Vyapam: Deadly exam scam shakes India
India’s highest court has ordered the nation’s most powerful investigation agency to investigate a massive college admission and government job recruitment scandal linked to dozens of suspicious deaths. In the latest twist to a story that has gripped the nation, its supreme court on Thursday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over [...]
Regulators tighten scrutiny of India clinical research firms
MUMBAI/LONDON(Reuters)- US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the World Health Organisation have intensified investigations into India’s clinical research firms, industry officials said, after recent probes revealed two leading firms had violated standards. The scrutiny is likely to further hurt India’s reputation as a global pharmaceutical hub, as it follows sanctions imposed by the FDA [...]
Body parts, bloody battles and being one of the boys
A former model who swapped her comfortable life to fight ISIS in Syria has told of the horrors of her time in battle on the frontline. Tiger Sun described seeing a little girl who had been blown up by a landmine die because the Kurds had no medical training. She also revealed how she had [...]
Gene therapy for deafness moves a few steps closer
LONDON (Reuters) – Gene therapy for deafness is moving closer to reality, with new research on Wednesday showing the technique for fixing faulty DNA can improve responses in mice with genetic hearing loss. Separately, a clinical trial backed by Novartis is under way to help a different group of people who have lost their hearing [...]
Palestinians connect to Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites with selfies
JERUSALEM (Reuters)- Palestinians young and old have jumped on a trend for taking “selfies” at Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites of Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, both as a personal memento and for relatives prevented from visiting the ancient compound. While selfies are hardly new, Palestinians have embraced the phenomenon during the [...]
Popemobile online game pokes fun at Paraguay’s potholes
ASUNCION (Reuters) – An online game in which Pope Francis careers through the streets of Asuncion in his “popemobile” dodging potholes is delighting Paraguayans fed up with the capital city’s dilapidated streets. In “Papa Road,” which is popular locally, players navigate the Argentine-born pontiff through the city center against a backdrop of the national Congress [...]
Recipe winners dine on brussels sprouts, smoothies at White House
WASHINGTON (Reuters)- White House state dinners are not normally known for centerpieces made of brussels sprouts, green smoothies and eating with your fingers. But when your guests are 55 students who won a nationwide healthy recipe contest, it is a fitting feast to promote first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood obesity. President Barack [...]
The eternal ‘Doctor Zhivago’: Omar Sharif dies at 83
Actor Omar Sharif, best known for his portrayal of Doctor Zhivago in the hit 1966 film and for his work in “Lawrence of Arabia,” died of a heart attack on Friday, his agent said. He was 83. Steve Kenis confirmed the death of one of the few Arab actors to make it big in Hollywood. [...]
Sri Lanka Heart Association Sessions
The 15th Annual Academic Sessions of the Sri Lanka Heart Association with the theme ‘Appropriate, Affordable and Accessible Emergency Cardiac Care For All’ will be held on July 16, 17 and 18 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo. “The full curriculum covered will ensure that our participants will be updated to ‘state of the [...]
Service of Thanksgiving for Fr. Aloy
A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Monday, July 13, for the extraordinary life and work of Fr. Aloysius Peiris, S.J, who celebrated the golden jubilee of his sacrificial priesthood on July 4. In line with Fr. Aloy’s vision and wishes, this service will be followed by interactive talks by scientific experts on Pope [...]
Art space: Sri Lanka’s first curated online gallery
Artspacesrilanka.com, the first curated online gallery to present a comprehensive catalogue of art that can be browsed as well as purchased online was unveiled last week. The project is founded by curator Saskia Fernando with an aim of connecting the increasing number of talented artists in Sri Lanka with her gallery’s local and international network [...]
New Japanese ambassador presents his credentials to the president
Kenichi Suganuma, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka arrived in Sri Lanka on June 22 and presented his credentials to President Maithripala Sirisena on July 7. Ambassador SUGANUMA is the twenty-second Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka since diplomatic relations was established between the two countries in 1952. [...]
Gender based violence and your role
Zonta Club III of Colombo presented a programme titled ‘Unite to stop Gender based Violence and child abuse” on June 12 at the Auditorium of the Bar Association. Zonta International is a leading global organisation of women in business and the professions empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. It envisions a world in which [...]
China’s soft power and its limits
CAMBRIDGE – China has been making major efforts to increase its ability to influence other countries without force or coercion. In 2007, then-President Hu Jintao told the Communist Party that the country needed to increase its soft power; President Xi Jinping repeated the same message last year. They know that, for a country like China, [...]
