Is COVID-19 vaccine a potential biological weapon in reverse?
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – If the coronavirus is not deemed a biological weapon, is the heavily-publicised COVID-19 vaccine in danger of being weaponised when more than 159,000 Palestinians who have tested positive in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are being denied treatment during a deadly pandemic? The London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International says Israel’s vaccine [...]
Deaths in police custody: Dearth in law and order
All police officers are part of, and have a duty to serve, the community. Enhancing police accountability and integrity is primarily meant to establish, restore or improve public trust and rebuild the legitimacy that is a prerequisite for effective policing. This may be achieved through establishing civilian oversight that is responsive and accountable to the [...]
Whither Sri Lankans: Coming, going or gone?
Developments or rather events, both national and international, appear to be moving so rapidly that in Sri Lankan terms, we can say: ‘We don’t know whether we are coming, going or gone’ Donald Trump, the world’s most unpredictable and most powerful leader appears to be ‘gone’ but now comes Joe Biden of a more stable [...]
Peniya exposes the tip of the iceberg of the problem
Health sector ministers promoting spurious syrups (S-R-D Peniyas’) is a rare exposure of the direct consequence of ‘politicisation’ and undermining of science by the politicians. COVID-19 has a natural death rate of 4% whether you treat or not. What ‘Peniya’ is trying to do is it to give it to 100 people and claim benefit [...]
From an eyesore to a work of art
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Lalith Senanayake,a resident of Hendala, Wattala has created astounding arts using waste plastics that have been accumulating on the beach for months. Lalith and his wife Ruwanthi Perera, daughter Yani Varanasi and son Sega Pawan have been collecting plastics for months and then turned this waste into designs [...]
China locks down cities in province where coronavirus resurgence infects hundreds
Two Chinese cities in a province neighbouring the capital Beijing have been locked down to rein in a resurgence of hundreds of coronavirus infections for seven consecutive days now, after the ruling Communist Party had boasted for months of the success against the deadly new pathogen that emerged in Wuhan and continues to decimate lives [...]
Some thoughts on how Lanka can control the Fall Army worm
The Fall Armyworm (FAW), recorded for the first time in Sri Lanka in August 2018 on maize, is a moth, whose larva (Sena dalambuwa) is one of the most devastating pests for agriculture. Though native to tropical and sub-tropical Americas, it has found its way to several African countries in 2016 and then spread to [...]
Let the great transition begin
NEW YORK – With COVID-19 vaccinations underway in some countries and efforts to expand access still ongoing, world leaders will soon shift their attention from crisis response to pandemic recovery. Governments have already committed $12 trillion to the COVID-19 response, and there will be strong pressure to keep investing in a return to the pre-pandemic [...]