USAID’s Clean Cities, Blue Ocean Program Helps Prevent Over 4,600 MT of Plastic from Entering the OceanNewsAs a result of nearly three-year partnership, supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), communities across Sri Lanka successfully prevented more than 4,600 metric tons of plastic – the equivalent of 496 million plastic bottles – from entering the ocean around Sri Lanka through the Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) program., US embassy in Colombo said. The CCBO program, launched in Sri Lanka in 2021, is USAID’s global flagship program to address ocean plastic pollution. As a densely populated island nation, Sri Lanka faces unique challenges in managing its solid waste. The United States will continue to work together with Sri Lankan counterparts to find locally viable solutions and reduce ocean plastics.”“We celebrate the collaborative efforts of Clean Cities, Blue Ocean Sri Lanka program that developed sustainable solutions to reduce ocean plastic. As we confront the escalating crisis of ocean plastic pollution, CCBO has been an exemplary partner in progressing their commitment to extended producer responsibility.
Source:The Nation
January 30, 2024 11:20 UTC
Former Army Commander joins SJBNewsFormer Army Commander General Daya Ratnayake has obtained membership of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and been appointed as the Senior Advisor on formation of national policies. Gen Ratnayake who played a pivotal role in defeating the LTTE was the 20th Army Commander of Sri Lanka. He has also served as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. He was also Secretary of the Ministry of Industries during the Presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. You can share this post!
Source:Sunday Times
January 30, 2024 01:58 UTC
High speed van crashes, two killedNewsA speeding van crashed into motorcycle, truck and a tree near the Passarayaya junction on the Sella Kataragama–Kataragama road last night killing two persons and leaving four injured, Police said. Police said that the driver had lost control of the vehicle due to the speed. The two persons killed were identified as Dishan Ranasinghe and Chanaka Lakshan. The truck they crashed into belonged to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). Pix and text by: Sumanasiri GunatillakeThe deceased - Dishan Ranasinghe and Chanaka LakshanYou can share this post!
Source:Sunday Times
January 30, 2024 01:58 UTC
Source: phys.orgThe ways food is produced and consumed across the world is racking up hidden costs in health impacts and environmental damage amounting to some 12 percent of world GDP a year, according to a new report Monday.
Source:The Nation
January 30, 2024 01:34 UTC
The Regulatory Authority of Bermuda [RA] released its sectoral review, with a focus on the electricity sector. A spokesperson said, “Fulfilling legislative obligations and aligning with mandates, the Regulatory Authority of Bermuda [RA] has released its sectoral review, with focus on the electricity sector. This periodic review, conducted every three years as per the Regulatory Authority Act 2011 [RAA], aims to optimise the efficiency of the existing regulatory framework. “This essential exercise ensures regulatory alignment with evolving sector needs,” stated Richard Ambrosio, Interim Chief Executive of the RA. He continued, “In our commitment to transparency, we’ve concluded the sectoral review preliminarily report.
Source:The Nation
January 29, 2024 19:33 UTC
Source: phys.orgWe live in an age of renewed space exploration, colloquially known as Space Age 2.0. Unlike the previous one, this new space age is characterized by inter-agency cooperation and collaboration between space agencies and the commercial space industry (aka.
Source:The Nation
January 29, 2024 18:01 UTC
Source: phys.orgCollisions of high energy particles produce "jets" of quarks, anti-quarks, or gluons. Due to the phenomenon called confinement, scientists cannot directly detect quarks. Instead, the quarks from these collisions fragment into many secondary particles that can be detected.
Source:The Nation
January 29, 2024 14:34 UTC
Last week, a poem by Ana Maria Caballero sold for 0.28 Bitcoin or $11,430 at Sotheby’s. The poem by Caballero, "Cords," was featured in an online auction of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions called Natively Digital. The significance of the Sotheby's auction for "Cord" was not lost on Caballero, who called it an opportunity to affirm written poetry's inherent worth. Other artists in the Natively Digital auction included FAR, XCPinata, Nullish, Rudxane, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Popoki, Shroomtoshi, Des Lucréce, and Claudia Hart. Along with Kalen Iwamoto and Sasha Stiles, Caballero launched the digital poetry and NFT gallery theVerseverse in 2021.
Source:The Nation
January 29, 2024 04:03 UTC
Source: phys.orgClimate change was the chief driver of the devastating drought that gripped the Amazon last year, say researchers, as warming threatens one of the world's most important ecosystems for stabilizing the global climate.
