Category: Other
India suspends search for plane, awaits new instructions
NEW DELHI, March 16, 2014 (AFP) – India on Sunday suspended its search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 around the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the Bay of Bengal and is awaiting a new request from Malaysia, a defence official said.“The entire operation is on hold for now. We are awaiting fresh instructions […]
US ship, plane to search Bay of Bengal for missing jet
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2014 (AFP) – A US naval ship and surveillance plane are heading to the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal to search for a missing Malaysian airliner that vanished a week ago, officials said Friday.The hunt had initially focused on the South China Sea east of Malaysia — along the intended route […]
Sri Lanka capital to get wetland and beach parks
Mar 11, 2014 (LBO) – Wetland’s in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo will be preserved and a educational wetland park is also being built, under a World Bank funded program to improve the city, an official said.Seneviratne also said the two ‘beach parks’ will be set up in the north and south Colombo. Rohan Seneviratne additional […]
Gallow Fright
COLOMBO, March 11, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new executioner panicked after seeing the country’s main gallows for the first time and has since gone AWOL leaving the authorities hanging, the top prison official said Tuesday.“But, with this chap leaving, we are now in a quandary,” Pallegama said. “In case the government resumes hanging, we […]
One worker killed in Indian nuclear submarine accident
NEW DELHI, March 9, 2014 (AFP) – One Indian worker was killed in an accident during construction of a nuclear submarine, a defence statement said Sunday, the latest in a string of deadly mishaps to hit the navy.Two other workers were injured in the accident on Saturday at a ship building centre in the southeastern […]
Grave Affair
COLOMBO, March 8, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities halted excavations after recovering 81 skeletal remains from an unmarked mass grave atop an old burial ground in the island’s former war zone, an official said Saturday.Judicial medical officer Dhananjaya Waidyaratne said digging at a depth of about two metres (6.7 feet) led to the old […]
E-cigarette use linked to higher smoking odds
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2014 (AFP) – E-cigarette use among US youths doubled in just one year, and those who tried the unregulated devices were more likely to smoke conventional cigarettes as well, a study said Thursday. Commonly sold at convenience stores and gas stations, e-cigarettes are battery powered gadgets that deliver nicotine through a vapor […]
‘s farmland returns to the wild
CAMPANARIOS DE AZABA, March 6, 2014 (AFP) – In an oak wood spanning the border of Spain and Portugal, an ancient sight unfolds: wild horses, not saddled or shoed, but roaming free as they did centuries ago.Farming has declined in Spain, leaving the countryside deserted, conservationists say. Now the wild things are coming back: wolves, […]
Los Angeles bans e-cigarettes in public places
LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2014 (AFP) – Los Angeles lawmakers voted Tuesday to ban e-cigarette use in public places where tobacco smoking is prohibited, including work places, restaurants and bars.The LA City Council agreed by 14-0 to outlaw their use in indoor workplaces, outdoor dining areas, parks, recreational areas, beaches, bars and nightclubs where lighting […]
Sri Lanka killer kidney disease linked to Monsanto weedicide, phosphate fertilizer: study
Mar 02, 2014 (LBO) – A herbicide developed by US-based Monsanto and contaminated fertilizer may be behind an epidemic of mystery kidney disease in Sri Lanka and South America where rice and sugarcane is grown, a research study has suggested.The paper by Channa Jayasumana (Rajarata University, Sri Lanka), Sarath Gunatilake (California State University, USA) and […]
Memorial
Feb 28, 2014 (LBO) A Thanksgiving Mass will be held Friday in memory of Mel Gunasekera, senior business journalist, at the All Saints Church, Borella.The service is due to start at 6.30 pm and the family has invited friends and well wishers to join them in celebrating the life of Mel whose death sparked grief […]
Shrieking pet parrot tips off police to India murder
AGRA, February 27, 2014 (AFP) – A pet parrot in India has been credited with helping catch the man who murdered its owner, a relative said Thursday. The owner, a 55-year-old woman, was stabbed to death and her jewellery stolen at her home in the northern city of Agra on February 20. The woman’s relatives […]