Colombo, June 08 (Daily Mirror)- The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has elected Sri Lanka into its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with 182 out of 189 members present voting in favour, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said today. Sri Lanka obtained the second highest number of votes from the region, and seventh highest overall, and will begin its three-year term in the council on January 1, 2025. 18 countries were elected to the 54-member council, when the vote took place on Friday. Sri Lanka been elected to the council on two previous occasions, from 1985-1989 and from 2006-2008. ECOSOC was established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations, and is one of six principle organs of the UN and serves as the central platform within the UN system to coordinate the economic and social fields, advance international cooperation and development as well as matters relating to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source:The Nation
June 08, 2024 12:54 UTC
Source: phys.orgArtificial intelligence is going to transform how we date. The question is: will it be for better or worse? It's already causing some real problems, especially related to "romance scams" and other fraud.
Source:The Nation
June 08, 2024 06:00 UTC
Source: phys.orgUI Associates Ankit Kumar and Miguel Kanai and colleagues have published an open-access article in International Development Review as part of the Geography research group on Critical Sustainable Development Challenges.
Source:The Nation
June 08, 2024 04:30 UTC
AnchorSDTI Campus honored with the National Entrepreneur Excellence Presidential Award 2024BusinessAt a prestigious ceremony held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, The Skills Development and Training International (SDTI) Campus was conferred with the National Entrepreneur Excellence Presidential Award 2024. SDTI Campus has been acclaimed as the Best University in South Asia, adding another recognition to its distinguished reputation. SDTI campus was named Outstanding Professional Strategic and Higher Education Institution at the 2021 SAPSAA Excellence Awards. Not only that but also its accolades include the Prime Minister's Award (2011), the United Nations Educational Gold Award (2013-2014), the National Excellence Award (2018), and the Asia Awards' Excellence Award (2021), solidifying its reputation in education. Founder of SDTI Campus Dr. Shantha Bandara with the awardYou can share this post!
Source:Sunday Times
June 07, 2024 09:11 UTC
Parliament passes Sri Lanka Electricity BillNewsThe Second Reading of the Sri Lanka Electricity Bill was passed in Parliament a short while ago by a majority of 44 votes. A division on the bill was taken at the end of today's debate on the bill. However, the Supreme Court had stated that these inconsistencies would cease if the amendments suggested by the Court are adopted. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara told Parliament that the government would include the amendments suggested by the Supreme Court so that the bill can be passed by a simple Parliamentary majority. The Third Reading of the bill was subsequently passed with amendments and without a vote.
Source:Sunday Times
June 07, 2024 01:39 UTC
Ginger smuggled against a backdrop of soaring pricesNewsTwo suspects and 29 sacks of ginger which were smuggled to Sri Lanka illegally from India by sea were seized by Norochcholai police at Illantadia beach in a backdrop of the nation’s surging ginger prices. Three fishing boats which were suspected to have been used to transport these ginger stacks and a GPS device have also been seized. Meanwhile, as the price of ginger soars, the government is considering importing 2000 metric tonnes of ginger to keep costs stable, the Sunday Times reported on June 2. Disna, early harvesting in November and December occurred as a result of the price of ginger rising to between Rs. htmlSeized motor boats and ginger sacksPix by: Padma Kumari Kankanamge - KalpitiyaWith ginger prices skyrocketing, the authorities are mulling the import of about 2000 metric tonnes.
Source:Sunday Times
June 05, 2024 16:11 UTC
Death toll due to adverse weather rises to 17NewsThe death toll from the adverse weather experienced in many parts of the island has risen to 17, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. The DMC's latest report released this morning has noted that 13 persons have been injured and one person remains missing. The adverse weather has affected 13 districts. According to the DMC's statistics, 17 houses have been fully destroyed while 3381 have suffered partial damage. The DMC also reveals that 8212 persons from 1888 families are currently being sheltered at 123 safe locations.
Source:Sunday Times
June 04, 2024 21:49 UTC
Source: phys.orgAs things stand today, global demand for cobalt and lithium for e-car batteries will increase almost 20-fold by 2050. By then, the development of a fossil-free power supply will require a lot of copper, aluminum and iron, and the respective demand is likely to roughly double.
Source:The Nation
June 04, 2024 21:32 UTC
Source: phys.orgA technology has been developed to address the limitations of current catalyst electrodes, resulting in the production of green hydrogen on a large scale and at a relatively low cost. The development is reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Source:The Nation
June 04, 2024 20:04 UTC
Source: phys.orgNothing like the common red, black, or brown ants, a stunning blue ant has been discovered in Yingku village in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. This new species belongs to the rare genus Paraparatrechina and has been named Paraparatrechina neela. The word "neela" signifies the color blue in most Indian languages—a fitting tribute to the ant's unique coloration.
Source:The Nation
June 03, 2024 22:33 UTC
Credit: Curtin University Curtin University's Dr. Hugo Olierook with a rock from the Jack Hills in Western Australia, which contained the zircon crystals analyzed in this research. Credit: Curtin UniversityNew Curtin-led research has found evidence that fresh water on Earth, which is essential for life, appeared about 4 billion years ago—5 hundred million years earlier than previously thought. Such light oxygen isotopes are typically the result of hot, fresh water altering rocks several kilometers below Earth's surface. "Evidence of fresh water this deep inside Earth challenges the existing theory that Earth was completely covered by ocean 4 billion years ago." Study co-author Dr. Hugo Olierook, from Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the discovery was crucial for understanding how Earth formed and how life emerged.
Source:The Nation
June 03, 2024 15:05 UTC
Contractors will begin work on the Pancheri Bridge over the Snake River on Monday, June 3. Crews will begin work on the bridge deck of the Pancheri Bridge over the Snake River on Monday morning. Traffic will be reduced to one lane each direction across the structure, and there will be a reduced speed limit of 25 mph within the construction work zone. Construction will commence on July 8, and traffic will be reduced to one lane of traffic with reduced speeds in each direction again. The project will focus on replacing a deficient girder line, replacing rails along the north side of the bridge, and rehabilitating the girder bearing and deck.
Source:The Nation
June 02, 2024 19:03 UTC
In the wake of the uproar that this outrageous claim has led to, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has murmured reassuringly that the Presidential elections will be held on schedule. For the offending suggestion in question was not thrown casually by the General Secretary by way of political rhetoric at a party meeting. Weeping, wailing andgnashing of teethThus, though his fellow UNP party mates conveniently attempted to categorise this as his ‘personal views,’ that is a nonsensical explanation. For the ‘stability’ that the UNP General Secretary sees fit to talk of is very much a characteristic of the class to which his party belongs. That said, our political history teaches us that lessons are seldom learnt, least of all by the Sri Lankan political establishment.
Source:Sunday Times
June 02, 2024 08:46 UTC
BOISE — A jury has reached a decision on the sentence Chad Daybell will serve after he was found guilty of multiple charges this week. The decision will be announced at 11:15 MDT. The jury has been deliberating since Friday afternoon over whether or not Chad will face life in prison or the death penalty. You can watch the proceedings in the video player above. You can also follow live written updates here.
Source:The Nation
June 02, 2024 05:31 UTC