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    <title>The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) Plus</title>
    <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk</link>
    <description>The Sunday Times is the largest selling independent English language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is widely respected for its fair, balanced and accurate reporting</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <managingEditor>ramesh@sundaytimes.wnl.lk</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>ramesh@sundaytimes.wnl.lk</webMaster>
    <copyright>sundaytimes</copyright>
<item>
      <title>Wildlife in flight!.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[This is not happening in some far off foreign land but amidst an area which has been in the spotlight for several weeks now, for its showpiece harbour and proposed second international airport. What is taking place at Mattala in Hambantota as 800 hectares are cleared under the first stage of the airport project? The ground reality is sending shock waves not only among perturbed environmentalists but also the people of the area.]]></description>
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      <title>Villa in the valley.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 22, Aug 2010 01:45:08 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100822/Plus/plus_14.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Hidden in the historic Kotmale valley along the Gampola - Nuwara Eliya Road is this tranquil retreat, an ideal getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. The Mas Villa, as it is called now, also known as the Pahala Walauwwa in the Mas wella area is the ancestral home and the birthplace of late politician Gamini Dissanayake. Mayantha Dissanayake, recalling very personal memories of his father’s ancestral home said Pahala Walauwwa was the place where his father Gamini Dissanayake grew up.]]></description>
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      <title>Hero in the park.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Mount Rainier National Park situated in Washington sees over a million visitors each year. For Eric Mendis, a Sri Lankan serving in the US Army, it meant the ideal weekend he’d been looking forward to spending with friends. However, the events that unfolded that weekend in June not only caught Eric off guard, but also caught the attention of the US media, namely the Q13 Fox News crew who captured the day’s happenings on camera.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Dealing with dengue differently.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 15, Aug 2010 01:05:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100815/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Ashani Jayamini Thamel, 10, was very ill. She was not only running such a high temperature that her mother could feel the heat through the T-shirt but she was also throwing up blood. Waiting in line to see a private doctor, people advised the mother that time seemed to be running out and when Ashani collapsed, she decided to rush her to the Gampaha General Hospital.]]></description>
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      <title>Lanka’s central highlands win heritage battle.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[It was barely two weeks ago that the media reported a rare find that hit the headlines around the world. A tiny mammal that many feared was extinct - the Montane Slender Loris. But more significant news was to come – on July 31 came the announcement that the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka which is also the home of this rare animal has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site- recognition of its international importance.]]></description>
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      <title>From Jaffna to Colombo: When a little Guide stood tall.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 08, Aug 2010 03:16:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100808/Plus/plus_23.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A journey of 100 friends’ to commemorate the centenary of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts this August will culminate in the Guides assisting the Nanapiyasa Library Project of the Disaster Management Committee for libraries, information services and archives set up by the National Library Documentation Centre of Sri Lanka, IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) and UNESCO said Communications Director Shaleeka Abeygunasekara.]]></description>
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      <title>Scribes’ night of pride.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[It was a moment of glory and pride when the media fraternity gathered at the Empire Ballroom of the Mount Lavinia Hotel last Tuesday to celebrate the night of the scribes.]]></description>
    </item>
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      <title>Who lurks under the Bolgoda lake?</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 01, Aug 2010 01:45:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100801/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The crocodile was easily 6-8’ long and about 2-3’ wide, he says. Yes, he had seen a crocodile while boating, most probably this same one across the lake sunning itself on a rock with its jaws wide open about three years ago. But those glimpses were from a distance and he had not realized how big it was.]]></description>
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      <title>Classic drives.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 25, Jul 2010 14:32:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100725/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[On a sunny day, back in the mid-Sixties and well into the early Eighties, the gates of a dignified, laidback bungalow on Dickman’s Road, Colombo 4, would open and a dignified, laidback and quite splendid vehicle would emerge; it would pause, turn left or right, and sedately head into town. As heads turned to admire the grand old car noiselessly gliding past – magnificent in a coat of yellow and black paint – heads would also register how uncommonly well paired were the car and its front-seat occupants.]]></description>
