British voters heading for a Disunited Kingdom
GLOUCESTER, England, (Reuters) – Like millions of other British voters, Karl Wakeman supported Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives in the 1980s and then Tony Blair’s New Labour in the late 1990s. But now, as Britain heads toward a general election on May 7, the 49-year-old from Gloucester has no time for either of the two parties that [...]
WHO celebrates World Health Day
President Maithripala Sirisena was the chief guest at the World Health Organisation celebrations of World Health Day on April 7. WHO Representative Dr. Arvind Mathur hosted a well-attended reception at the Oak Room of the Cinnamon Grand. The theme of this year’s World Health Day was ‘From farm to plate, make food safe’.
Intellectual Discourse on ‘New Year Festivities and our Culture’
The 23rd Intellectual Discourse on ‘New Year Festivities and our Culture’ organised by the J. R. Jayewardene Centre will be held on April 27 (tomorrow) at 3 p.m. at the centre’s auditorium, 191, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 7. Prof. Rohana Lakshman, Head of Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya will talk on ‘Sinhala New Year [...]
IWMI exhibition: ‘Water in Sri Lanka’
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) launched an exhibition on ‘Water in Sri Lanka’ at the Lighthouse Galley last week. The exhibition will tour the country throughout 2015, starting at the World Trade Center in Colombo in May, and then moving on to Kandy, Jaffna and Galle. Venues will be announced in the local press. [...]
Asian games are not zero-sum
CAMBRIDGE – Two society hostesses are rivals. Both guard their social standing jealously – and may even punish a guest who attends the other’s party by withholding future invitations. China and the United States seem to regard Asia-Pacific relations similarly: as a zero-sum game. Are countries signing up for China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), [...]
A distinguished public service career
Chandrananda De Silva, who passed away recently was one of the most eminent public servants of the latter part of the 20th century. As Elections Commissioner (EC) for 14 years from 1982 to 1995 and as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence from 1995 to 2002, he was one of the key figures who managed [...]
Remembering Gallipoli battle: Bravery and bloody slaughter
Prince Charles and Prince Harry joined heads of state and dignitaries from more than 70 countries in Turkey on Friday and Saturday for a series of commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of arguably the most ill-conceived, poorly led and, ultimately, senseless campaign of the first world war. In nine months of bloody slaughter, about 58,000 [...]
Pakistani activist killed in Karachi
KARACHI (Reuters) -Gunmen shot dead a Pakistani human rights activist on Friday after she hosted a talk on the politics of Baluchistan province, where security forces are fighting a separatist insurgency, police and associates said. Sabeen Mahmud was leaving her Karachi restaurant, where she also holds exhibitions and talks, when the gunman attacked her in [...]
China’s island- building to loom large at ASEAN summit
KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (AFP) -China’s creation of new island footholds in contested seas will hover over a Southeast Asian summit that has become an annual test of the region’s nerve in standing up to its massive neighbour. The South China Sea hot potato drops this year into Malaysia’s lap as the rotating chair of [...]
Child actor of ‘Everybody loves Raymond’ commits suicide
WASHINGTON (AFP) -Sawyer Sweeten, known for his role as one of twin sons in the US sitcom “Everybody loves Raymond,” committed suicide on Thursday aged 19, US media reported. “This morning a terrible family tragedy has occurred,” Sweeten’s sister Madylin said in a statement, according to the showbiz publication Variety. “We are devastated to report [...]
‘Stress test’ for Syria peace: UN envoy
UNITED NATIONS, United States, April 25 (AFP) -The United Nations envoy to war-torn Syria said that he will know by the end of June if there is any appetite among the opposing sides to find a peaceful way out of the conflict. During closed discussions with the 15-member UN Security Council, Staffan de Mistura acknowledged [...]
Magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits Nepal: USGS
KATHMANDU, April 25 (AFP) – A powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey said, with strong tremors felt across the Himalayan nation and parts of India. The quake struck 81 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Kathmandu at 0611 GMT, with walls crumbling and families racing outside of their homes. [...]
Mercy pleas for Indonesia death row inmates as families arrive
CILACAP, Indonesia, April 25 (AFP) -Families of foreign drug convicts set to be hauled before the firing squad in Indonesia issued desperate mercy pleas today, as relatives and diplomats descended on a prison island ahead of the looming executions. Consular officials were arriving at a town near Nusakambangan, the high-security prison island where its executions [...]
Why South Asia needs a non-nuclear future
Considered risky by increasing numbers of people, nuclear energy is now no longer the eagerly sought panacea to the world’s energy problems. From its all-time high of 17 per cent in 1995, its share of world production dwindled to 10 per cent in 2013. The Fukushima nuclear disaster, even more than Chernobyl, has left Japan [...]
The Last Gentleman
Before it even begins — the bouncy bus journey from the Pettah to the Galle Road and down the coastline — the B’s are buzzing, like stingless honeybees. Beruwela is our destination, a seaside town beyond the holiday resort of Bentota. Thinking about the journey’s object has set in motion a bevy of B words [...]
Gulen awarded 2015 Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Prize
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has been presented with a prestigious peace award in recognition of his “life-long dedication to promoting peace and human rights” at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s alma mater. The Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College honoured Gülen with its 2015 Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award [...]
Saudis compensate civilian killings with 274 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen
UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) – Saudi Arabia’s right hand does not know what its left foot is up to, belittles an Asian diplomat, mixing his metaphors to describe the political paradox in the ongoing military conflict in Yemen. The Saudis, who are leading a coalition of Arab states, have been accused of indiscriminate bombings resulting in [...]
