Dispute over Smart phone leads to stabbing of student
Dispute over Smart phone leads to stabbing of studentNewsA dispute over a smart cellular telephone is believed to have been the reason for the stabbing incident outside a prestigious College in Ampiiya last Friday, Police said. The police on their investigations had found that the victim had allegedly taken a Smart Cellular phone from the suspect forcibly. Both students are from a Prestigious College at Ampitiya and both are due to sit for the Ordinary level examination this year. Both students who are in the Ord: level class in school and aged 16 yeara in the same area - Hewaheta Electorate. The suspect had been taken into custody by Acting Crimes Chief Inspector Suresh Kumar Kandy Police Crimes Division.
Source:Sunday Times
June 17, 2024 17:15 UTC
An earthquake changed the course of the Ganges: Could it happen again?
Credit: Steve GoodbredA major earthquake 2,500 years ago caused one of the largest rivers on Earth to abruptly change course, according to a new study. The previously undocumented quake rerouted the main channel of the Ganges River in what is now densely populated Bangladesh, which remains vulnerable to big quakes. Like other rivers that run through major deltas, the Ganges periodically undergoes minor or major course changes without any help from earthquakes. Other co-authors of the new study are at the University of Cologne, Germany; the University of Dhaka; Bangladesh University of Professionals; Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh; and the University of Salzburg, Austria. More information: Cascading hazards of a major Bengal basin earthquake and abrupt avulsion of the Ganges River, Nature Communications (2024).
Source:The Nation
June 17, 2024 09:04 UTC
Pesticides are safe when used appropriately
Published at 11:03 pm, June 16, 2024I often hear comments expressing a hesitancy to use commercial pesticides. There is much negative publicity, driven mostly by emotion rather than scientific evidence, regarding the danger of pesticide use. The pesticides available have withstood rigorous scrutiny at many levels and have directions on the bottle for how to use them safely. Our ability to detect pesticides at very low concentrations has increased drastically. This increased ability to detect substances in very, very small amounts doesn’t mean there is increased danger.
Source:The Nation
June 17, 2024 08:53 UTC
Sapsuckers are stealing anything sweet
Red-naped sapsuckers were stealing most of the sweets before the other colorful birds got up. I have been watching a pair of sapsuckers as they have built their nest, created traps for insects and have hatched out their baby hole-drillers. | Courtesy Bill SchiessOther birds may be attracted to the “sap fields,” and the sapsuckers will defend their farms and chase other birds away. The sapsuckers will fill their bills with insects and sap from willows, aspen and evergreens. | Courtesy Bill SchiessSapsuckers are cavity nesters, and most of them like to chip out their nest in aspens because the older aspens are often hollow while still alive.
Source:The Nation
June 16, 2024 07:47 UTC
’’We’ve let the entire nation down’’: Sri Lanka star’s heartbreaking apology after T20 World Cup disaster
’’We’ve let the entire nation down’’: Sri Lanka star’s heartbreaking apology after T20 World Cup disasterSportStar Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews admitted Saturday that "we've let the entire nation down" as the former champions suffered a first round exit at the T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka, the champions in 2014, play their final Group D game on Sunday against the Netherlands after losing to Bangladesh and South Africa. "I think first of all we've let the entire nation down and we are really sorry because we've also let ourselves down," said former skipper Mathews. Sri Lanka will have just pride at stake when they meet the Dutch on Sunday where a victory will at least help them climb off the foot of the table. It's unfortunate that our Nepal game was washed out but it is what it is," he said.
Source:The Nation
June 16, 2024 06:17 UTC
The last time I saw Derek
The last time I saw Derek By Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha Twilight Reflections View(s): View(s):June is said to be the beginning of winter in Melbourne, the Australian city where I spent several decades of my life working as GP. The first week of June is when I always remember the last time I saw Derek – and the lesson he taught me. The next time I saw Derek was in hospital just two months later – where he was an in-patient after having been diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer. What happened to Derek is not uncommon among many business and professional persons who concentrate so hard on their busy working lives. “Use this time to do something you really enjoy – listening to music, reading a book, playing a game or spending quality time with your loved ones.”Remembering the last time that I saw Derek I have come to realise that life is too short – and too unpredictable – to postpone living.
Source:Sunday Times
June 16, 2024 05:26 UTC
Forgot Everything About ‘House of the Dragon’? We Can Help.
Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/HBO and Getty ImagesIt’s been nearly two years since House of the Dragon premiered on HBO. So much has happened in our everyday life that it’s hard to remember where Westeros is at—but have no fear. We’re here to help guide you through what happened in the first season of House of the Dragon heading into Season 2. But there are still a handful of other blondies roaming around The Seven Kingdoms that we need to check in with. Before you watch Sunday evening’s Season 2 premiere, here’s a short recap of where the Targaryen dynasty left off:Read more at The Daily Beast.