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      <title>Loris: Lost and found.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 25, Jul 2010 14:32:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100725/Plus/plus_14.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A bundle of limbs and fur with huge, soulful eyes disproportionate to its body, it is considered by some to be one of the ugliest creatures in the world. For zoologist Saman Gamage and his team, however, on that chilly morn on Conical Hill in Nuwara Eliya when it came into their “sights” it was “beautiful”.]]></description>
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      <title>Recreating a historic picture.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 18, Jul 2010 13:02:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100718/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Guttila panditha plays the veena to the royal audience in a contest with his pupil Musila while young dancers watch in fascination. The illustration that depicts this episode from the infamous jathaka tale of Guttila panditha who was a skilled musician serving King Brahmadatta of North India is taken from a 12th Century AC painting from Thivanka pilimage in Polonnaruwa - testimony to Sri Lanka’s rich painting tradition.]]></description>
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      <title>Save the forgotten wrecks.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 18, Jul 2010 13:02:58 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100718/Plus/plus_02.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[This war victim was forgotten within months, but nature claimed its ownership of the sunken vessel. Corals started growing on its large metal surface and thousands of fish and marine creatures have found the shipwreck a safe haven for the last 13 years. Now however the ship is being salvaged for scrap metal.]]></description>
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      <title>Her courage that is ‘unputdownable’.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 11, Jul 2010 13:41:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100711/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[You need to meet her in person to experience the full impact of her incomparable spirit. There she is, so thin, looking like a small girl as she sits in her wheelchair, unable to use her voice ever since a tracheostomy was performed to help her breathe. She greets me with a kind of a smile and you don’t immediately notice the obvious signs of the debilitating Motor Neuron disease that has afflicted her for the last three years. It is the same rare condition that afflicted the brilliant scientist, Stephen Hawking, and is also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease.]]></description>
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      <title>Open to the sun and sea.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 11, Jul 2010 13:41:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100711/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Seen from the air, the line of palm thatched roofs stretches out from the land and into the water, extending the island nearly a kilometre into the ocean. Lush with vegetation, the island is an oasis of green, edged with white sand. For architect Murad Ismail the remote Baa Atoll in the Maldives is the home of his best known creation – the Four Seasons resort Landaa Giraavaru.]]></description>
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      <title>Give them the joy of parenthood.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 04, Jul 2010 13:48:02 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100704/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[They have buried two of their baby boys within the short span of two agonizing years and as they look out of their window and see the tiny graves in their garden at Dippitigala, Lellopitiya in Ratnapura, fear and uncertainty grip them.]]></description>
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      <title>One man’s green paradise.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 04, Jul 2010 13:48:02 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100704/Plus/plus_02.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Almost every morning before he goes to work, Damitha Rajapakse stops by the property near his home in Gampaha. Standing there amidst the trees and tangled vines, amidst the birdsong and the cool morning air, he is refreshed and renewed in his determination to see this garden flourish, as a resource of the country’s wild fruit heritage.]]></description>
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      <title>Earthquakes and tsunamis: How vulnerable is Sri Lanka?.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 27, Jun 2010 13:34:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100627/Plus/plus_18.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The fear of another tsunami gripped the coastal people in the eastern and southern sectors of the island last week. The enormous calamity that occurred in 2004 culminating in the loss of over 30,000 lives in addition to the complete destruction of house and property in a vast stretch of land, still haunts the people and the fear of its recurrence is very much alive.]]></description>
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      <title>Want to be a coin collector?.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 27, Jun 2010 13:34:15 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100627/Plus/plus_20.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The hobby of numismatics covers the collection and study of coins, tokens and currency. Coins are some of the oldest artifacts that reveal the history of the past. Evidence that coins have been collected since ancient times have been proved by the collection like composition of some ancient hoards found in Europe.]]></description>
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      <title>A place they can call their own.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sgt. Major W.P. Ariyaratne is a happy man. He is eagerly looking forward to moving into his newly built house with his wife and three children, at the end of this month after long years of roughing it out with parents and in rented housing, while serving at the warfront.]]></description>
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      <title>Development of Lankan news distribution on the Internet.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/Plus/plus_24.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The .LK was registered in June 1990 and is one of the older top-level domains. To mark the 20th anniversary, the LK Domain Registry will hold a conference on the inception, history and current status of the Internet on June 28-29.]]></description>
