The secret wine cellar keeping Charing Cross station from SINKING
Sitting atop a hill in the City of Westminster, Charing Cross station serves more than 30million passengers every year. A new TV documentary reveals the network of barrel vaults beneath Charing Cross station which prevent it from slipping into the River Thames. They then demolished it to make way for Charing Cross station. Designed by Middleton Barry in a French Renaissance style, when it opened in May 1865 it was named the Charing Cross Hotel. The hotel's manager, Pedro da Silva, told Mr Dunn that Middleton Barry wanted to offer 'something to the city that it had never seen before'.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
VIDEO: Footage of couple's hypnotic swim with three humpback whales
The couple were following a group of three humpback whales - a mother, her calf and a male escort. David, from Sydney, Australia, said: 'These photos were taken off the islands of Tonga, a small country in the South Pacific, where humpback whales gather each winter to mate and give birth. We followed a group of three humpback whales who were swimming slowly around a shallow reef for about an hour. 'The video captures the moment where a young humpback calf swims toward Alice in a moment of mutual curiosity. We followed a group of three humpback whales who were swimming slowly around a shallow reef for about an hour'
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Obfuscation: What it is and why you need it
Let’s explore why mobile app developers should consider using obfuscation to effectively harden their apps. Below is a breakdown of some of the most common obfuscation techniques: Identifiers: Renaming classes, methods, variables, or libraries, to name a few. This requires going beyond simple name obfuscation, however, and using advanced obfuscation techniques that modify the logical flow of the application and include additional encryption layers. Understanding early the need for obfuscation and the effectiveness of security measures implemented in a mobile app improves the security posture of the app itself. Once the need is understood, testing the mobile application security continuously during the development process, finding issues, and fixing them quickly are critical steps.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 15:33 UTC
Unregistered property should be registered – CMC
COLOMBO (News 1st); Municipal Commissioner of Colombo Attorney-at-Law Roshanie Dissanayake issued a notice to property owners to ensure unregistered property situated within the limits of the Colombo Municipal Council is registered. In a statement, the Department of Government Information said registering property would secure their ownership. Details on the unregistered property can be obtained by logging on to www.colombo.mc.gov.lkU.L Titus Perera, the Chief Ruling Party Organizer of the Colombo Municipal Council, said there are lands in the City of Colombo where ownership has not been confirmed. “Every land in the city of Colombo must be registered at the Colombo Municipal Council. Once the review is over and ownership is not confirmed, such lands will be absorbed to the Municipal Council,” he added.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 04:18 UTC
Teenage girls are seen brawling in their bikinis in busy park at Coogee Beach
Footage shows a girl in a black bikini standing over and shouting at three other young women sunbaking in a park at Coogee Bay Oval in Sydney's east on Friday. The trio kept calm - but the woman in black then launched at one of them and started punching her and pulling her hair. The horrifying attack lasted for nearly a minute and ended with the girl in the black bikini firing one last kick toward the victim's head. A NSW Police spokesperson said officers were called to the park at about 2.10pm on Friday following reports 'a teenage girl had assaulted two other girls'. The park the incident occurred in is opposite Coogee Beach and is often busy with people exercising.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 03:45 UTC
Personal dispute leads to husband killing wife
September 27, 2021 by Aazam Ameen No CommentsAn incident has been reported where an individual had allegedly shot and killed his wife in the Karadamandiya area in Embilipitiya. Police said that the murder had been carried out yesterday (26) over a personal dispute and that the victims is a 35-year-old resident of Embilipitiya. The victim’s husband has been arrested in connection with the incident while the firearm used in the murder has also been taken into custody. The arrested suspect is to be produced before the Embilipitiya court today while police are conducting further investigations.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 03:33 UTC
Diabetes & HPB leading causes of COVID deaths in SL
COLOMBO (News 1st): The Ministry of Health has identified that diabetes and high blood pressure were among the leading underlying causes of COVID-19 deaths in Sri Lanka. More than 80 percent of the people who died from the COVID-19 infection were already suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, Dr. Anwar Hamdani, the Director of Medical Technology Services and Chief Coordinator of COVID-19 at the Ministry of Health, told News 1st on Monday (Sept. 27). “Of the COVID-19 deaths, 74 percent were unvaccinated, while 26 percent were vaccinated,” he added. Commenting on the home-quarantine system for COVID-19 patients, Dr. Hamdani said more than 75,000 such patients who were monitored by the Health Ministry through the hotline 1390, have now fully recovered. More than 3000 victims who died from the COVID-19 infection, were buried at the Ottamawadi National COVID Burial Center as of now, Dr. Anwar Hamdani, Director of Medical Technology Services and Chief Coordinator of COVID-19 at the Ministry of Health further noted.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 03:11 UTC
Landslide early warnings issued for five districts