Source:The Nation
January 28, 2024 17:18 UTC
Published at 3:00 pm, January 27, 2024(CNN) — First, Stanley cups were all over social media because so many people wanted them. Videos on social media sites such as TikTok show people breaking out a lead testing kit and trying it on their Stanley cups and other travel flasks. And Stanley cups are everywhere. Stanley cups are in the hands of beauty bloggers, the cars of parents at school pickup, and even on the Christmas lists of many kids this past year. The main source of lead exposure in the United States comes from inhaling dust or eating particles contaminated by paint chips.
Source:The Nation
January 28, 2024 10:29 UTC
The need for judicial review of laws passed View(s):Does the country’s Online Safety Bill that was passed this week amidst opposition legislators alleging that amendments directed by the Supreme Court had not been reflected in the Bill and new clauses had been slipped into the bill, meet standards of best practices and good governance? In fact, conferring Sri Lankan courts the power to review enacted laws will prevent ugly allegations such as those raised in the House this week over the Online Safety Bill. The independence of the proposed Online Safety Commission must be further tightened and loosely worded terms that run through the bill must be fittingly revised. A bad Online Safety law for Sri Lanka would be worse than no law at all. Uganda’s UN ambassador was quick to disown his compatriot on the World Court pointing to Uganda’s voting pattern in support of Palestine at the UN.
Source:Sunday Times
January 28, 2024 05:12 UTC
Two-pronged strategy for fiscal consolidation: Up the revenue and bring down Govt. Fiscal consolidation must be achieved through a two-pronged strategy of increasing revenue and reducing government expenditure. Two-pronged strategyThe reduction in the fiscal deficit or fiscal consolidation must be achieved by both a reduction in government expenditure and an increase in revenue. Summary and conclusionThe reduction of the fiscal deficit, or fiscal consolidation, is imperative for economic stability and growth. The government should adopt a more equitable and pragmatic tax strategy to increase revenue and reduce the fiscal deficit.
Source:Sunday Times
January 28, 2024 03:23 UTC
A Colorado pastor and his wife face civil fraud charges They're accused of marketing a 'practically worthless' cryptocurrency Pastor allegedly said God told him investors would become wealthy(NewsNation) — A Colorado pastor is accused of defrauding investors of more than $3 million by marketing a “practically worthless” cryptocurrency to Christian communities and claiming God told him investors would become wealthy. Colorado Security Commissioner Tung Chan filed civil fraud charges against Eli and Kaitlyn Regalado, INDXcoin, LLC, Kingdom Wealth Exchange and others. Eli Regalado is accused of marketing and selling the cryptocurrency INDXcoin, which was available through the Kingdom Wealth Exchange — an online exchange the Regalados created and operated, according to a news release. Investigators allege that from June 2022 to April 2023, INDXcoin raised nearly $3.2 million from more than 300 people, according to the civil complaint. The couple is accused of using investments into the “illiquid and practically worthless” cryptocurrency to support their “lavish” lifestyle, according to the release.
Source:The Nation
January 27, 2024 19:25 UTC
After months of waiting, OpenAI finally launched its GPT Store, where paying subscribers can now access a library of custom AI chatbots. The store promotes some practical, helpful AI tools up front, but there are some deeply strange GPTs lurking in corners of the store. Gizmodo ventured into those dark, musty corners and compiled a list of the strangest GPTs we’ve come across, and now I’m questioning AI altogether. There are over three million AI chatbots, but OpenAI already banned a handful of GPTs that it’s deemed so strange, so taboo, that they should not be allowed to exist in its new world. It was inevitable that folks were going to create some fairly strange robot assistants, given free rein, but now that the GPT Store is live, it’s out there for anyone to see.
Source:The Nation
January 26, 2024 18:01 UTC
But over the years, Kerry and Xie forged a remarkable level of trust and respect in the world of international climate negotiations. The annual U.N. climate summit was being held in Copenhagen later that year, and Kerry was eager to talk about it with Chinese officials. Stern said the deal “ricocheted around the climate world" and convinced countries that “we can actually get this done.”The importance of the deal became evident one month later. It was the relationship with China, Kerry said afterward, that helped “change the paradigm.”——-The warm feelings were short-lived. Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, and he promptly withdrew the U.S. from the Paris agreement after taking office.
Source:The Nation
January 26, 2024 12:31 UTC