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      <title>Warning sirens set off panic waves.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/Plus/plus_11.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[“Amma, is a mean uncle coming on a boat from the ocean to break all the houses?” asked four-year-old Parami, after she was pulled out of bed by her parents who frantically scrambled out of their home in Patabendimulla, Ambalangoda around 1 a.m. last Sunday. Parami was trying to understand why the mention of tsunami sparked such pandemonium.]]></description>
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      <title>Sri Lanka's role in the spread of Buddhism in South East Asia.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/Plus/plus_16.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[It was on the Poson full moon day in June 306 B.C. (i.e. 237 years after the demise of the Buddha), that Arhat Mahinda formally introduced Buddhism including the Tripitaka to Sri Lanka. According to the Mahavamsa, Asoka sent Arhat Mahinda to Sri Lanka, and other missionaries to several other regions including Suvannabhumi (present Southeast Asia).]]></description>
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      <title>Deep wounds that need to be healed.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 20, Jun 2010 14:07:12 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100620/Plus/plus_22.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[It was a war they had not asked for, and did not understand, even now that it was over; a war that had robbed them not only of material possessions but also of something infinitely more precious: their childhood innocence. While children in other parts of the country played the games of childhood, went to school, ate wholesome food to make them grow, all within the comforting embrace of home, the children caught in the conflict of the North and East were forced to forfeit the freedom of childhood.]]></description>
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      <title>Protecting others with their lives.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Even though it was a mock-up of the ground situation in Iraq during the American invasion in 2003, dubbed “war gaming” at the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, US, the pats on the back for Squadron Leader Chaminda Herath were numerous. For, many were the American officers themselves who were defeated in the Basra operation.]]></description>
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      <title>It’s the hottest bar in Washington.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/Plus/plus_02.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The buzz: Buddha Bar, which first opened in Paris in 1996, has a solid international reputation, with branches in such cities as Dubai, Kiev and Monte Carlo. The lounge is also known for its soundtrack mixes, which combine house, world music and chilled-out grooves, and are sold around the world.]]></description>
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      <title>Mangroves manhandled.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Douglas, a mangrove activist remembers how hard he tried to save a patch of mangroves in the Puttalam lagoon. As a group with political backing continued clearing the mangroves he went to the authorities seeking to halt the destruction.]]></description>
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      <title>The Palms: A place one would want to return to.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/Plus/plus_15.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[All the talk about an imminent boom in the number of tourists who visit Sri Lanka each year, made me wonder what “package” tourists from Europe actually get when they stay at a beach resort hotel here.To find out, I chose a hotel in the popular tourist beach strip that stretches from Beruwala to Bentota and beyond.]]></description>
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      <title>Riding around the world.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 13, Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100613/Plus/plus_23.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[On June 28 this year, just 18 days after he turns 40, Bharatha “Dylan” Samarawickrama will set off on a journey of self discovery – an epic adventure spanning several continents. Astride his beloved BMW 1150 GS, a powerful 1,130 cc motorbike specially built for the adventurous, Dylan hopes to ride from Switzerland all the way to New Zealand, and maybe even the Americas, if he’s lucky, during the course of a year.]]></description>
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      <title>Searching for more heights to conquer.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[When Charles Jencks, considered the godfather of the postmodern movement in architecture, compiled a list of the world’s ten most influential modern buildings for the BBC in the late 90’s, one man’s name figured prominently- seven times to be exact. Cecil Balmond, the Sri Lankan born structural engineer though not enjoying the widespread acclaim that has been accorded to his architect peers, nevertheless has been a dominant influence in contemporary architecture.]]></description>
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      <title>The lone battle of a four legged brigadier.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/Plus/plus_09.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[He was uprooted from his home and dumped in a place he didn’t know and want to be. This compelled him to walk out, for he was not willing to accept his karma with resignation, he was young and ready to take on the world. He did not venture out for only a little distance but many kilometres through hostile terrain, finally ending up on the beach, far from home and totally lost.]]></description>
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      <title>Reaching high with hydrogen.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/Plus/plus_11.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Hemamala Karunadasa is yet another Sri Lankan to be proud of. Working with two other American scientists — Christopher Chang and Jeffrey Long — they have found the key to cheap generation of hydrogen, a quest undertaken by many scientists the world over.]]></description>
