opp asks Rajapaksa to back new Constitution
Colombo: Sri lanka’s main opposition Tamil leader R Sampanthan on Tuesday appealed to Mahinda Rajapaksa to back the new Constitution-making process, saying the former president’s support is important. “I wish to make a special appeal to him to place the country’s interests before anything else,” he said.
Iraqi PM vows to expel ISis after deadly attack
Baghdad: Iraq’s Prime Minister has vowed to continue the fight against Islamic State militants, a day after the group launched a suicide attack on a shopping mall in the capital, killing 18 people. Touring the bombed mall in eastern New Baghdad today, Haider al-Abadi described the attack as a “desperate attempt” by militants after they lost control of the key western city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. He says that Iraq’s government will “spare no efforts” in expelling IS forces from the country.
‘Domestication may have damaged DNA of dogs’
los Angeles: The domestication of dogs from grey wolves more than 15,000 years ago may have inadvertently caused harmful genetic changes in the canines, according to a new study. Domesticating dogs involved artificial selection and inbreeding, but the effects of these processes on dog genomes have been little-studied. Researchers at the University of California, los Angeles (UClA) analysed the complete genome sequences of 19 wolves; 25 wild dogs 10 different countries; and 46 domesticated dogs from 34 different breeds.
2 Iraqi journalists shot, intel officer wounded
Baghdad: Gunmen shot dead two Iraqi journalists on Tuesday in Diyala, a province where Baghdad declared victory a year ago but which is still plagued by chronic violence. Iraq is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, especially those from the country, who are far more exposed to attacks than their foreign counterparts.
sarna new indian High Commissioner to UK
london: India’s new high commissioner to the UK, Navtej Sarna, has taken charge of his new post at India House in london. Sarna, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1980 batch, is the 25th Indian high commissioner to the UK and will submit his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II Buckingham Palace as per diplomatic protocol in due course.
‘ISIS terror mastermind entered UK by ferry’
london: The ISIS mastermind of the Paris terror attacks in November last year that killed 130 people had entered the UK by ferry just months before, according to a media report.