Pen pal Corner

Name: G.W. Lasanthika Samanmali Kumari

Gender: Female

School: B/Sri Devananda Central College

Hobbies: Reading books, dancing, watching TV

Age group: 12 - 14

Pen pals preferred from: Any country

Address: `Singithi Sewana', Maragolla, Mirahawatta, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: Chandimal Priyadarsana

Gender: Male

School: B/Sri Devananda Madya Maha Vidyalaya

Hobbies: Listening to the radio

Age group: 12 - 18

Pen pals preferred from: Any country

Address: C/o W. Asantha

Chandan Kumar,

Mahavangiyapathana,

Amunumulla, Welimada,

Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: Shasheen Arunodha

Gender: Male

School: B/Sri Devananda Madya Maha Vidyalaya

Hobbies: Playing cricket

Age group: 10 - 11

Pen pals preferred from: Any country

Address: `Sriyani', Dambawinna, Welimada, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: Asela Gayan Lakmal Dissanayaka

Gender: Male

School: B/Sri Devananda Madya Maha Vidyalaya

Hobbies: Collecting stamps, reading books

Age group: 9-12

Pen pals preferred from: Any country

Address: `Asela', Mahawangiyapathana, Amunumulla, Welimada, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: Bhagya Lakmali Dissanayaka

Gender: Female

School: B/Sri Devananda Madya Maha Vidyalaya

Hobbies: Playing, reading books, watching TV

Age group: 12-18

Pen pals preferred from: Any country

Address: `Asela', Mahavangiyapathana, Amunumulla, Welimada, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: J.M.S. Anjana

Gender: Female

Hobbies: Reading story books, listening to music, collecting stickers, playing computer games; favourite sports - basketball, cycling, badminton

Age group: 14-16

Pen pals preferred from: America, Australia, England, Singapore

Address: No. 440/1 A, Mangala Mawatha, Godigamuwa, Maharagama, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: S.A. Sahjaya

Gender: Male

School: B/Sri Devananda Madya Maha Vidyalaya

Hobbies: Playing cricket, reading books

Age group: 12-14

Pen pals preferred from: Any country

Address: Gurukadura, Mirahawatta, Bandarawela, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: G.W.G. Nisansala Dilrukshi

Gender: Female

Hobbies: Reading, music, shopping, writing

Age group: 16-18

Pen pals preferred from: India, Nepal, New Zealand, Japan

Address: No. 134/A, Kooragala, Hondiyadeniya, Weligalla, Gampola, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: S.G. Nadeesha Sandamali

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Hobbies: Playing chess, watching TV, reading books

Age group: 15-20

Pen pals preferred from: Sri Lanka, China, India, Australia, England

Address: Rippon Girls' College, Rippon Hostel, Richmond Hill, Galle, Sri Lanka

* * *

Name: Nimasha Luckchani Seneviratne

Gender: Female

Age: 16

School: St. Joseph's Balika Maha Vidyalaya

Hobbies: Reading story books, playing the piano and clarinet, dancing, collecting stamps

Age group: 15-19

Pen pals preferred from: Germany, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand

Address: No. 509/6, Amarasekara Place, Ranwala, Kegalle, Sri Lanka.

Find pen pals from Malta

Would you like to correspond with a pen friend from Malta? If so, you now have the opportunity to find a pen pal through the International Correspondence Club (ICC) which is based in Malta.

According to Director of the Club, Albert V.Rutter, "By writing a letter, one can enrich one's life by making new friends, give a true picture of one's country to others, practise a language and help create the climate of better understanding so necessary for world peace."

The aim of the ICC is to develop and maintain, through the medium of correspondence, friendly relations and better understanding between the people of Malta and the people of other countries; to help in the knowledge of foreign languages and culture and to organise correspondence exchanges for students, schoolchildren and all those who are interested in correspondence.

It is an international project set up with the aim of fostering friendship with no barriers for membership.

It is a voluntary, non-profit making organisation recognised by UNESCO and the European Union. Besides group exchanges, the Club also handle individual requests from all over the world.

Those who are interested in finding pen pals from Malta can write to:

Albert V. Rutter, Director, International Correspondence Club, 11, Censu Borg Street, Hamrun HMR 1163, Malta.

Scientists find new marine animals

Scientists said they had uncovered new marine animals in their search of previously unexplored Australian waters, along with a bizarre carnivorous sea squirt and ocean-dwelling spiders.

A joint US-Australian team spent a month in deep waters off the coast of the southern island of Tasmania to "search for life deeper than any previous voyage in Australian waters," lead researcher Ron Thresher said.

What they found were not only species new to science - including previously undescribed soft corals - but fresh indications of global warming's threat to the country's unique marine life.

"Our sampling documented the deepest known Australian fauna, including a bizarre carnivorous sea squirt, sea spiders and giant sponges, and previously unknown marine communities dominated by gooseneck barnacles and millions of round, purple-spotted sea anemones," Thresher said.

Using a submersible (underwater) car-sized robot named Jason, the team explored a rift in the earth's crust known as the Tasman Fracture Zone, a sheer two kilometre (1.24 mile) drop to 4,000 metres (13,200 feet) below the ocean's surface.

Blogging (writing personal accounts on the web) on board the ship, researcher Adam Subhas said the team witnessed some "cool biology" as they descended the fracture, including the sea squirt, which he described as "basically an underwater Venus fly trap, but much bigger."

The sea squirt, also known as an ascidian, stands 50 centimetres tall on the sea floor at a depth of just over 4,000 metres. It traps prey in its funnel-like front section if they touch it when they swim past.

"The geology was fascinating too - the sediment was incredibly fine and lightly packed; it made me think of powder snow," Subhas wrote.

Fossil coral fields were found, dating back more than 10,000 years.

Thresher said samples taken would provide ancient climate data for use in global warming projections.

"Modern-day deep-water coral reefs were also found, however, there is strong evidence that this reef system is dying, with most reef-forming coral deeper than 1,300 metres newly dead," he said.

Though close analysis of samples was still required, Thresher said modelling suggested ocean acidification could be responsible.

-AFP