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      <title>Meet the Moon Moth.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[When Gamini Mayadunne’s fellow worker Maduwanthi showed him a large winged insect she had caught from her garden in Gampola near the 7th Milepost on the 10th of May, thinking it was a butterfly, he knew this was something special. It had a wingspan of about 8 inches and had been resting on an Anoda - Custard apple tree. An amateur naturalist, Mayadunne – a photographer and the owner of “Upali Studio” in Kadugannawa realized it was no butterfly, but one of the largest moths in Sri Lanka.]]></description>
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      <title>The fabric of her life and work.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun 06, Jun 2010 13:11:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100606/Plus/plus_18.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Characterized by nuanced variations in colour and texture, Chandramani Thenuwara’s textiles are often subtle in design and complex in technical composition. Over the course of her career she has produced a rich body of work, ranging from the paintings of her youth to a vast array of textiles through her collaborations with weavers around the island.]]></description>
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      <title>On the chapter titled Buddhism.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Books lining shelves and books lying on tables and chairs keep company with an assortment of art and religious objects, and mementoes from near, distant and exotic parts. Two original Stanley Kirinde oils and a certified copy of a David Paynter painting adorn the dining room and the hall. Representations of the Buddha are thoughtfully positioned around the sitting room, which opens on a wide balcony rustling with sun-shot greenery. Framed by potted crotons, ferns and bamboo is a stone Bodhisattva.]]></description>
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      <title>When a ‘kadiya’ stings.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/Plus/plus_23.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The 27-year-old mother in the small hamlet in Dambulla called Bulanwala had decided to sleep on the floor to escape the unbearable March heat, but her slumber was short-lived. She was awakened by a painful bite early in the morning. She alerted her husband fearing it was a snake, but the search only resulted in finding a kadiya on the mat.]]></description>
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      <title>Edwin Arnold and the Sri Lanka connection.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/Plus/plus_10.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Sir Edwin Arnold’s Light of Asia, published in 1879 was the first text, verse or otherwise, to bring to the Western world a more or less faithful account of the Buddha and Buddhism. Arnold’s interactions with Weligama Sri Sumangala Thera were to be the beginning of a momentous change for the Buddhist world. The idea to restore the sacred shrines of Buddha Gaya and Sarnath to the Buddhist guardians was first mooted at Rankoth Vihara in Panadura in 1886 in discussions between the two, a task taken up by others, mainly Anagarika Dharmapala under the guidance of Sumangala Thera.]]></description>
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      <title>Narada: The singer incomparable.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/Plus/plus_18.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[When I sit down to type this note on Narada Disasekera, the singer, my friend and classmate, my mind goes back to the first half of the 50s when we were both students at Kalutara Maha Vidyalaya, the school by the Kalu Ganga. The school was then housed in a huge mansion called Alwis Walawwa around which was a sprawling garden of coconut and fruit trees.]]></description>
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      <title>Sculpting statues of serenity.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 13:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100530/Plus/plus_16.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The serene images of Lord Buddha that he makes are all in the Samadhi (seated) posture. Over the years, he has made hundreds and thousands of them for worship in homes, offices and temples all over the country. Of the various mudras (postures) of Lord Buddha such as reclining, standing etc, this skilled craftsman prefers to make statues depicting the Samadhi posture.]]></description>
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      <title>Cats and dogs, her life.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/Plus/plus_02.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Dogs, they say, are a man’s best friend. In the case of Udayanagani Jayawardena, it goes far beyond that. This petite yet headstrong woman brings new meaning to the term ‘animal lover’. At her humble abode in Angoda, barely bigger than a motel room, Udayangani cares for and provides shelter to a staggering 159 homeless, ailing cats and dogs, all by herself with the enthusiastic yet fragile support of her aging father.]]></description>
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      <title>Man behind the palate of two presidents.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/Plus/plus_09.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Walter S. Scheib III was Hilary Clinton’s answer to Jacqueline Kennedy. Though J.F.K’s glamorous widow had long since left the White House, she had set the standard for fine dining in the nation’s home – and it was European. Mrs. Clinton’s mandate for her new chef was a challenge – she wanted to see contemporary American cuisine celebrated in her kitchen.]]></description>
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      <title>The journey of a brave bhikkuni.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/Plus/plus_10.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Gentle and soft-spoken Karma Lekshe Tsomo is a Professor by day but the “passion” of her life has been working towards linking Buddhist women around the world for mutual benefit and inspiration. Bhikkhuni Lekshe has been making many a trip outside her homeland, America, as an “activist” not using the weapon of violence and harsh verbal barrages but her own humble manner to point out the “great need” for more bhikkhunis.]]></description>
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      <title>Oil of many cures.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/Plus/plus_14.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A special team of workers is entrusted with the painstaking task of collecting different varieties of indigenous herbs from forests around the country while another engages in washing, drying and piling them in storerooms at the centre.]]></description>