The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) has issued landslide early warnings for several areas in five districts following heavy rainfall. Accordingly, the landslide early warnings have issued for areas in Galle, Kegalle, Matara, Nuwara-Eliya and Ratnapura districts, valid for the period until 7.00 p.m. today, 27th September. Early warning has been issued for Eheliyagoda, Kuruwita, Kalawana, Nivitigala and Ratnapura divisional secretariat divisions (DSDs) and surrounding areas in the Ratnapura District and Ambagamuwa DSD in Nuwara Eliya District. Meanwhile early warning has been issued for Elpitiya, Neluwa DSDs in Galle District, Yatiyantota, Ruwanwella DSDs in Kegalle District and Akuressa, Kotapola DSDs in Matara District. The Department of Meteorology says that heavy showers above 100 mm can be expected at certain parts of the country.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 03:00 UTC
Oppo Reno6 5G in for review
The Oppo Reno6 5G arrived in May, but it took the company more than three months to deliver the phone outside of China. Now that it is available in Europe and other markets, we got a unit for a review. The Reno6 5G has a solid Dimensity 900 chipset, a 6.43” AMOLED and super fast 65W SuperVOOC charging. The Starry Black color is also lovely - yes, the panel is plastic, but it comes with neat dark blue glare under certain angles. We now set off to investigate whether the Reno6 does well enough it our tests to justify its €499 price tag and will report in our full review.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 01:41 UTC
Pandemic and emergence of variants
Consequently, Coronavirus variants popped up in durations as short as a few months, after the aggravation of the pandemic in late 2020. The World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control, United States, have classified Coronavirus variants into three categories. Most contagious Delta variantThe delta variant first identified in India, October 2020, resulted in an aggressive epidemic there and rapidly diffused. Vaccinations and Delta VariantExcept for a partial immunity evasion of the Delta variant, vaccines are effective against both variants. Under such circumstances, the anomalies reported as lesser effectiveness of vaccines in the case of the Delta variant, could also entail errors in data interpretation, arising from the fact that the Delta variant spreads fast.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 00:56 UTC
World Health Organisation will start NEW Covid investigation
The World Health Organisation will start a new investigation into the origins of the Covid outbreak and probe whether the virus came from a Wuhan lab. Separate data suggested Covid infections plummeted last week despite fears that the new school term would fuel an autumn surge sooner. One in 90 people in England had the virus, with around 620,100 infected in total, testing by the Office for National Statistics revealed. The Government said a further 122 people died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid as of today, bringing the UK total to 136,105. As of 9am on Saturday, there had been a further 31,348 lab-confirmed Covid cases in the UK, the Government said.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 00:33 UTC
Red Alert: Need to quarantine imported organic fertilisers
Claims of organic fertiliser, with unusually high nitrogen, content are pure propaganda. No exporter of organic fertiliser, anywhere in the world, is set up to sterilise such large quantities of organic fertiliser or remove any residual soils from such fertilizer. The imported sterilised organic fertiliser must be mixed with the appropriate amount of glyphosate, in mixing vessels similar to cement mixers at each farming site. Once the first batch of organic fertilizer is handled according to the steps indicated above, no more organic fertiliser should be imported to avert irreversible tragedy. Only locally made organic fertiliser must be used to provide ‘organic food’ for those who want it.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 00:22 UTC
Experts explore what sets Sri Lanka apart as a tourist destination
Conservation Tourism WebinarThe Conservation Tourism webinar series organised by Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance was held last month, to explore the topic of ‘Wildlife and Nature Conservation, as it applies to the Future Sustainability of Sri Lanka’s Tourism Industry’. The session was introduced by Co-Chair of the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance, Malik J Fernando, and moderated by Niranga Gunaratna, Director of Communications at Shangri-La Colombo & Shangri-La Hambantota. The speakers touched on important elements such as what sets Sri Lanka apart as a tourist destination and the economic value of Sri Lanka’s nature and wildlife to the visitor economy. The webinar went on to discuss major challenges faced by Sri Lanka’s nature and wildlife and the consequences to local tourism. “If Sri Lanka is to reach its potential as the best wildlife tourism destination outside of Africa, the private tourism sector has to play a significant role to make that happen”.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 00:00 UTC
Lankan ‘patriots’ defending American ‘Fortress’
Even those who are supportive of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are critical of the New Fortress deal due to the absence of transparency and questionable exclusivity. Given this situation created by a local company, what guarantee is there that something far worse will not happen due to the New Fortress deal? Today, they are struggling to justify the New Fortress deal while wrapping themselves in the flag. The New York Timespublished an article titled, How China Got Sri Lanka to Cough Up a Port, criticizing the Hambantota port deal. Among those who are campaigning against the New Fortress deal are some SLPP constituents.
Source:The Nation
September 27, 2021 00:00 UTC
Rice millers to cease activity if crops are not sold at reasonable rates
COLOMBO (News 1st): Rice millers say that they will cease activities if they cannot sell their crop at reasonable rates. 50, and Samba rice at Rs. As the Government has remained silent, farmers began selling their harvest at higher rates to rice millers. However, rice producers say they cannot sell rice at lower rates, as they had spent more to purchase them. 110 per one kilogram, Samba rice at Rs.
Source:The Nation
September 26, 2021 23:03 UTC