Free laptops for Uruguay school kids

Montevideo - Education authorities confirmed that all primary schoolchildren will receive a free laptop as part of the Ceibal plan (Basic Informatics Education Connection for Learning on line).

According to Miguel Brechner, president of the Uruguayan Technology Laboratory (LATU) the distribution began on May 11 in the schools of the neighboring province of Canelones and in June they will distribute in Montevideo, the last province to join the program.When the process concludes all primary schoolchildren in the country and most teachers will have this powerful tool for learning as part of the first such initiative in the world.Brechner indicated that Ceibal will have its own television signal to promote a better interaction between students and teachers. Also a thousand more servers will be installed that are now added to the 1,100 already functioning with wireless internal and external Internet.The Uruguayan government intends to extend the Ceibal Plan to secondary and pre-university schools.

This experience has called the attention of several nations and governments including Paraguay whose vice president, Federico Franco, met with Uruguayan specialists to begin applying this plan soon in his country.Also requesting Uruguayan consultation are the governments of Colombia and Mexico and the Argentine provinces Entre Ros, Tierra del Fuego and Buenos Aires, while several European universities are studying the advances of the program from an educational and social point of view.

With the Ceibal Plan, Uruguay intends to promote digital inclusion to reduce the breach in comparison to other nations and among its own citizens to open a greater and better access to education and culture.

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Special events which took place in history, from May 17 - May 23

MAY 17

* World Telecommunication Day.

MAY 18

* International Museum Day.

MAY 20

* The sacred Tooth Relic handed over by the British to the Diyawadane Nilame and high priests of the Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters in 1853.

MAY 22

* Gunasinhapura housing scheme and the commercial complex in Pettah was declared open in 1985.

MAY 23

* `Thinakaran' (Sunday edition) newspaper commenced publication in 1948.

MAY 24

* Victoria Bridge in Colombo was declared open in 1895.

Commonwealth Day.

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Birth and death anniversaries from May 17 - May 23

May 17

* Ehelepola Kumarihami and her children killed on the orders of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe in 1814.

May 18

* Birth of Omar Khayyam, Persian poet and astronomer in 1048.

May 19

* Birth of Marie Musaeus Higgins, Founder, Musaeus College in 1855.

May 20

* Birth of Henrik Ibson, Norwegian playwright in 1828.

May 22

* Death of Piyadasa Sirisena, Sinhala writer and pioneer of the Freedom Movement in 1946.

May 23

* Death of Henrik Ibson, Norwegian Playwright in 1906.

May 24

* Death of Nicolaus Kopernicus, Polish astronomer in 1543.

* Birth of Bob Dylan, American poet and singer in 1941.

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An Irishman, an Englishman...

Compiled by Asha SENEVIRATHNE

Once there was an Irishman, an Englishman and an Australian who decided to have a competition.While on top of the hill each man had to chuck his watch in the air, then run down the hill and catch it before it hit the ground.

So the Irishman chucked his watch in the air, ran down the hill and SPLAT the watch hit the ground. Then the Englishman chucked his watch in the air, ran down the hill and SPLAT the watch hit the ground.

Next was the Australian who chucked his watch in the air, ran down the hill, went and had a beer, did the shopping, came back and caught his watch.

"How did you do that?" asked the Irishman. The Australian replied "My watch is one hour slow !!!!!"

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More questions for enquiring minds

Q: Why did the King go to the dentist?

A: To get his teeth crowned.

Q: What do you call a three legged donkey?

A: A wonkey.

Q: What happened to the dog that

swallowed a firefly?

A: It barked with de-light!

Q: Why do birds fly south in the winter?

A: Because it's too far to walk.

Q: Why are fish so smart?

A: Because they live in schools.

Q: What is black and white, black and white,

black and white?

A: A zebra caught in a revolving door.

Q: What do dogs eat at the cinema?

A: Pup-corn!

Q: What's a snakes favourite subject in class?

A: Hissssstory.

Q: Why do monkeys have big noses?

A: Because they've got big fingers.

Q: What do you call a sleeping bull?

A: a bulldozer!