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      <title>Hopper feed delivers punching maestro of yesteryear.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/Plus/plus_18.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Walking around in Dandenong Market, the day after setting foot in Melbourne, I saw an intriguing sight -presumably a father explaining to his two daughters the three different types of eggplant. “Duwe, Mewwath Vambatu, Mewwath Vambatu and Mewwath Vambatu,” he said. I knew then I was somewhat on familiar ground.]]></description>
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      <title>Hooked on green tea.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 13:49:01 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100523/Plus/plus_19.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[If after tucking into delicious Kavum, crispy Kokis and mouth watering Aasmi during the April holidays, you have felt an uncomfortable heaviness and an additional number of inches around your waist, what do you do?]]></description>
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      <title>‘We haven’t forgotten you’.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/Plus/plus_02.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[They were a set of people who needed special care and attention. They were disabled, more so than others. Totally disabled was their plight, with some even unable to comprehend what had hit them, in a country which had been in the throes of a raging conflict for nearly 30 long years.]]></description>
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      <title>‘Now it’s venomous five.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/Plus/plus_14.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Earlier listed as “moderately” venomous, the Hump-nosed viper has acquired this ignominious status of highly venomous after its bite indicated rare but potentially fatal systemic envenoming, said Consultant Physician Dr. Kolitha Sellahewa who is Chairman of the Snake-bite Expert Committee of the Sri Lanka Medical Association.]]></description>
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      <title>Corals under bleach attack.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Have you taken a shower in the middle of the day these past few months and winced at the heat of the water gushing through in the first few minutes? The intense heat is not just affecting us, it is affecting corals – the delicate organisms in the sea that are exposed to the sun all day long.]]></description>
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      <title>Bringing out the child in everyone.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/Plus/plus_15.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Prashani Rambukwella is a preacher’s daughter who found herself fascinated by demons. Yakas and bahirawayas populate her Gratiaen Prize winning debut, a novel for children titled ‘Mythil’s Secret’. But the book is very different from anything Prashani herself read as a child.]]></description>
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      <title>Mediterranean marvels this May.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100516/Plus/plus_19.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A family stands. A child cries. A father says, “I told you we should have come earlier!” It is Hilton Colombo’s Cyprus Food Festival at Spices and it is sold out. Those who didn’t reserve, crowd around, waiting for a table to liberate. But those who had reserved were in no hurry to relinquish their places or curtail the pleasures of the pulsating ambience the event generated, what with the serenade of mellifluous Cypriot strains, a large TV screen capturing vignettes of traditional Cypriot life and culture and, of course, the live Cypriot troupe dancing away.]]></description>
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      <title>Reel back in time and fact.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The year is 1934 – a time long before film was introduced to colour and Dolby Digital, when the world was still seen only in black and white through shaky images. The opening scene is a thovil (exorcism) ceremony with the haunting music of a rare Sinhala verse playing in the background, followed by an equally eerie mix of horns, strings, cymbals and bass, recorded in poor quality, but effective and terrifyingly beautiful all the same.]]></description>
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      <title>Destruction of sanctuary new chapter in war on Kokkilai.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/Plus/plus_10.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Kokkilai was the scene of a horrific massacre in 1984 when the LTTE killed over a hundred innocent civilians including fishermen. The war is over, but this time another war is being unleashed in the Kokkilai Sanctuary – a war against nature. A large forested area in and around the western side of Kokkilai Lagoon has been cleared using heavy machinery since last week. Some people from Pulmoddai in the Kuchaveli area are behind this destruction, according to local sources.]]></description>
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      <title>Earthquakes, volcanoes and Sri Lanka’s vulnerability.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/Plus/plus_08.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A spate of natural disasters has assailed countries across the globe in quick succession in recent times. For Sri Lanka, with the death and destruction in the wake of the 2004 inundations of coastal areas, set off by a tsunamigenic earthquake seared into its collective memory, any natural disaster causes anxiety.]]></description>
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      <title>Bigger picture behind ‘making’ beauties.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/Plus/plus_14.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[“These beautiful opportunities come served to you on a golden plate because it’s not just a title it’s a representation of who you are, your strengths, your high set of goals and your ambassadorial qualities. To have a country’s name on your shoulders is a task not handed out to just anyone but a select few.” These are the sentiments of Jacqueline Fernandez, Miss Sri Lanka for Miss Universe 2006 of her experience of being part of this elite group of beauty queens, representing her country at a premier international pageant.]]></description>
