From 1915 to Independence
The year 1915 changed the political history of this island. The unjust harassment of a group of prominent young men by the British authorities created a feeling of anxiety among the people including those who had never entertained political ambitions. The Temperance Movement had been sparked off by legislation directed at raising government revenue by [...]
The role of the judiciary in upholding democracy: Lessons from Sri Lanka
The following is the text of the speech given by K. Kanag-Isvaran, President’s Counsel, last week at the inauguration ceremony of the Asia Pacific Master’s Degree Programme on Human Rights and Democratisation, University of Colombo: I am honoured to have been invited to share with you my thoughts on the role of the judiciary in [...]
Kitakyushu Jaycees here to mark 40-year bond with Wellawatte Jaycees
A delegation comprising ten members of the Kitakyushu Jaycees of Japan is due in Sri Lanka shortly to celebrate a 40-year sister chapter relationship with the Wellawatte Jaycees. President of the Wellawatte Jaycees, Safiya Nawaz, said she was excited at the prospect of meeting with members of the Kitakyushu Jaycees to celebrate this 40- year [...]
India’s PM Narendra Modi’s ’1m-rupee name suit’ criticised
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suit, decorated with his own name, has been severely criticised on social media after reports said it cost nearly 1m rupees ($16,000; £10,000). Mr Modi was photographed wearing the suit at his meeting with US President Barack Obama in Delhi recently. From a distance, it appeared to be a classic [...]
Chronic Kidney Disease: The proof is in the food they eat
‘Forgive them, for they do not know what they have done’ Chronic Kidney Failure in the North Central Province (NCP), unlike the usual causes of kidney disease, diabetes or blood pressure, was first established about twenty years ago. Even today many in the medical and scientific community are uncertain as to the cause of it. [...]
The French offensive
French logic is a puzzle. Un casse-tête. At least for the present, it would seem that French reasoning isn’t quite on track. A lapse in sequential thinking must explain the failure to see the obvious, despite warning signs that one thing can and does lead to another, and that continued blindness, real or feigned, could [...]
An elephant in the room: A fresh look at Indo-Lanka relations
It is good to see that the new Government taking the positive first steps, giving emphasis to India relations as the nearest regional power and restoring ties with the US and the EU, the biggest export markets rendered vulnerable since some time to human rights concerns. The President’s manifesto was unusually specific on certain areas [...]
Three global health threats
SAN FRANCISCO – The tragic Ebola outbreak in West Africa has underscored the imperative of strengthening health systems at both the national and global level. But, though Ebola has focused the world’s attention on systemic shortcomings, the goal must be to combat the abiding epidemics that are quietly inflicting suffering and death on populations worldwide. [...]
Tokyo, Singapore and Osaka named world’s safest cities
The Japanese capital is the world’s safest city when it comes to digital security, health, infrastructure and personal safety, according to new statistics. Data released by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit has rated Tokyo as the world’s safest for 2015, despite it being the most densely populated on Earth with 38million residents. Coming in behind Tokyo [...]
“My robes”
Most lawyers aren’t faced with a wall of cameras when they walk into court – but despite being there to fight a major human rights case, Amal Clooney took the attention in her stride. When a reporter joked that she was expected to wear Versace, she pointed at her gown and collar bands before replying: [...]
Exhibition with a difference
‘Sahana Sara’, an exhibition of arts and crafts made by those recovering from mental disorders at Sahanaya day centre, Borella and the residential centre, Gorakana, Panadura was opened at the National Art Gallery by Prof. Nalaka Mendis, founder of the NCMH. The exhibition ended yesterday. Pix by Indika Handuwala
On the road to better driving
When I holidayed in Sri Lanka late last year, nearly two years after my previous visit, I noticed that some things in Colombo appeared to have changed for the better. One of those improvements involved traffic conditions and road behaviour by most motorists and other road-users, including pedestrians. Now, those of you who live in [...]
Colombo Courtyard wins accolades
Competing amongst the best hotels and hospitality related companies among 47 countries across the world, the Colombo Courtyard boutique hotel won two 5 Star awards in the categories of Small Hotel and Spa Hotel for Sri Lanka in the Asia Pacific Region Hotel Awards for 2014. The award ceremony was held at the London Marriott [...]
