Friday, February 11, 2011

Dictator Hosni Mubarak Resigns ! - END of 30 year autocratic rule


Cries of "Egypt is free" rang out and fireworks lit up the sky as hundreds of thousands danced, wept and prayed in joyful pandemonium Friday after 18 days of peaceful pro-democracy protests forced (Dictator) President Hosni Mubarak to surrender power to the military, ending three decades of authoritarian rule. 

Ecstatic protesters in Cairo's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square hoisted soldiers onto their shoulders and families posed for pictures in front of tanks in streets flooded with people streaming out to celebrate. Strangers hugged each other, some fell to kiss the ground, and others stood stunned in disbelief.


Prime Minister D M Jayarathne likely to be expelled & another Rajapakse as PM !


According a senior minister of the Government, President MR is under pressure by the
Rajapaksas family to appoint a family member as the Prime Minister by expelling D M Jayarathne (Already a leader of one of the other two main parties supporting Government had taken up the task to tarnish & end Hon. Prime Minister's Political Career).

MR is scheduled to visit the US once again on a private trip in a few weeks and the Rajapaksa family is looking at making a change in the Prime Ministerial post before the President’s overseas tour for another treatment..

G Rajapakse (who was involved in defeating terrorism) has not still given a positive response to the President’s proposal to appoint Gotabhaya to parliament through the National List and
to appoint him as the Prime Minister.

The senior minister also said that, if Gotabhaya was not interested in entering politics. First Lady (S Rajapaksa) had asked the President not to appoint Chamal or Basil Rajapaksa to the post of Prime Minister but appoint Namal Rajapaksa to the Cabinet and then as Prime Minister.

The senior minister also mentioned that if NR or GR  is appointed as PM, it's likely that the country will lead to another Egypt or Tunisia....


Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved


Computer studies of ocean floors around the world, particularly the area known as The Bermuda Triangle, reveal evidence of massive methane explosions in the past. For years, believers in the paranormal, aliens, and other outlandish theories pointed to the the disappearance of ships and aircraft as an indicator of mysterious forces at work in the “Devil’s triangle.” Scientists have finally pointed the rest of us to a more plausible cause.

The presence of methane hydrates indicates enormous eruptions of methane bubbles that would swamp a ship, and projected high into the air- take out flying airplanes, as well.

Any ships caught within the methane mega-bubble immediately lose all buoyancy and sink to the bottom of the ocean. If the bubbles are big enough and possess a high enough density they can also knock aircraft out of the sky with little or no warning. Aircraft falling victim to these methane bubbles will lose their engines-perhaps igniting the methane surrounding them-and immediately lose their lift as well, ending their flights by diving into the ocean and swiftly plummeting.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Photos of the Huge Protest by main Opposition in Sri Lanka

Source; www.lankaenews.com

Somali Pirates capture a Greek-flagged supertanker carrying $150 million worth of oil


Somali pirates captured a Greek-flagged supertanker carrying an estimated $150 million worth of oil to the Gulf of Mexico. This was the 2nd successful attack against an oil tanker by somali pirates in two days.

They know that these vessels can make them ask for a higher ransoms due to the value of the crude on board. Vessel Owners of the oil may want to resolve hostage situations quickly, particularly if oil prices are dropping, a situation that can cost owners millions of dollars more than the pirate ransom will.


Ransom prices are on the rise up to now and will be in future too. One last year reached $9.5 million and the increasing prizes have provided even more incentive for pirates to launch attacks despite stepped-up patrols by an international flotilla of warships.

Pirates hold 29 ships and roughly 660 hostages so far.


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

News Paper Editor attacked at Kathankudy: Journalist under murder threats from UPFA Goverment MP !


Rahumathulla , the chief Editor of ‘Vaara urikal’ Kathankudi weekly newspaper  was attacked brutally by an unidentified group with rods after throwing chillie powder on his face. Because this weekly paper was exposing corruption , frauds and irregularities in Muslim mosques in Katankudy and those districts , the office where the newspaper was produced was on an earlier occasion set on fire .

It is reported that a politician of the area is behind the assault on him. Rahumathullah who sustained injuries due to this attack is taking treatment in the Batticaloa Hospital where he is admitted.

Thugs who attacked "Nidahase Wilapaya" Protest Revealed by Dayasiri !


According to Oppostion MP Dayasiri Jayasekara,  the thugs who attacked the protest were of Goverment Minister Mervyn Silva (well known person in getting involved in such cases), MP Duminda Silva and MP Thilanga Sumathipala (well known casino owner).