Bangladeshi Buddhist monks feed fasting Muslims over Ramadan
DHAKA (AFP) – A Buddhist monastery in Bangladesh is serving food to hundreds of poor Muslims during Ramadan, in a rare example of social harmony between the religions in the South Asian nation. Dharmarajika, in the capital Dhaka, has become a hit on social media since it started distributing daily food packs for Muslims who [...]
Forrest Gump-inspired runner trying to cross US in 100 days
DETROIT (Reuters)-Barclay Oudersluys had competed in triathlons and ultramarathons but he wanted to do something bigger, so the Michigan native took a cue from his favourite movie. Inspired by Forrest Gump, the simple but well-intentioned man played by actor Tom Hanks in the 1994 Academy Award-winning movie of the same name, Oudersluys decided to run [...]
Police corruption vis-a-vis police supervision
There is a massive build-up of hype these days against corruption and financial crimes on the part of politicians. Police charged with the sacred task of maintaining law and order also going corrupt as revealed in the media is a matter of serious concern. Media revelations on police corruption are only about cases detected. The [...]
IGP: A man of policing experience
This has reference to former Deputy Inspector General Sumith Liyanage’s article which was a response to an article written by retired Senior Superintendent (SSP) Tassie Seneviratne, claiming that the present IGP N.G. Ilangakoon lacks experience. Having read both the articles and checked the career record of the present IGP, I find that of all the [...]
Harper Lee’s new novel big as ‘Harry Potter’ in pre-orders
NEW YORK (Reuters) – “Go Set a Watchman,” the much-anticipated second novel by “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee, is the most pre-ordered print title on Amazon.com since the last book in the “Harry Potter” series, Amazon said on Thursday. The online retailer said the novel, to be published on July 14, 55 years [...]
Bomb hits Italian consulate in Egypt, killing one
CAIRO, July 11, 2015 (AFP) -A powerful bomb ripped through the Italian consulate in Cairo today, killing one person, the first assault on a foreign mission in Egypt since jihadists launched a campaign against security forces two years ago. The consulate in central Cairo was closed at the time of the explosion around 6:30 am [...]
Typhoon Chan-hom hovers off China as a million flee
SHANGHAI, July 11(AFP) -Typhoon Chan-hom paralysed transport links and devastated farmland on China’s eastern coast near Shanghai today, after nearly a million people fled the approaching storm, the government and state media said. No casualties have been reported so far, the official Xinhua news agency reported. China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the typhoon could [...]
Air strikes, clashes shake Yemen’s UN humanitarian truce
SANAA, July 11 (AFP) -A UN-proposed Yemen humanitarian truce got off to a shaky start Saturday after Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck rebel positions and clashes persisted between insurgents and pro-government fighters. The six-day ceasefire came into effect just before midnight Friday as aid agencies scrambled to rush desperately needed relief supplies to millions of people [...]
As first anniversary looms, MH17 families demand justice
SEPANG, Malaysia, July 11, 2015 (AFP) -Families of those killed when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine last year demanded justice today at an emotional memorial ceremony ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster. The sombre memorial service at Kuala Lumpur International Airport was attended by Prime Minister Najib Razak, and [...]
Two killed in botched suicide attack in Nigeria-witnesses
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 11 (AFP) -Two people were killed in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri on today when two suicide bombers tried to target a busy bus station, witnesses said. Heavy security prevented the bombers from getting into the Borno Express Terminal and the blast happened nearby at about 7:10 am (0610 GMT). “The [...]
The future of travel? A tube called Hyperloop
LONDON (Reuters) – When asked to imagine the future of transportation, most might draw a car of the future, perhaps solar powered and autonomously driven. For a select few the way we’ll move ourselves across the world tomorrow is in a steel tube at speeds of almost 800mph. This was originally the brainchild of billionaire [...]
The traits that make human beings unique
“I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” So said the physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who helped to invent the atomic bomb. The two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killed around 200,000 Japanese people. No other species has ever wielded such power, and no species could. The technology behind the atomic bomb only [...]
The gruesome untold story of Eva Perons lobotomy
A few weeks before she died, Eva Peron rode next to her husband for his second inauguration as President of Argentina. Her cervical cancer, it is said, had rendered her so weak, that she was standing inside a kind of cage made plaster and wire to support her frail limbs. She weighed little more than [...]