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      <title>Still the simple, sturdy old world charm.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 13:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100509/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <category>Plus</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Now, like many bungalows in the hill country, Thotalagala has been transformed into a holiday home available for renting in its entirety. And the “empty tank” – I hasten to add – is now a neatly tiled swimming pool sparkling in the sunlight. It is divine for hardy guests who want to defy the elements by swimming 5,000 feet above sea level.]]></description>
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      <title>Beware the flash of fury.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[It is all too familiar. The skies suddenly darken, a distant rumble of thunder is heard and a vivid streak of lightning flashes across the sky, followed by a heavy downpour. So accustomed are we to this almost daily occurrence that we are in danger of disregarding the serious threat that lightning poses.]]></description>
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      <title>Off to see seabirds.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/Plus/plus_15.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The setting sun had sculpted a vast sea monster edged with fire over the horizon. Pink candy floss clouds were engulfed by the encroaching darkness. Flashes of lightning illuminated a seemingly primordial world and as light was about to be extinguished, Rohan Susantha, the Alankuda Beach boatman opened the throttle and we sliced through a rising swell to return from another session at sea.]]></description>
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      <title>Wild relatives to the rescue.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/Plus/plus_11.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[My paddy was maturing well, promising good results. But suddenly, certain patches in the field started getting acid burns and dried up, lamented Piyadasa, a rice farmer in Gonapola talking of his lost harvest.]]></description>
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      <title>A time for wine.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Though she isn’t much of a drinker, there’s very little that Gowri Kariyawasam doesn’t know about wine. She’s passionate about her job – “wine is a living story,” she says. At a recent wine tasting and networking event held for the Young Business & Professional Women Sri Lanka association, Gowri got hands on about educating her audience on the intricacies of ordering and serving wine.]]></description>
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      <title>50 years in robes and continuing to serve the Buddha Sasanaya.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/Plus/plus_20.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Last week I had an e-mail from Washington D C. It was from a monk whom I know very well but had not been in regular touch with. The subject was titled 'Ayubovan - Invitation attached'. I was curious. I downloaded the mail. Maharagama Dhammasiri Nayaka Thera, Chief Incumbent of the Washington Buddhist Vihara is completing 50 years since his ordination and a pinkama is planned for May 2 to mark the event.]]></description>
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      <title>The savant and the occultist.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 13:01:45 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100502/Plus/plus_21.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[On the publication of my article “This is Serendib in England” (The Sunday Times April 25, 2010), some readers expressed interest in the connection between the savant Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy and occultist Aleister Crowley, which centred on Coomaraswamy’s second wife, a musician and singer from Yorkshire known as Ratan Devi. Crowley describes his vicarious relationship with the Coomaraswamys in his autobiography Confessions (1969). However, independent details of Coomaraswamy’s private life are scanty, so it must be stressed that parts of Crowley’s story cannot be corroborated.]]></description>
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      <title>An eco paradise in Habarana.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[It is 4 p.m. and we are driving through the Hurulu Eco Park at Habarana. It had rained the previous days and both the Kaudulla and Minneriya National Parks that we had planned to visit are under water. It was good to discover that we could drive through another wild life park during our short stay at Habarana.]]></description>
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      <title>On board the Jewel of Muscat.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_14.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Standing on the bow of a Navy Water Jet, a kind of motorboat, riding the waves a mile out in the seas off Galle, feeling giddy and hazy with my insides threatening to come out any second, I couldn’t help but wonder how the boys (and girls) in blue do it day in and day out, every single day.]]></description>
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      <title>Battling the rot.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_10.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Agriculture officials are on high alert in the south over the spread of a disease affecting coconut trees. The coconut leaf wilt/ rot disease found in several areas in the southern part of the country was first reported in 2000 in Weligama. It is caused by a micro-organism known as Phytoplasma, which was identified in 2008, the Sunday Times learns. ing to come out any second, I couldn’t help but wonder how the boys (and girls) in blue do it day in and day out, every single day.]]></description>
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      <title>Two hotspots and on to Trinco.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[It seems just yesterday that Nilantha and Suren of Nature Odyssey sailed out from Mirissa on our first whale watching ‘recce’ back in September 2008. Thirteen nautical miles south-east of Sri Lanka, they did find the Blue whales.]]></description>