Dayasiri Jayasekara revealed all their names yesterday in parliment. Also Dayasiri said that MP Duminda Silva had told one of the oppostion UNP MP that they had sent only the "umpires"  still we did not send the "batsmens".

"Nidahase Wilapaya" was a peaceful protest organised by opposition demanding the release of Sarath Fonseka, who has been imprisoned despite providing leadership to the brave war heroes who freed Sri Lanka from the scourge of terrorism.

Source;  Sirasa News

Monday, February 7, 2011

UPFA FILES 20 PETITIONS !


The UPFA today filed 20 petitions at the Court of Appeals against the rejection of nomination papers presented for the Local Government election which will be in May 17th. petitions was submitted by UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha. Several Officials including the Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake have been named as respondents.

The petitions have been filed for Local Government institutions such as Kilinochchi, Valikamam, Jaffna, Point Pedro, Karainagar, Delft Island, Chavakachcheri Municipal Councils and Velanai Pradeshiya Sabha.The petitions state that the respective District Secretaries had rejected the nomination papers stating errors in the Tamil translations presented with the nominations. According to the translation, "Front" in tamil was used instead of stating as "allience". (UPFA is a Allience not a Front according to the way it's written)


The decision taken to reject these nomination papers is unlawful the General Secretary Susil Premajayantha points out and therefore requests the Appeal Court to order the Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayaka to re-accept the nominations.

TWO LANKANS KILLED IN FIRE AT UK FLATS !


Two died and one woman was taken to hospital after a fire broke out in a block of flats today.
Some 50 firefighters battled the flames after the blaze took hold at a building in Deptford, south east London,

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "Our staff treated a total of six patients on scene. Three patients were assessed but did not need hospital treatment and one patient, a woman, was taken to Lewisham Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

"Sadly two patients were confirmed dead at the scene despite extensive efforts to resuscitate them."
Emergency services were called to Marine Tower in Abinger Grove at about 2.45pm to tackle the blaze on the 15th floor.Ten fire engines, seven ambulance crews and the air ambulance were among them.

Police, who also attended the scene, said road closures were in place as crews dealt with the incident.
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "Part of the 15th floor of the block is alight.

"Six people were rescued from the building. Two were pronounced dead at the scene by London Ambulance Service. Four other people were treated at the scene, one of whom was taken to hospital. "The cause of the fire is not known at this stage."

The two victims who died are Sri Lankan nationals Kunaliny Alagaratnam (42) of Marine Tower, and Santhirapathy Tharmalingam (59) who was visiting the UK from her native country, were both formally identified today. Post-mortem examinations at Greenwich Mortuary on Saturday confirmed that both women died as a result of the fire on Friday afternoon at Marine Tower in Abinger Grove, Deptford.


Sandra Clarke, 49, of Marine Tower, was charged on February 6 with manslaughter, arson with intent to endanger life and arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

She appeared today via virtual link at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court, and was remanded to appear at Woolwich Crown Court on February 14, UK media reports.

Source; http://www.independent.co.uk

Freed Google executive helped spark Egypt revolt


AP – In this undated photo provided by Google Inc., 
Wael Ghonim, a Google Inc. marketing manager, is shown. …
The young Google Inc. executive detained by Egyptian authorities for 12 days said Monday he was behind the Facebook page that helped spark what he called "the revolution of the youth of the Internet." A U.S.-based human rights group said nearly 300 people have died in two weeks of clashes.
Wael Ghonim, a marketing manager for the Internet company, wept throughout an emotional television interview just hours after he was freed. He described how he spent his entire time in detention blindfolded while his worried parents didn't know where he was. He insisted he had not been tortured and said his interrogators treated him with respect.
"This is the revolution of the youth of the Internet and now the revolution of all Egyptians," he said, adding that he was taken aback when the security forces holding him branded him a traitor.
"Anyone with good intentions is the traitor because being evil is the norm," he said. "If I was a traitor, I would have stayed in my villa in the Emirates and made good money and said like others, 'Let this country go to hell.' But we are not traitors," added Ghonim, an Egyptian who oversees Google's marketing in the Middle East and Africa from Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates.

