Big rush for Korean jobs

*Authorities run out of applications

*Over 10,000 swarm Police Park

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Outstation job aspirants should contact the nearest application distribution centre instead of coming to Colombo - SLBFE

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A tense situation prevailed outside Police Park on Highlevel Road yesterday morning, where over 10,000 youths had gathered to obtain application forms to apply for jobs in South Korea. Commotion broke out when authorities failed to provide a sufficient number of application forms which resulted in a heavy traffic jam in the area.

Police had to be deployed later and barricades erected to quell the unrest, which was eventually brought under control. Although over 10,000 youths had gathered to obtain applications, authorities could only provide 3,500 resulting in a majority of youths returning home disappointed. A large number of youths were seen camped outside Police Park overnight to obtain applications.

Youth aspiring for jobs in South Korea clamouring to obtain applications outside Police Park on Highlevel Road yesterday. Picture by Ranjith Asanka

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said that they had established 28 centres islandwide to distribute applications to Korean job aspirants. This would continue until Thursday, they said. The rush for applications was due to misinformation which resulted in a large number of outstation youths coming to Colombo despite having regional centres to cater to their requirement.

One love quote, one suicide note...

This is a short story. As the Star Wars prologue quotes, “A story probably happened in a galaxy far far away...” A dead man’s crepuscular confession maybe; or a perturbing near death experience... Who knows? What matters now is William Shakespeare quoted ages ago, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages…”

William Shakespeare was a man who lived among two eras, the baroque and the renaissance.  Yet his phraseology and his poems inherited quaint and sombre baroque aspects and those blear yet intriguing and eloquent words dispersed into some tarnished lives, lives that had already determined their lives had come to an end…

Again, this is a story. Maybe a real story… But what matters right now is what should be in ones death quote? The suicide note that helps others to figure out what really happened and construe that life is like a daffodil, you bloom with the sunrise, you wilt with the sunset. What should unveil on the suicide note? A poem, a prose… It’s hard to understand but even the expectation of death makes a human creative. Just like romance…

Ah, romance… Isn’t it beautiful? That even right before your life ends, you crave for romance? Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life… If you want to love the world, you have to learn to love yourself. It’s as simple as that. But, is it possible that the love towards yourself guides you to the top of a hill and creates an extreme desire to jump off the edge and end this life of love. Maybe you want to end your life as you love yourself too much.

This is a story. Maybe a story about to happen after another era... nevertheless the suicide note is still empty. On the other hand, what is this ardor to leave a note after death? Does it really matter after the end? Is it for justifying the fact, or is it for glorifying the act?

Managing pain effectively

Courtesy - Daily News by Padma EDIRISINGHE

Pain is as old as the saga of humans. Even the mighty king Ramesses II of the Land of the Pharaohs and Nile River is said to have suffered from arthritis.

A multitude of Sri Lankans, old and middle aged and even young suffer from all types of pain. Here is a question and answer session with Dr.Harindu Wijesinghe, who has specialized in the sphere of pain management at Concord Hospital in Sydney, Australia and is today a Consultant in Rheumatology , Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine.

Q: What is meant by pain management, Is it elimination of pain or reduction of pain or control of pain?

Pain occurs due to many causes

A: Pain management can mean either complete removal of pain or when this is not possible control of pain thus enabling the patient to live a better life.

Q: How is this achieved?

A: Pain occurs due to many causes. The first step in pain management is to reduce or manage the patient's pain. In modern pain management this is achieved by using a variety of different treatment methods which are used together. These include drugs, injections, physiotherapy, massage and other methods.

Another important thing in pain management is to find the cause of the pain. If the cause is found we can completely remove the pain and prevent it from recurring. So what we mean by pain management is controlling or removing the pain by using a number of different methods.

The Ledge…When Beliefs Kill

The movie got pitiful reviews, but surprisingly, generated quite a bit of interest in the festivals and amongst those who sat and watched the film.

By Sumaya Samarasinghe

If one actually takes a few minutes to think and see how many features surprise you, have unpredictable endings or even for a split second make you ponder over an issue which never really bothered you before, and by this, I don’t mean the invasion of planet earth by Transformers or Decepticon; this may really not happen that often.
The Ledge is far from perfect but it does pose some questions which I am guessing not many of us have bothered to think about while enjoying our morning cup of coffee. The film drags at times and Liv Tyler’s dead pan tone, does not help to keep the viewers interest going. Like in most of her roles, she floats around and looks beautiful, but here she seems a little tired and too old at the age of 34 to be a college student. Of course, she is meant to be in a completely submissive relationship with her evangelical husband and cannot display strong and rebellious emotions until Gavin appears in her life.
The male cast is fabulous, each of them portraying their complex roles extremely convincingly with one regret though, that Terrence Howard’s story isn’t given more depth and prominence. Howard is his usual wonderful self and gives a poorly written role a level of intensity, which makes him steal the show.Though The Ledge really begins with him; the interesting issue he is having regarding the paternity of his children is brushed under the carpet and many questions remain unanswered.
The beginning of the film is gripping. Officer Hollis, played by Terrence Howard is having the worst possible day. During a routine medical check up, he finds out that he is sterile and has always been, and, therefore his two children are not his biological ones. But he is unable to deal with the situation because when he is on the verge of confronting his wife, he is called to play mediator with a jumper who, you have guessed, is perched on the ledge of a building and is contemplating suicide. Hollis is quick to figure out that Gavin (British actor Charlie Hunnman) is not standing on that ledge by his own free will and by means of flashbacks, he will tell his story to the officer before the clock strikes noon. After that, he says he will jump and it is up to Hollis to convince him not to do so.

Hambantota to be Lanka’s best planned city

Courtesy - Sunday Observer By Shirajiv Sirimane

The venue for the Commonwealth Games, Suriyaweva Stadium

The book ship Logos Hope at Ruhunu Magampura Harbour.

The oil tank farm at the Ruhunu Magampura Harbour

The solar park

Just two or three decades ago, the only tarred road leading to Kataragama was confined to single file traffic. By next year Hambantota would have four flyovers. The four-lane carpeted road around the harbour would be expanded to six lanes, envisaging the future economic activity in the city.
The southern town of Hambantota, currently witnessing a spate of development activities, is set to witness the construction of Sri Lanka’s biggest investment zones at its port site - its size being almost equal to all investment zones in the country put together.
Undoubtedly, the first major development project that put Hambantota in the global investment map was the Ruhunu Magampura harbour. Subsequent to the construction of the harbour, over 100 hectares were allocated for an investment zone. Tenders were called for and over 70 investors responded of which 14 were finally shortlisted. The total amount pledged was one billion US dollars.
Chairman Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Dr. Priyath Wickrama said investment proposals for the second stage would be called in October. They are looking to secure investments to the country to the value of five billion US dollars by 2015, including for projects in the Colombo and Trincomalee harbours. “This would enable them to pay back the loan with ease,” Dr. Wickrama said adding that modifications were done to the entry point of the port while further dredging was carried out to enable even larger ships to enter the harbour.
Commenting on the negative propaganda, he said the private sector is very cautious when making investments and if there were rocks or ships were unable to sail to the Ruhunu Magampura Port, they would not have invested one billion US dollars on the project. “The private sector would not take risks,” he said.

No red tape

He promised that the red tape would be minimal at the Ruhunu Magampura Port and even a truck driver would be able to collect the cargo unlike at the Colombo Port where a person has to visit 13 different places before getting the cargo released.
The tank farm project and administrative building at the Hambantota Port would be some of the key features of this development project.