China’s super-rich communist Buddhists
Could China be bringing Tibetan Buddhism in from the cold? There are new signs that while a crackdown on Tibetan nationalism continues, the atheist state may be softening its position towards the religion — and even the Dalai Lama. That a former senior Communist Party official would invite the BBC into his home might, to [...]
The 11 fathers of Asia
More than 800 million men living today are descended from just eleven men, including the ruthless Mongolian leader Genghis Khan, according to new research. Geneticists have been able to find eleven distinctive sequences in Y-chromosomes – the chunk of DNA that is only carried by men – that are persistent in modern populations in Asia. [...]
Mammoth amounts of stress? Try an elephant massage!
Being trampled on by a three-tonne elephant is not usually the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about ways to relieve stress. But tourists are flocking to a jungle camp in Thailand for just that. The spa treatment is being offered in Chang Mai province, where a number of Asian elephants – that [...]
Voice of freedom cannot be silenced
A Palestinian activist, Lema Nazeeh, argues with an Israeli soldier during clashes between security forces and Palestinians from the West Bank village of Bilin on Friday in Bilin, west of Ramallah, following a march to protest against Israeli settlements. Israel published tenders to build 450 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a watchdog [...]
US ally Yemen in danger of splitting into two – again
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 28 2015 (IPS) – When North and South Yemen merged into a single country under the banner Yemen Arab Republic back in May 1990, a British newspaper remarked with a tinge of sarcasm: “Two poor countries have now become one poor country.” Since its birth, Yemen has continued to be categorised by [...]
Obama, Dalai Lama due to attend US prayer event Feb. 5
WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama are scheduled to attend the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast in Washington next week, but it was unclear if they will have a private meeting like one last year that angered Beijing. The White House said Obama would deliver remarks at the Feb. [...]
Japan says hostage negotiations deadlocked – newspapers
TOKYO, Jan 31, (AFP) – Japan’s deputy foreign minister has said negotiations with the Islamic State group threatening to execute a Jordanian pilot and a Japanese journalist have become “deadlocked,” local media reported today. Yasuhide Nakayama, who is leading Tokyo’s emergency response team in Amman, told reporters in the Jordanian capital late Friday that there [...]
60 die in Pakistan mosque attack
SHIKARPUR, Pakistan, Jan 31, (AFP) – A powerful bomb tore through a busy Shiite mosque in southern Pakistan on Friday, killing more than 60 people in the country’s deadliest sectarian attack in nearly two years. The blast hit the mosque in Shikarpur in Sindh province, around 470 kilometres (300 miles) north of Karachi, as hundreds [...]
New Greek Govt. steps up battle with creditors
ATHENS, Jan 31, (AFP) – Greece’s new government dramatically has escalated its battle with the country’s international creditors, saying it will no longer meet with EU and IMF auditors and rejecting fresh loans offered for February. Athens had been promised another 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in funds from the European Union, the IMF and [...]
Why do US critics love American sniper?
I watched American Sniper the other night and it really is the most puerile propaganda imaginable. It is not even as though it is simply unfair to the “enemy” – that is, mostly ordinary Iraqis, who are shown to be ruthless and heartless killers filled with irrational hatred for the American soldiers sent to liberate [...]
The Thorn Birds author dies at 77
Australian author Colleen McCullough, whose best-selling novel The Thorn Birds became a hit TV series, has died at the age of 77. The best-selling writer died in hospital on Norfolk Island on Thursday afternoon, publisher HarperCollins Australia confirmed. McCullough had suffered poor health in recent years, losing her sight and suffering crippling arthritis. However, she [...]
Going nuts over virgin coconut oil
Barely a day goes by without a new claim for the miraculous beauty benefits of virgin coconut oil. ‘Virgin’ means it is made from the first pressing of fresh, raw coconut with no chemicals added. If you believe the hype, almost every product in your bathroom cabinet could be replaced with the stuff. Think of [...]
Meditating mummy
The amazing mummified remains of a man apparently meditating in the lotus position have been unearthed in Mongolia. A forensic examination is underway on the human relic which is believed to be around 200 years old, after being preserved in animal skin. ‘The mummified body sits in a lotus position, as if still meditating,’ said [...]