The protesters have already brought the most sweeping changes since President Hosni Mubarak took power 30 years ago, but they are keeping up the pressure in hopes of achieving their ultimate goal of ousting Mubarak.
Ghonim has become a hero of the demonstrators since he went missing on Jan. 27, two days after the protests began. He confirmed reports by protesters that he was the administrator of the Facebook page "We are all Khaled Said" that was one of the main tools for organizing the demonstration that started the movement on Jan. 25.
Khaled Said was a 28-year-old businessman who died in June at the hands of undercover police, setting off months of protests against the hated police. The police have also been blamed for enflaming violence by trying to suppress these anti-government demonstrations by force.
Ghonim's whereabouts were not known until Sunday, when a prominent Egyptian businessman confirmed he was under arrest and would soon be released.
Time and again during the two weeks of demonstrations, protesters have pointed proudly to the fact that they have no single leader, as if to say that it is everyone's uprising. Still, there seems at times to be a longing among the crowds at Cairo's Tahrir Square, the main demonstration site, for someone to rally around.
The unmasking of Ghonim as the previously unknown administrator of the Facebook page that started the protests could give the crowds someone to look to for inspiration to press on.
Whether Ghonim forcefully takes up that mantle remains to be seen, but he said repeatedly in Monday night's interview that he did not feel he was a hero.
"I didn't want anyone to know that I am the administrator," he said. "There are no heroes; we are all heroes on the street. And no one is on their horse and fighting with the sword."
The show commemorated some of those killed in the protests and showed their pictures during the interview, sending Ghonim into sobs just before he got up and walked out of the studio.
"I want to tell every mother and father: I am sorry. I swear it is not our fault. It is the fault of everyone who held on tight to authority and didn't want to let go," he said before cutting short the interview.
Ghonim looked exhausted and said he had been unable to sleep for 48 hours, but not because he was being mistreated.
He said he was snatched off the streets two days after the protests first erupted on Jan. 25. After he left a friend's house, four men surrounded him, pushed him to the ground and took him blindfolded to state security. He said he spent much of the following days blindfolded, with no news of the events on the street, being questioned.
In contrast, he said, in his release he was treated with respect. Just before he was freed, he said, he was brought before Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy — installed only days earlier in a government reshuffle — in his office. The minister "talked to me like an adult, not like someone of strength talking to someone weak" and then the new head of the National Democratic Party escorted him home.
"This is because of what the youth did in the street," he said in the interview on private station Dream 2 TV.
He said his interrogators were convinced that foreigners were backing the movement, but Ghonim asserted it was just young Egyptians "who love this country." He also sought to debunk the government's accusations that the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Mubarak's most bitter rival, was involved in planning the protests.
He referred to his arrest as a "kidnapping" and a "crime" but also sounded conciliatory, saying "this is not a time for settling accounts or cutting up the pie; this is Egypt's time."
He did forcefully place blame for the country's ills on Mubarak's National Democratic Party and said the good among them should abandon it and start something new to earn the people's respect.
"I don't want to see the logo of the NDP anywhere in the country," he said. "This party is what destroyed this country. The cadre in this party are filthy."
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch told The Associated Press on Monday that two weeks of clashes have claimed at least 297 lives, by far the highest and most detailed toll released so far. It was based on visits to seven hospitals in three cities and the group said it was likely to rise.
While there was no exact breakdown of how many of the dead were police or protesters, "clearly, a significant number of these deaths are a result of the use of excessive and unlawful use of force by the police," said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch.
Egypt's Health Ministry has not given a comprehensive death toll, though a ministry official said he is trying to compile one.
Protesters have clashed with police who fired live rounds, tear gas and rubber bullets. They also fought pitched street battles for two days with gangs of pro-Mubarak supporters who attacked their main demonstration site in Cairo's central Tahrir Square.
The violence has spread to other parts of Egypt and the toll includes at least 65 deaths outside the capital, Cairo.
Heba Morayef, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said that she and other researchers visited five hospitals in Cairo, a field hospital in Tahrir Square and one hospital each in the cities of Alexandria and Suez.
The count is based on interviews with hospital doctors, visits to emergency rooms and morgue inspections, she said.
Morayef said a majority of victims were killed by live fire but that some of the deaths were caused by tear gascanisters and rubber bullets fired at close range.
"We personally witnessed riot police firing tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at the heads of protesters at close range, and that is a potentially lethal use of such riot-control agents," said Bouckaert.
In most cases, doctors declined to release names of the dead, Morayef said.
The group counted 232 deaths in Cairo, including 217 who were killed through Jan. 30 and an additional 15 who were killed in clashes between government supporters and opponents in Tahrir Square last Wednesday and Thursday.
In addition, 52 dead were reported in Alexandria and 13 in Suez, Morayef said.




Source ; By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI and KARIN LAUB (yahoo news) 





France Doctors announced the country's first birth of a saviour sibling

Doctors in France on Monday announced the country's first birth of a "saviour sibling" selected at the embryonic stage to be a close genetic match to save a brother or sister suffering from a fatal inherited disorder.

