ICC receives “devastating” dossier on British war crimes
A “devastating” two hundred and fifty page document: “The Responsibility of UK Officials for War Crimes Involving Systematic Detainee Abuse in Iraq from 2003-2008?, has been “presented to the International Criminal Court, and could result in some of Britain’s leading defence figures facing prosecution for “systematic” war crimes” the (London) Independent on Sunday has revealed.(i) [...]
Is the Obama marriage on the rocks?
With invitations warning guests to ‘EBYC’ – Eat Before You Come – and rumours they’ll be dancing to star turns from Beyonce and her rapper husband Jay Z, it won’t be your usual White House knees-up. Michelle Obama was 50 on Friday and President Barack Obama will be feting his redoubtable First Lady with a [...]
Cayman Islands honours Sri Lankan doctor
A well known Sri Lankan medical specialist is being honoured by the Government of the Cayman Islands in its New Year’s Honours List announced early this year. Dr. Saratchandra de Alwis-Seneviratne will receive a Certificate and Badge of Honour for his contributions to the field of medicine, and to community life, in the Cayman Islands. [...]
‘A Moving Feast’
Dharshan Munidasa’s Nihonbashi and Ministry of Crab restaurants will be part of the World Gourmet Society Festival beginning on January 20, joining top restaurants across the globe in offering their interpretation of the World Gourmet Society’s mission to discover new culinary landscapes in the form of a special side menu. “Participating in the World Gourmet [...]
“Making History”: Colomboscope arts festival returns
Colomboscope is back for its second year with new faces and a new theme; “Making History”. Held from January 30 to February 3 Colombo’s much eagerly awaited arts festival will captivate its audiences with a celebration of music, dance, literature, theatre and film with a new addition this year; architecture. “Our architecture reflects our history [...]
Culture and tradition on parade
The annual Kelaniya Duruthu Maha Perahera 2014 was successfully held this week from Sunday, January 12 to Tuesday January 14, with dancers, drummers and elephants making their way in stately procession from the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara around the Kelaniya sacred city. The perahera is held to commemorate the third visit of Thathagatha Gautama Buddha [...]
Sri Lankan appointed to New York Mayor’s media team
Mahen Gunaratna, 27 will serve as Director of Research and Media Analysis to New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mahen Gunaratna most recently served as an aide to Mayor de Blasio’s Mayoral campaign, handling Communications and Research. He previously served as New Mexico and Arizona Communications Director for Obama for America, as the President’s [...]
S.Korea on alert after bird flu confirmed
SEOUL, Jan 18 (AFP) -South Korea stepped up the culling of poultry and enforced strict quarantine measures today to stop the country’s first outbreak of bird flu in three years from spreading, officials said. Some 21,000 ducks on a poultry farm in Gochang in North Jeolla Province — 300 kilometres (187 miles) southwest of Seoul [...]
Google’s next crazy project: Smart contact lenses
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – If you thought Google Glass was pretty far out, the tech giant’s latest project might have you seeing double. Google is developing a “smart” contact lens. Yes, a contact lens made with super-tiny chips and sensors and an antenna inside that — of course — you wear right on your eyeball. [...]
Press freedom essence of democracy and development: Prof. Goonesekere
The celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka and the inauguration of this international conference on the theme ‘Self-regulation and Ethical News Reporting’ is an occasion to declare victories and also take stock in regard to the realities that confront the profession of journalism both in our country and [...]
Coming soon: Driverless cars
CAMBRIDGE – At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week, the roulette wheel of innovation landed on something rather old-fashioned and unexpected: the automobile. In recent decades, cars have been undergoing a gradual transformation from the kinds of mechanical systems Henry Ford might have imagined into computers on wheels. And that transformation [...]
13 foreigners among 21 killed in Kabul restaurant attack
KABUL, Jan 18 (AFP) -A total of 21 people, including 13 foreigners, died in a Taliban suicide assault on a popular restaurant in Kabul, police said today, as witnesses gave horrific accounts of the carnage. Desperate customers tried to hide under tables as one attacker detonated his suicide vest at the fortified entrance to the [...]
Funeral stampede kills 18 in Indian city of Mumbai
Indian Bohra Muslims take part in the funeral procession of their spiritual leader Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in Mumbai today. A stampede killed at least 18 people at the procession in Mumbai at 1am early on when a large crowd gathered to pay their last respects to the Muslim spiritual leader. It was unclear what triggered [...]
China aims South China Sea grab with fishing law: Philippines
MANILA, Jan 18 (AFP) -The Philippines Saturday said a Chinese rule requiring foreign fishing vessels to secure permission to enter much of the South China Sea was part of a long-term scheme to claim the entire body of water. China’s southern island province of Hainan passed the rule in November and it took effect this [...]
Protesters march in Bangkok despite deadly blast
BANGKOK, Jan 18 (AFP) -Anti-government protesters massed in the Thai capital today vowing to keep up their fight to topple the government, a day after a bomb attack on their rally that killed one and wounded dozens. Tensions soared following the blast, the latest bloodshed in weeks of demonstrations aimed at forcing Prime Minister Yingluck [...]
UN team in Iran to oversee landmark nuclear deal
TEHRAN, Jan 18 (AFP) -Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog arrived in Tehran today in readiness to oversee implementation of a landmark deal that puts temporary curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme, state media reported. The team is led by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Iran task force, Massimo Aparo, and will hold [...]
Egypt to announce results of constitutional referendum
CAIRO, Jan 18 (AFP) -Egyptian authorities are to announce today the results of a constitutional referendum the interim government has hailed as a ringing endorsement of the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Initial tallies suggest this week’s two-day referendum passed with an overwhelming majority, in what the military-installed government said was a strong [...]
Syrian crisis threatens development in Arab world
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The widespread sectarian violence and ongoing military conflicts in several political hotspots, including Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, have not only claimed thousands of human lives and devastated fragile economies but also undermined the UN’s longstanding plans to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty worldwide. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), the world body’s [...]
China’s new green revolution
Since the reforms of 1978, China has been taking giant strides towards economic development. However, the development work which largely centred on primary products such as iron, steel, cement, and coal, has in its wake created major environmental and health problems. In 2010 when I travelled from Shanghai to the central part of China by [...]
Teen pregnancy on the rise as sex education misses Thailand’s young
BANGKOK, (AFP) -,Days away from giving birth and living apart from her family, 16-year-old Ying is one of a growing number of Thai teenagers to fall pregnant every year in a country where sex education is focused on the married. Despite its anything-goes image, Thailand has a conservative streak, meaning that young people are told [...]
A very French Affair
Francois Hollande has finally gone to visit his First Lady in hospital – a week after revelations about his affair with an actress caused her to take ‘a pill too many’. The 59-year-old President of France slipped into see Valerie Trierweiler, 48, under conditions of great secrecy on Friday morning. His visit to the central [...]
Indian couples defy taboo in inter-caste love story
NEW DELHI, (AFP) – When Tilakam, from one of India’s high social castes, married the love of her life in a simple ceremony 12 years ago, she feared outrage from relatives and ostracism. Tilakam’s husband Kathir is a dalit — once known as the “untouchables” — who are at the bottom of India’s deeply entrenched [...]
