The Middle East oil and nuclear puzzle
US Secretary of State John Kerry may be starting to enjoy the brinkmanship, as he says it’s “unclear” whether the US and Iran would reach a political framework nuclear deal before the end of this month. Loud applause may be heard in corridors ranging from Tel Aviv to Riyadh. As negotiations resume in Lausanne, the [...]
‘Brainguard’: Protecting tomorrow’s generation of sportspeople
Though Dr. Vernon Jayaweera’s boxing days are long gone, observing the game from outside the ring for over 50 years has given him a fresh angle on the sport. 20 years into his career as a medical official at boxing matches in Sri Lanka and abroad, he realised that “wearing a helmet can cause more [...]
Additional Solicitor General takes oaths as President’s Counsel
Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda took oaths last week as President’s Counsel in recognition of his professional distinction at the Bar. This appointment was made by President Maithripala Sirisena. An old boy of Ananda College, Colombo, he completed his legal education at the Sri Lanka Law College and his Masters Degree (LL.M.) in Public International [...]
New play ‘Wonder Woman’ by Mind Adventures
International Women’s Day fell on March 8, and to honour women under the theme ‘Connecting Women. Inspiring Change. Making Progress’, will be an original play, sponsored by Citi bank on March 24 at the Cinnamon Grand Entitled ‘Wonder Woman’, the play which explores the issues faced by women today, is written and directed by thespian [...]
Foundation of Visually Impaired Women celebrate International Women’s Day today
The Foundation of Visually Impaired Women and the Sri Lanka Visually Impaired Graduate Women’s Wing have made arrangements to celebrate International Women’s Day today, Sunday, March 22 at 9.30 a.m. at the headquarters of the Foundation at No. 74, Church Street, Slave Island, Colombo 2. The current President Violet Yakandawala is the first ever visually [...]
Gratiaen Prize Shortlist announcement postponed
The Gratiaen Trust has announced the postponement of the Gratiaen Prize Shortlist event which has now been rescheduled for May 11, 2015 at the British Council, Colombo at 6 p.m.
Visakha Vidyalaya Avurudu Pola
The Avurudu Pola 2015 of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo, organised by its Old Girls’ Association, will be held on March 28 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the school premises. There will be a variety of trade stalls Admission forms to register for the “Past Visakhians Back to School” get-together are available at the Avurudu [...]
“Alokayano” Passion Play in Kotte
Colombo will witness a Passion Play with a difference when “Alokayano”, which could be translated as “Christ our Light”, is staged in the sprawling playground of St. Thomas’ College, Kotte, behind the parish church. Award winning screen actress Veena Jayakody, a devout parishioner of St. Thomas’ Church, Kotte who will play the role of Mary [...]
Hacking authoritarian regimes with simple technology
When it comes to freedom of expression, the Internet is seen as either a place of liberty or anarchy, depending on your point of view. While authoritarian regimes regard it as a dangerous hole in their control net, today activists from all over the world use it to voice their dissent and overcome censorship. For [...]
Sudhu Veddho
How Sinhala showed up arbitrary class-and-classroom differences in a heavily mixed minority. Stephen Prins writes SINHALA – the Written Language and the Literature – was a lot like SIGIRIYA. That is to say, the Language and the iconic Rock posed a similar challenge to the imagination – that of mighty, near unscalable difficulty. Difficult, that [...]
Book a smile
For thousands of Colombo’s poor children, he is their ‘poth maama’ or uncle who distributes exercise books and stationery. Yet he is an unsung hero and very little is known about his Pragna Pradeepa programme that seeks to help poor children’s education. Dr. Jayantha de Silva proudly says the Pragna Pradeepa programme has reached 26 [...]
Isolating Israel: Netanyahu’s victory shatters hope for peace
RAMALLAH – Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu certainly has reason to celebrate. He surprised nearly everyone by securing a decisive electoral victory, winning a third consecutive term in office after his right-wing Likud party gained a five-seat advantage in the Knesset over its main rival, the center-left Zionist Union. But the celebration is likely to [...]
Protruding ears don’t trigger assumptions about personality
NEW YORK (Reuters) – – People with ears that stick out may feel self-conscious about how others perceive them. According to a new study, though, strangers do notice the ears but don’t make negative personality judgments based on them. It was very surprising to find no such bias, according to senior author Dr. Abel-Jan Tasman [...]
Middle East conflicts give hefty boost to arms merchants
UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) – The ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen have helped spiral arms sales upwards to the Middle East, according to a study released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The primary beneficiaries were the United States and Russia, whose overall arms exports show a marked increase [...]
Hulftsdorp: From courts to quotable quotes
(Excerpts from a recent speech delivered by senior lawyer Ranjan Gooneratne. The lecture for the National Trust, Sri Lanka, was held at the HNB Towers Auditorium, in Colombo) From early British times, this country was blessed with erudite judges. Their erudition was strengthened by their virile common sense, which gave the intellectual distinction to the [...]
Nude Pakistan motorcyclist gets dressing down as video goes viral
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A Pakistani motorcyclist has been arrested in the eastern city of Lahore after police caught him riding naked along a busy road, days after a video of his exploits went viral on social media. Police got word on Saturday that Shehroz Khan, 20, was riding nakedonce again on Lahore’s Main Boulevard. They [...]