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      <title>Scientist by morn and a little bit of jazz by night.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_13.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Dr. Alan Ernst, PhD, gives the distinct impression of being something of a bright yet reluctant hero from a DC graphic novel. An expert on neuroscience by day and a talented jazz musician by night, this man, by his own admission, has been leading a double life since his college days. It’s hard to say if he’s a scientist or a professional musician. He clearly loves to talk about both science and music – with great gusto.]]></description>
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      <title>Doctor who feels the pulse of fashion.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_15.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Over the weekend, Dr. Lilamani swaps her white coat for lace, beads and printed fabric interwoven with delicate thread work; her sketchbook replaces her stethoscope and the General Physician swiftly slips into her role as a fashion designer.]]></description>
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      <title>De Livera reaches 80 in real 'Baronial style'.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_20.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Baron de Livera, Colombo's most endearing man-about-town has turned eighty while retaining his youthful spirit and debonair air. He is still regarded as the doyen in the realm of local marketing and print advertising. No one in the fraternity has been able to match the eminence of this trailblazing icon in an arena that still remains a battleground of blood and thunder in the context of high-pressure salesmanship.]]></description>
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      <title>This is Serendib in England.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_22.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[My interest was piqued on reading a New York Times report by Michael Kimmelman dated July 15, 2008 regarding the outcry at an announcement that the heirs of Portugal’s bizarre, angst-ridden poet and writer, Fernando Pessoa, planned to auction his correspondence with the most infamous magician of modern times, Aleister Crowley, or the “Great Beast 666” as he styled himself.]]></description>
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      <title>No flowers, by request, for our late great republic.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_23.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Now that the long, dry spell of the holidays is over, we can all get back to being a ‘working democracy’ (ha ha) once again. Of course, when I say “long, dry spell”, I mean “brief, wet and warm” period. But you know what I mean, dear.]]></description>
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      <title>Beware! You could die laughing, reading this novel.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:15:05 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100425/Plus/plus_24.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Ashok Ferrey is by no means a typical Sri Lankan, for he has spent a good chunk of his life in England, Western Europe and Africa. He lives in Colombo 7 and his social network as well as his worldview is very cosmopolitan. The process of natural selection operates in both the physical and the social environment.]]></description>
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      <title>Behind the bloom of Hakgala roses.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Vivid colours and sweet fragrances to keep any visitor spellbound. Come April, the Hakgala Rose Garden in all its glory entrances all and sundry. The process of bringing the rose garden alive with over 100 varieties of roses displaying their beauty for the April season starts in the second week of January and is the result of careful planning and dedicated efforts by Hakgala Botanical Gardens staff.]]></description>
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      <title>When the unsinkable sank.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/Plus/plus_20.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Four days into its maiden voyage 98 years ago, shortly before midnight on April 14, 1912, the ship struck the iceberg. Two hours and forty minutes later, at 2.20 a.m. local time on April 15, the “unsinkable” Titanic sank, leaving in its wake 1,517 deaths.]]></description>
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      <title>An exorbitant Rs. 100 as ATM service charge.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/Plus/plus_07.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The National Savings Bank (NSB) was set up with the idea of promoting the savings habit among the poor. It is strange that such a bank should take Rs. 100 as service charge for a cash withdrawal using an ATM card.]]></description>
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      <title>To feel free and be free is their wish.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Walking through the scorching streets of post-war Jaffna on the day that the Sinhala and Tamil New Year dawned, it didn’t seem different to any other day. Shops were open, people were getting about their business and crackers were few and far between. Either the people of Jaffna are not feeling that “jubilant” as yet or they would rather celebrate in the privacy of their own homes. The only public New Year celebration seemed to be the one organized by the state media at the Jaffna Fort.]]></description>
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      <title>A treat with tea.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100418/Plus/plus_13.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Two years ago, in an inspired move, premier tea firm Dilmah celebrating their small beginnings in Australia and an enviable record of 21 years of growth since, invited eight of Australia’s leading chefs to take a trip to their home of tea to gain an understanding of what makes the beverage unique. Along the way they would see the efforts of Dilmah’s charity arm, the MJF Charitable Foundation particularly the Maha Ara village school in Hambantota set up to support children orphaned by the devastating tsunami in 2004.]]></description>
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      <title>The soldier's home for New Year.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There were no Avurudu holidays for the soldiers all these years. Instead of the sound of fire crackers that herald the auspicious times of the new year, what they heard were the sounds of guns and artillery fire. While the rest of the country looked forward to a new beginning with fresh hope, our war heroes were away from their families and friends fighting a bitter battle to save the country from the clutches of terrorism.]]></description>