The baby was born at the Antoine Beclere Hospital in Clamart, in the suburbs of Paris, said doctors Rene Frydman and Arnold Munnich. The child, born to parents of Turkish origin and named Umut-Talha (Turkish for "our hope"), was conceived through in-vitro fertilisation and was born on January 26 with a weight of 3.65 kilos (8.03 pounds), they said.


"He is in good health," Frydman told AFP. The child's embryo was genetically selected to ensure he did not carry the gene for beta thalassemia, from which his siblings suffer, but was also a close enough match to provide treatment cells from umbilical cord blood, a rich source of stem cells.

Beta thalassemia produces an abnormal form of haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells which carries oxygen around the body. It causes destruction of red blood cells, which in turn leads to anaemia.
The world's first "saviour sibling" was Adam Nash, born in the United States in 2000.
The issue has been hedged with moral concerns about so-called designer babies and the morality of conceiving life to help a child with a genetic disorder.  Source; AFP

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Police in uniform have threatened JVP Pedirithuduwa Municipal council candidate : They have intimidated her not to contest and withdraw the candidature

In a notice signed and issued by Dr. Uditha Gunasekera , the chief Executive of the elections monitoring intellectual chain concerning human rights, (N E M I H R) had stated, a group of police officers in uniforms of the Pedirithuduwa police had gone to the residence of Thavarasa Pushparani the Pedirithuduwa Municipal council JVP candidate and threatened her to resign from the candidature.

The NEMIHR says, the police which should be acting without favor or prejudice in regard to the elections and which is its responsibility, is instead engaging in acts of frightening and intimidating candidates of political parties and stooping to be the political lackeys and cronies of politicians. While flagrantly violating the election laws ,these police officers by conducting themselves this way are abusing the police powers and are directly acting in breach of their disciplinary code, the NEMIHR pinpointed. The police have no rights under the law or code of conduct to threaten any candidate .Every citizen has a right to contest. As these violations are being committed from the very outset , they are a serious threat to the conduct of a free and fair elections in the North, according to the NEMIHR.

The NEMIHR has therefore urged the Elections commissioner and the IGP to intervene immediately with a view to stopping further escalation in this direction.. Source ; www.lankaenews.com

Voges helps Australia take series 6-1

Australia rounded off their international summer in style with a commanding 57-run victory in Perth. It wasn't a high-quality match, with the exception of the batting from Adam Voges and David Hussey, as a long season drew to a close with two patched-up sides on show. However, Australia's depth came to the fore again as Voges hit a career-best 80 before England's mentally-finished top order was blown away to end hopes of a face-saving win.

Sri Lanka take series with 26-run win


Sri Lanka completed what was in the end a comfortable victory over West Indies at the SSC in Colombo to take the series 2-0. West Indies lost both their openers for ducks within first 2 overs in chase of Sri Lanka's 277, but Darren Bravo and R Sarwan kept them in the game for a while with a 125-run partnership.

Sarwan fell after reaching his second half-century of the series, and it sparked a collapse. Shivnarine Chanderpaul added only 3 before edging Ajantha Mendis to Mahela at slip (It was one of the best catches at slips !), and then Thisara Perera struck two blows, including the crucial one of Darren Bravo, who was out for 79 (LBW).

West Indies were given some hope by their wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, who scored a quick 49, but the asking rate was always on the rise, and they ended up being bowled out in 49 overs.

West Indies were left to chase 278 for victory and to square the three-match series one-all against Sri Lanka on a slow and turning SSC pitch. Sri Lanka were asked to bat first on the same pitch where the first two matches were played, and SL top order batsmen got into good starts without going on to make a big score.

Kumar Sangakkara's 75 off 105 balls was the top score, while Mahela Jayawardene contributed 44. The pair added 95 for the third wicket off 114 balls, after openers Tharanga and Dilshan had given a quick start by posting 54 off 50 balls.

Sri Lanka failed to make much headway in the batting Powerplay which they took at 177 for 2 in the 37th over, when they lost the two in-form batsmen - Jayawardene for 44, and Sangakkara.

The departure of the top four batsmen at 205 caused the Sri Lanka run-rate to slump. The middle-order failed to capitalize on the platform laid by the early batsmen as Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 39 runs. Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera (a failure always !) and Thisara Perera all went cheaply as Benn worked himself towards his best ODI bowling figures, finishing with four wickets for 38.

The innings was given a late momentum by Angelo Mathews who slammed a quick 36 off 22 balls to help Sri Lanka cross the 275-run mark - a total which their bowlers should be able to defend on the slow pitch despite the absence of Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan who were both rested. It's nice to see the qukie Dilhara bowled well without giving any no ball.