
N. Korea issues fresh warning of retaliatory strikes
SEOUL, Nov 15 (AFP) -North Korea today warned of retaliatory strikes days after South Korea fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol near the border. South Korean troops on Monday fired warning shots as the North’s patrol approached the military demarcation line (MDL) that designates the border, but there was no exchange of fire [...]
Triumphant comet probe sends last-gasp data from ‘alien world’
PARIS, Nov 15 (AFP) -Robot probe Philae uploaded a slew of last-minute data to Earth from a comet in deep space, before going to sleep at the conclusion of a historic exploration, ground controllers said. Data streamed in as soon as Europe’s pioneering robot lab re-established late-night contact with its orbiting mothership, Rosetta, but its [...]
Tsunami alert sparks panic in Indonesia
KOTA TERNATE, Indonesia, Nov 15 (AFP) -A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia Saturday, sparking a tsunami warning and causing panicked people to flee their homes. Small waves generated by the undersea quake were detected in several parts of the sprawling archipelago, local authorities said, although there were no reports of [...]
Floating homes to tackle overcrowding in the Maldives
The Maldives — one of the most densely populated nations in the world — has embarked on a series of floating developments that could take the pressure off a severe housing shortage and counter sea-level rises owing to climate change. The firm behind the project is also proposing to build cheaper floating platforms, made largely [...]
Face to face with a man-eating tiger
Nothing strikes more fear into the hearts and minds of the people of the Sundarbans – the vast river delta on the northern shore of the Bay of Bengal – than the word “tiger”. Even the mention of this word can send villagers into a blind panic. Eager to catch a glimpse of a tiger, [...]
Cuba’s health diplomacy in the age of Ebola
Amid the worst Ebola outbreak of our time, it has been the small island nation of Cuba that has provided arguably the most impressive policy response. Instead of offering financial assistance to those West African nations most in need, the Cuban government has focused on providing skilled healthcare workers passionate about helping Ebola victims. The [...]
The guardian angel who saved orphans of the tsunami
My brother Paul doesn’t like waking up early. So I was the first to notice that the room was a centimetre deep in rippling water. It was murky, unlike the crystal-clear sea just a few yards from our hotel bungalow in southern Sri Lanka. Oh well, an unusually high tide, I thought, moving my bag [...]
Meet the ancestors
BORDEAUX (AFP) -Her clothes are made from fur, hemp and nettle and for decoration she sports ivory and bone beads. She has dark hair worn in dreadlocks, tattoos and a penetrating stare. Dubbed”the woman from the Pataud shelter”, little is known about this figure from prehistory — except how she might have looked. Although the [...]
