Chronicle of a death online
Fundamentalism knows no boundaries. In India, it was Perumal Murugan who announced the death of the writer in him. In Sri Lanka, writer Sharmila Seyyid was ‘raped’ and ‘murdered’ online on March 28, marking a new low in the history of intolerance. If casteist and Hindutva forces drove the writer in Mr. Murugan to death, [...]
Janath V. de Silva wins a prestigious US award
Sri Lankan-born Janath V. de Silva, LUCTF, now resident in the US has been chosen as one of Boston’s Five Star Wealth Managers for 2015 in the Boston area by the Boston magazine. De Silva, 47, is featured along with other award winners in a special section of the February issue of Five Star Professional [...]
Reminiscing Liberal Party’s campaign for constitutional and electoral reforms
Chanaka Amaratunga was born on April 19, 1958. He had his early education at S. Thomas’ Prep School, Kollupitiya and later at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. Chanaka was an alumnus of Oxford University and the London School of Economics. His area of study was Political Science and International Relations, yet he had an interest [...]
St. Anthony’s College AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the St. Anthony’s College, Wattala, Old Boys’ Association will be held on Saturday, April 25 at the College hall at 4.30 p.m. It will be followed by a fellowship dinner at Amanda banquet hall, 131, Averiwatta Road, Wattala. Dinner tickets are priced at Rs. 1000. Please contact John Emmanuel on [...]
Launch of recipe book “Malay Culinary Delights”
A Malay recipe book titled “Malay Culinary Delights” compiled by Group Captain, Sri Lanka Air Force, Noor Rahim now domiciled in Toronto, Canada, has been published by Kumpulan Melayu Kotikawatta (KMK). The noteworthy feature of this book is the process through which the book came into existence. In the Facebook (FB) group “Young Melayu”, at [...]
Little Yasiru needs Cochlear Implant Surgery
Little M.K. Yasiru Bandara, aged three and a half years suffering from profound hearing loss needs to be treated by a Cochlear Implant Surgery according to his ENT Surgeon Dr. K.D.R.A. Kirihena at Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Colombo. Wish Wickramarachchi Institute of Speech and Hearing, estimates the cost of the implant to be between Rs. 1.9 [...]
Dr. Ranawaka re-elected NSASL president
Consultant Neurologist Dr. Udaya Ranawaka was re-elected for the third term as the President of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka (NSASL) at its annual general meeting held recently at the HNB auditorium. Explaining the important role played by the NSASL, Dr. Ranawaka briefly outlined the stroke services currently available in the country and [...]
The vanilla-flavoured spoken English lesson
SOUNDING good, sounding right, is as important as looking good, looking right. Agree? Right. Agree. Sounding good comes from making sure you make the right sounds. Right? Makes sense. Correct sounds actually sound good. Sounds logical. You wouldn’t come out looking good if you continued to make wrong sounds. Adds up. You can expect to [...]
Alcohol use in movies tied to teen drinking
NEW YORK (Reuters) – In a study of 15-year-olds in the UK, those who had been most exposed to alcohol use in films were also most likely to have tried alcohol, and about twice as likely as the least exposed to have been binge drinking. After accounting for factors in early childhood, and even before [...]
Why we need ‘Game of Thrones’
PARIS – Today’s popular television programmes have become the equivalent of the feuilletons that began appearing in newspapers in the nineteenth century. Series like “Game of Thrones” and “Downton Abbey,” like Balzac and Dickens before them, serve as a source of entertainment and fodder for debate. In this sense, our television screenplays have emerged as [...]
The missing ‘link’ in the 19A Bill
The Supreme Court in its determination of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution has ratified a premier-presidential system for Sri Lanka. Before delving in to the SC judgment, one first needs to understand where Sri Lanka stands at present as a regime type under the 1978 Constitution. Regime types are categorized based on government responsibility. [...]
19th Amendment: Understanding the Committee Stage of Parliament
Much attention has been drawn to the parliamentary process, particularly the committee stage, following the Supreme Court determination on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The judgement has seemingly scuppered the new Government’s desire to transfer core executive powers, currently vested in the office of the President, to the office of the Prime Minister. Instead [...]
Trillions of dollars needed for new bid to end poverty by 2030
WASHINGTON (Reuters)- World leaders have drawn up ambitious goals to end extreme poverty by 2030 and promote development over the next 15 years, but now they have to figure out how to pay the bill. Trillions of dollars would be required to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the United Nations is expected [...]
‘Only when we are no longer afraid, do we begin to live’
Upul Jayasuriya, former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, was presented the 2015 Rule of Law Award by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, at a glittering ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday. Chief Justices, judges and heads of the Bar from the Commonwealth countries were present at the ceremony where Mr. Jayasuriya delivering the [...]