Electoral reforms in a vacuum
The debate on the timing of electoral reforms has gained significant media coverage over the past fortnight. While the SLFP and Ven. Sobitha Thera insist on electoral reforms before the dissolution of parliament, the UNP has sought to defer any electoral reforms till after the general elections. There has, however, been inadequate public debate over [...]
Breaking a decades-long trend, the world gets more violent
If you were watching the news last year, it was hard to escape the impression the world was falling apart. Now the data is in. And yes, it turns out the world’s most violent conflicts got a lot bloodier in 2014 – almost 30 per cent bloodier, in fact. According to an analysis of data [...]
US First Lady urges Cambodian girls to hold leaders accountable
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, March 21 (AFP) -Michelle Obama called on schoolgirls to stay in school to push for equality and hold their leaders accountable on Saturday during the first trip by a sitting US president’s wife to Cambodia. The First Lady is visiting Cambodia — ruled by strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen for the last [...]
China, Japan, S. Korea hold first FM talks for three years
SEOUL, March 21 (AFP) -The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan met for the first time in nearly three years in Seoul today, in an effort to calm regional tensions rooted in territorial and historical disputes. After a series of bilateral meetings, which included discussions on a possible summit between the countries three [...]
Time now to act on looming water crisis, UN warns
PARIS, March 20 (AFP) -Without reforms, the world will be plunged into a water crisis that could be crippling for hot, dry countries, the United Nations warned Friday. In an annual report, the UN said abuse of water was now so great that on current trends, the world will face a 40-percent “global water deficit” [...]
Pakistan releases 57 Indian fishing boats in goodwill gesture
ISLAMABAD, March 21 (AFP) -Pakistani authorities on Saturday released 57 Indian fishing boats held for nearly a year as a goodwill gesture following a visit by New Delhi’s top diplomat to Islamabad this month. The boats, which were being held by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), were towed to the two countries’ maritime border [...]
Singapore on edge as Lee Kuan Yew’s condition worsens
SINGAPORE, March 21 (AFP) -The health of independent Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew has worsened, the government said today as one of the foremost figures of 20th century Asia struggled with severe pneumonia. The 91-year-old, widely credited with transforming the city-state from a relative backwater into one of Asia’s wealthiest economies, has been in [...]
Suicide bombings aim to drag Yemen into ‘chaos’-president
ADEN, March 21 (AFP) -Yemen’s embattled president said suicide bombings that killed at least 142 people at Shiite Huthi mosques were aimed at dragging the country into “chaos, violence and internal fighting”. The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks on two mosques in the capital Sanaa and the Huthi militia’s northern [...]
Paper planes, parents help Indian pupils outsmart state exams
PATNA, India (Reuters) – Images of Indian students blatantly cheating on school-leaving examinations under the noses of supervisors have gone viral, inviting ridicule on Twitter and exposing flaws in the much-maligned education system of an impoverished eastern state. On Thursday, the Hindustan Times published a photo of dozens of men clambering up the wall of [...]
After nun rape, India cardinal says protect humans, not just cows
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The head of India’s Catholic bishops, speaking out after a nun was raped in the east of the country last week, has said the country should be as concerned about the welfare of its people as it is about its cows. The comments appeared directed against hardline Hindu nationalists who have [...]
Activist monk seeks Buddhism overhaul in Thailand
NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand (Reuters) – Phra Buddha Issara is a monk with a mission. From his Buddhist temple near Bangkok he is calling for a radical overhaul of Thai Buddhism, fearing millions of dollars in temple donations and a rapidly modernising nation are corrupting monks. Surrounded by verdant green rice fields at Wat Or Noi [...]
Why do European Muslim girls look to Islamic State for marriage material?
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) Over the past few years, approximately 550 young Muslim women have left Europe to join Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq, often marrying fighters. Many are well educated, from middle-class families, born and raised in Europe. They do not appear to be deeply alienated from society or women who could be easily [...]
Sobriety tests to be put in all new cars
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Installing devices in new cars to prevent drunk drivers from starting the engine could prevent 85 percent of alcohol-related deaths on US roads, saving tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars from injury-related costs, according to a new analysis. Over 15 years, as older cars without a so-called alcohol [...]
Industry makes $7,000 for each tobacco death- health campaigners
LONDON (Reuters) – The tobacco industry makes $7,000 for each of the more than 6 million people who die each year from smoking-related illness, the health campaign group World Lung Foundation (WLF) said on Thursday. Last year, more than 5.8 trillion cigarettes were smoked, similar to 2013, as rising tobacco use in China counters declines [...]
Will the Large Hadron Collider find a parallel universe?
It has found the ‘God particle’, and could soon reveal a mysterious force known as ‘dark matter’. But when it turns on next week, some scientists are betting the Large Hadron Collider will detect something just as exciting; a parallel universe. This is according to a new study that claims miniature black holes – a [...]
Mars colonist candidate expresses doubts about mission
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A contender for a one-way mission to Mars says the venture is unrealistic and will not work, according to an essay by the candidate published on Wednesday. Joseph Roche, an astrophysicist and lecturer at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, is among 100 finalists selected by Mars One, a nonprofit Dutch organization, for [...]