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      <title>Bountiful betel.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_02.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[With just a few days for the Avurudu, in the darkness of pre-dawn, betel growers and buyers wend their way to the ‘Bulath Pola’ in Alawwa town. By 4 a.m., the growers are ready with their produce awaiting the buyers who come from far and near to purchase the betel.]]></description>
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      <title>The way Avurudu was.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_12.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Avurudu in the good old days was essentially a 'home do'. It was a family affair. Everyone in the family – young and old alike – gave a helping hand for the Avurudu arrangements. The voice of the koha (cuckoo) was the first sign that heralded the Avurudu time. The erabadu trees with their red flowers would be in full bloom.]]></description>
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      <title>Kaju Puhulam: Fading symbol of Avurudu.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_13.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The ripe kaju puhulam (cashew fruit) together with Avurudu symbols such as the koha and erabadu reminds us of the April festive season. The ripe red, orange or yellow cashew fruits nicely bundled together using an iratuwa (coconut midrib) were a common delicacy during the season decades ago.]]></description>
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      <title>A new 10-rupee coin for your pocket.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_14.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[On April 5, 2010, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), issued a new Rs. 10 coin to replace the Rs. 10 currency note that will be withdrawn gradually from circulation. The coin minted in nickel-plated steel is in the shape of a eleven-sided polygon.]]></description>
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      <title>Lobster loot.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_20.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Four detections by the Customs at Katunayake within two weeks and one by wildlife officials at Yala at the end of March have left environmentalists wondering whether spiny lobsters are being fished to economic extinction.]]></description>
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      <title>Ceylon’s Pearl Harbour attack.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_26.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[It was 68 years ago on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1942, that Japan made an unsuccessful bid to invade Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then called). The Japanese attempt was not only thwarted but successfully repulsed by the Allied Forces based in the island.]]></description>
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      <title>Carl Muller: Waving merrily and joking at life’s ironies.</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/Plus/plus_24.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Last Sunday morning we were on our way to Kandy, to visit a friend. Five of us connected modestly in different ways with communications – writing, publishing, editing and translation were on our way to visit the prolific writer, historian and philosopher Carl Muller.]]></description>
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      <title>Wilpattu: Look at the destruction!</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/Plus/plus_01.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Will 2010 be Wilpattu’s swansong, with Sri Lanka going down in history as the country which deliberately allowed the destruction of one of its pristine beauty-spots not only of tremendous ecological value but also of archaeological importance?]]></description>
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      <title>Key messages from keyboard maestro</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/Plus/plus_24.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The most recent tragic story to hit the headlines and grip the people was that of two-year-old Amila Sandaruwan Fernando who was thrown into the Kalu Ganga at Kalutara by his mother. Although he was rescued by a truck driver, little Amila died nine days later at the Lady Ridegway Hospital even after a major effort to save his life.]]></description>
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      <title>Finish ‘Arathi’ for Nihal</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/Plus/plus_02.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The ceasefire is still holding, although there are an increasing number of violent confrontations between the LTTE cadres and government forces. Just last evening, the Sea Tigers had used a fishing boat packed with explosives to ram and sink a navy patrol boat in the sea off Mullaittivu. The navy had, to the fury of local fishermen, retaliated by banning all fishing in the area.]]></description>
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      <title>Putting their new leg forward</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/Plus/plus_11.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Tall and well built, Dinesh was a Special Task Forces Officer. He lost his limb to a landmine while on duty at Nandikadhal on May 17, last year- the day before the war was won. About a year later he has received his first prosthetic limb. He smiles widely as he tells us how delighted he is with his new limb and how much he is looking forward to walking independently.]]></description>
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      <title>A look back - the trek to Sri Jayawardenapura</title>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:38:56 +0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100404/Plus/plus_13.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Parliamentary system of government was introduced to Sri Lanka 63 years ago. During this period, voters have elected members to represent them in parliament 13 times. Once again, they go to the polls on Thursday, April 8 to elect 196 members to be their representatives in the 225-seat august assembly.]]></description>
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