Boys persuade girls back to school in Indian education campaign
OXFORD, England, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Boys campaigning for girls’ education is not common in most parts of the world but in India’s Rajasthan state they are at the heart of a drive to get more girls into schools. Educate Girls trains young people to go into villages to find girls who are not in [...]
China’s military warns about corruption on key anniversary
BEIJING, April 17 (Reuters) – The Chinese military’s official newspaper issued a warning on Friday that a country riven with corruption will only face national humiliation, as it marked the 120th anniversary of a treaty that handed over control of Taiwan to Japan. The embarrassment of the Sino-Japan War and the subsequent Treaty of Shimonoseki [...]
China building runway in disputed South China Sea, say reports
BEIJING, April 18, (AFP) – China is rapidly building an airstrip on an artificial island in disputed South China Sea waters, recent satellite pictures show, potentially ramping up tensions with several Southeast Asian neighbours. Fiery Cross in the Spratly Islands was little more than a reef when China began land reclamation works to turn it [...]
Time to take Asia’s hidden killer seriously
Globally, viral hepatitis kills an estimated 1.5 million people each year – a death toll comparable to HIV/AIDS. The chronic disease caused by hepatitis B and C viruses accounts for 78 per cent of all cases of liver cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer deaths after lung cancer. Despite this high [...]
Now there’s no excuse not to do the dishes
There are usually few things people want to do less than housework. But while scrubbing the dishes and dusting the shelves can seem like an inconvenient chore, a new study has revealed just how important they are to well-being. In fact, scientists now believe cleaning the home is more vital to mental and physical health [...]
Terror arrests in Australia over planned Anzac Day attack
SYDNEY, April 18 (AFP) -Two men were arrested in Melbourne today for allegedly planning an Islamic State-inspired attack at Anzac Day commemorations honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia — the country’s most important national event. Seven search warrants were executed in the country’s second largest city by a joint counter-terrorism team of 200 [...]
China complains Japanese air, sea surveillance raise safety risks
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Defence Ministry complained on Friday that Japanese surveillance activities threatened the safety of Chinese ships and aircraft, raising the issue after Japan said earlier this week that its jet fighter scrambles had hit levels unseen since the Cold War. Japan’s air force said the increased number of scrambles were in response [...]
Suicide bomber kills 33 outside Afghan bank
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, April 18 (AFP) -A suicide bomber killed at least 33 people and wounded 100 others in an attack Saturday outside a bank in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, according to officials. “Thirty-three dead bodies and more than 100 wounded were brought to the hospital,” Dr Najeebullah Kamawal, head of the provincial hospital, [...]
Police shoot teenage protester dead in Indian Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India, April 18 (AFP) -Indian police shot dead a 16-year-old boy today during an anti-India demonstration in Kashmir as a separatist strike shut down the Himalayan region for a second day, officials said. The uncle of the boy said police first detained his nephew before shooting him at point-blank range in front of dozens [...]
Iran presents Yemen peace plan to UN
SANAA, April 18 (AFP) -Iran presented a four-point peace plan for Yemen to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, demanding international action to end the “senseless” Saudi-led air campaign against rebels backed by Tehran. Saudi Arabia, for its part, responded swiftly to a UN aid appeal for its impoverished neighbour. The Iranian call came as intense bombing [...]
Stolen radioactive material still missing in Mexico
MEXICO CITY, April 18 (AFP) -Mexican authorities have yet to find a toolbox-sized container carrying dangerous radioactive material that was stolen on April 13, authorities said Friday. “Up to now, we have found neither the source nor the truck in which it was located,” Juan Eibenschutz, director general of the National Nuclear Safety Commission, told [...]
Why English language pop music will leave you feeling blue
Mathematicians have confirmed what fans of Adele, Radiohead and Lana del Ray may already suspect – that English language song lyrics are one of the most depressing forms of writing on the planet. A study has found that English-spoken song lyrics are more miserable than Russian literature, which has brought us less-than-cheery classic novels such [...]
The ‘miracle berry’ that makes even Brussels sprouts taste good
If you can’t stomach vegetables there is a surprising – and all natural -solution. Known as the Miracle Berry, this jellybean-shaped fruit can make sour and bitter foods taste sweet – and the sensation lasts for up to two hours after eating. The fruit contains a protein called miraculin that binds to the taste buds [...]
Will a volcanic eruption destroy humanity?
The world is woefully unprepared for a massive volcanic eruption that could kill millions of people and destroy much of modern society, a leading group of scientists have warned. In a new report on the risks posed by natural disasters, experts at the European Science Foundation concluded that large volcanic eruptions posed the greatest risk [...]