Protecting children in cyberspace

World Information Society Day was proclaimed to be on May 17 by a United Nations General Assembly resolution, following the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis. The day had previously been known as World Telecommunications Day to commemorate the funding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in May 17, 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.The main objective of the day is to raise global awareness of societal changes brought about by new technologies. It also aims to help reduce the digital divide. The ITU-adopted theme for this year to mark World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is 'Protecting children in cyberspace'. ITU's Child Online Protection (COP) initiative is in line with its mandate to establish the foundations for a safe and secure cyberworld for future generations. The need for COP is clear. A decade ago, there were just 182 million people using the Internet globally - and almost all of them lived in the developed world. By early 2009, however, there were over 1.5 billion Internet users worldwide, and more than 400 million of them had access to broadband. With over 600 million users in Asia, 130 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 50 million in Africa, the Internet is a growing common resource - vastly increasing the dangers online, especially for children.According to recent surveys, over 60 percent of children and teenagers talk in chat rooms on a daily basis. Three in four children online are willing to share personal information about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services. And one in five children will be targeted by a predator or paedophile each year. The COP initiative - an integral part of ITU's Global Cybersecurity Agenda - was presented at the High Level Segment of ITU Council 2008, where it was endorsed by Heads of State, Ministers and heads of international organizations from around the world.

The theme of this year's WTISD aims at ensuring that children can safely access the Internet and its valuable resources without fear of falling prey to unscrupulous predators in cyberspace.

Drought affect Hydropower reservoirs

Many old buildings including places of worship in the old Maskeliya town emerged arousing nostalgic memories when the water level in the Hydropower reservoirs dwindled due to the prevailing drought in the upcountry.Moussakele, Castlereigh, and Maskeliya hydropower reservoirs are the worst affected.

A senior officials of the Laxapana hydro power plant said the water level in the drought stricken Moussakele reservoir was 50ft below the spill level last week.

As the water level dwindled the buildings in the Maskeliya old town emerged providing a magnificent sight.

Dealing with climate variability in a river basin presents many challenges in managing a water resources system. Occurrence of severe and persistent droughts deplete reservoirs storage to critical levels, which may lead to future water supply disaster.

Droughts differ from typical emergency events such as floods or forest fires, in that they occur slowly over a multiyear period. Drought impacts increase with the length of a drought, as carry-over supplies in reservoirs are depleted and water levels in groundwater basins decline.

The onset and ultimate impact of drought is highly region-specific and depends mainly on the socio-economic status of the people living in the affected area. Due importance should be given to local plans for the use of water resources.

Wherever feasible, artificial recharging of water sources and rain-water harvesting should be taken up so as to reduce the dependence on distant sources of water supply.

Halted fish breeding project in NWP

The fisherfolk of the North Western Province recently expressed dismay over the mismanagement of the fish breeding project which was intended to uplift the living standards of the small scale fishermen. They pointed out that it was an ill-advised project that wasted Rs. 6 million of public funds. The Provincial Ministry of Fisheries had planned to implement fish breeding projects in all tanks, reservoirs and the lagoons in the Province. This was a welcome move for the small scale fishermen in Mundalama, and Chilaw lagoon areas. A group of fishermen received nets and PVC pipes to inaugurate the project.

According to concerned authorities the project was implemented in stages to bring relief to the poverty stricken fishermen and each family could have earned a minimum monthly income of Rs.15,000 from the fish breeding grounds.

They say the project was halted due to the scarcity of fish for breeding. However, the fisherfolk who accused the authorities of not supplying fish for the breeding grounds said that many of them were compelled to abandon the project.
 

Sinhala/Tamil New Year celebration in Myanmar

The Sri Lanka Association in association with the Embassy of the Sri Lanka in Myanmar held its annual New Year celebration in May at the Embassy Compound in Yangon. Around 100 Sri Lankan expatriates attended with their families and participated in number of traditional games, which provided them once a year get together with enormous enjoyment.

The celebration commenced at 8.30 a.m. with the hoisting of the National Flag, singing the National Anthem by all participants followed by observing one minutes silence to pay tribute to heroes who sacrificed their lives for the unity of the country.

After the welcome speech made by Harsha Pilapitiya, President of the Sri Lanka Association, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka Newton Gunaratna to Myanmar addressed the gathering.

Making this occasion an opportunity to highlight the successes and achievements gained by the heroic Armed Forces during the last few weeks, Ambassador Gunaratna appealed to all those present to make whatever contributions to the Fund created by Sri Lanka Government to assist the displaced civilians. With the initial contribution made by the Ambassador and other staff members invitees made their contributions. All assistance was provided by the Embassy to the Sri Lanka Association.

One of the remaining authentic folk celebrations in the world, the Avuruddha stands as a monument to a people whose lives, to a large extent, still revolve around the grace of mother nature and her most domineering subject, the sun. Astronomically, it is celebrated on the day on which the sun passes from Meena Rashiya (Pisces) to Mesha Rashiya (Aries), when Sinhalese and Tamils bid farewell to the year passed and usher in a brand new one with prayers, meritorious deeds, traditional observations and seemingly unending celebrations.