Source:The Nation
June 16, 2024 03:14 UTC
New approach to identifying altermagnetic materials
Source: phys.orgMagnetic materials have traditionally been classified as either ferromagnetic, like the decorative magnets on iron refrigerator doors that are seemingly always magnetic, or antiferromagnetic, like two bar magnets placed end-to-end with opposite poles facing each other, canceling each other out so that the material has no net magnetism. However, there appears to be a third class of magnetic materials exhibiting what in 2022 was dubbed altermagnetism.
Source:The Nation
June 14, 2024 20:01 UTC
Fake news sites outnumber US newspaper sites: Report
This compares to roughly 1,213 websites of actual and legitimate local newspapers, according to Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative project. Nearly 45% of these phony sites target regions and voters in swing states such as Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida. Phony sites try to influence people in key statesThe research highlights the significant concern and potential impact these phony news sites can have on one of the nation’s most sacred democratic processes. How do these sites surpass legitimate local news sites? This geographic coverage gap makes it easy for these phony sites to fill the gap with misinformation or false narratives, potentially influencing the outcome of elections.
Source:The Nation
June 14, 2024 14:04 UTC
High-precision measurements challenge our understanding of Cepheids
Source: phys.org"Classical Cepheids" are a type of pulsating star that rhythmically brighten and dim over time. These pulsations help astronomers measure vast distances across space, which makes Cepheids crucial "standard candles" that help us understand the size and scale of our universe.
Source:The Nation
June 14, 2024 13:01 UTC
Study reveals cirrus cloud traits over the South China Sea
Source: phys.orgThe radiative climate and environmental effects of cirrus clouds is an international cutting-edge field of scientific research in the atmospheric sciences. Understanding how the characteristics of cirrus clouds over the ocean evolve is critical for comprehending the dynamics of climate change. In this respect, due to their unique regional characteristics, the cirrus clouds over the South China Sea (SCS) hold particularly significant scientific and practical value.
Source:The Nation
June 13, 2024 19:46 UTC
IMF approves Sri Lanka’s second review under EFF
IMF approves Sri Lanka’s second review under EFFNewsThe Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Sri Lanka’s second review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement, allowing the authorities to draw US$336 million, the IMF said today. This brings the total IMF financial support disbursed so far to SDR 762 million (about US$1 billion) with the Executive Board concluding the 2024 Article IV Consultation with Sri Lanka. The EFF arrangement for Sri Lanka was approved by the Executive Board on March 20, 2023 in an amount of SDR 2.286 billion (395 percent of quota or about US$3 billion. May 2024 inflation was 0.9 percent and gross international reserves increased to US$5.5 billion by end-April 2024, a statement from IMF noted. Despite these positive developments, the economy is still vulnerable and the path to debt sustainability remains knife-edged,” he said.
Source:Sunday Times
June 13, 2024 15:44 UTC
Researchers discover honeybees can detect lung cancer
Source: phys.orgMichigan State University researchers have discovered that honeybees can detect biomarkers or chemical concentrations associated with lung cancer in human breath. The researchers have also shown that the honeybees can distinguish between different lung cancer cell types using only the 'smell' of the cell cultures. These findings could be used as a model for developing new tests to diagnose lung cancer early.
Source:The Nation
June 13, 2024 14:04 UTC
Opinion: How Hate Came to This Celebrity-Favorite Brooklyn Neighborhood
Eric Adams/XHate arrived in Brooklyn Heights at 4 a.m. Wednesday in the form of at least two masked figures who passed through the early morning darkness wielding canisters of red spray paint. This neighborhood of elegant brownstones and stately apartment buildings just on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge from Lower Manhattan has in years past been home to literary greats such as Wilt Whitman, W.H. Its current firmament includes a host of A-list actors, including Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Paul Giamatti. The masked figures slipped onto Hicks Street and entered the courtyard of a six-story luxury co-op where Lena Dunham of the HBO show Girls lived until 2017. The present residents include a figure from the art world who should be celebrated by all those who experienced the horror of the most monstrous hate crime in the city’s history: the attack on the World Trade Center.
Source:The Nation
June 13, 2024 10:04 UTC
New theory describes how waves carry information from surroundings
Source: phys.orgWaves pick up information from their environment through which they propagate. A theory of information carried by waves has now been developed at TU Wien—with astonishing results that can be utilized for technical applications.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2024 15:38 UTC