SriLankan crew oppose Kimarli’s “callous” request to remove PPEs
In a recent letter addressed to the Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism Kimarli Fernando, The President of the Flight Attendants Union (FAU) Sidath Dedigama has requested to recall the suggestion made by Fernando on the removal of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) worn by flight crew. Furthermore, Dedigama emphasised on the responsibility they have as citizens to ensure the safety and security of the country and not jeopardise the citizens with such promotions of tourism. It is mainly inside an aircraft (where we are frontline staff) that new viruses enter our island nation,” Dedigama said. In conclusion, Dedigama requested Fernando to adhere to the Buddhist values of the nation and teachings of Gautama Buddha’s doctrine of being truthful and genuine in the course of action. This letter was in reply to the suggestion made by Kimarli Fernando, addressed to Dr Asela Gunawardena, Director General of Health Services in regards to the relaxation of PPE regulations for crew members enroute from Russia to Sri Lanka to supposedly promote tourism.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 15:33 UTC
WhatsApp is adding encrypted backups
WhatsApp will let its more than 2 billion users fully encrypt the backups of their messages, the Facebook-owned app announced Friday. The plan, which WhatsApp is detailing in a white paper before rolling out to users on iOS and Android in the coming weeks, is meant to secure the backups WhatsApp users already send to either Google Drive or Apple’s iCloud, making them unreadable without an encryption key. WhatsApp users who opt into encrypted backups will be asked to save a 64-digit encryption key or create a password that is tied to the key. He said the goal of letting people create simpler passwords is to make encrypted backups more accessible. Cathcart said WhatsApp has been working on making encrypted backups a reality for the past couple of years, and that while they are opt-in to start, he hopes, over time, to “have this be the way it works for everyone.”
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 15:00 UTC
Suicide Prevention: Helplines That Could Save A Life
We have the ability to save lives and share the gift of life with others. Many people are afraid or ashamed to speak about or seek help for their mental health. They host informative sessions on mental health and share tips from professional psychologists via social media to help you care for your mental health. Hotline: 119IG’s Help Desk: 0112 444 480 / 0112 444 483Police Headquarters: 0112 421 111Child & Women Bureau: 0112 444 444Website:https://www.police.lk/Please be kind. These helplines provide mental and emotional support, evaluate suicide risk, and refer callers to counselling, social and emergency services that can save lives!
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 15:00 UTC
Daily Authority: Carbon capture dreaming 🎵
The Orca plant opened on Wednesday, and is capable of capturing 4,000 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year. Currently, Climeworks estimates that each metric ton of CO2 costs $600-800 to capture. Compared to that, costs look a lot more reasonable. Plus, this is an emergent technology, and costs can be expected to go down dramatically over time. TheInternational Energy Agencyestimates that by 2050 we will need to be pulling one billion tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere every year.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 11:03 UTC
Britain threatens drone strikes on terrorists in Afghanistan
The UK's 20-year military deployment in Afghanistan concluded at the end of last month with the final RAF evacuation flight. The Protector is first British military drone permitted to fly in airspace used by commercial aircraftThe Taliban has insisted it will not allow Afghanistan to become a base for terror groups again. Pictured, fighters on patrol in Kabul this weekThe Protector is first British military drone permitted to fly in airspace used by commercial aircraft. The Protector can fly a maximum of 5,000 nautical miles for up to 40 hours without carrying weapons - nearly three times longer than the slower Reaper. Mr Wallace played down fears of an immediate surge in terrorism coming from Afghanistan.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 11:03 UTC
Netflix releases trailer for controversial 'Diana' the musical
Netflix have released its first trailer for the controversial musical, named 'Diana: A New Musical', which features a fictitious scene where the Queen labels her a 'tart'. Meanwhile another shot shows Diana triumphantly looking out into the audience while wearing her famous black revenge dress in 1994. Ken Wharfe, 72, Diana's former bodyguard, The Sun: 'The Diana musical, soon to be premiered on Netflix, presents a huge dilemma to them both. Controversial lines in the musical 'Diana' The musical features a number of controversial lines including one in which the Queen says to Diana: 'She's going out dressed up like a tart'. Kristen perfectly embodied Princess Diana in the latest glimpse of the royal biopic Spencer, released on Wednesday.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 10:52 UTC
Steam’s downloads page just got a lot more informative
Many of these changes have been available in beta for months, but now they’re hitting the software’s stable release channel. The update overhauls the downloads page and introduces a much improved section for managing your storage, amongst a host of other tweaks and fixes. The downloads page has seen the bulk of the improvements. For starters, as well as showing download progress, the page also now shows installation progress. Screenshot: SteamSteam’s storage management section has also been improved to make it easier to see your available storage and move games between drives.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 10:52 UTC
President to attend 76th UN General Assembly in New York
The 76th United Nations General Assembly is due to be held in New York on the 21st of September, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has confirmed his attendance. This will be President Gotabaya’s first International conference since becoming president of Sri Lanka, according to a media release from the President’s Media Division. The President plans on discussing the economy, education, agriculture and few other trades for bilateral relations with other Heads of State. Foreign Minister G. L Peiris, Head Presidential Advisor Lalith Weeratunga and Foreign Ministry Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage will be accompanying the President to the United States to attend the conference. Accordingly, this will be the smallest Sri Lankan delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly in recent history.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 07:03 UTC
Top 10 Bizarre Rituals Still Practiced Today
Do you throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder if you spill a saltshaker at the dinner table? RELATED: Top 10 Bizarre Traditions10 Snake Handling – Evangelical Christianity, Southern US States. Even when snake handlers don’t die when bitten, plenty of parishioners in these churches display atrophied hands and missing digits. The person who said “Christos Anesti” taps the end of his or her egg lightly against the end of the opponent’s egg. When one end is cracked, the winner uses the same end to try and crack the other end of the opponent’s egg.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 06:56 UTC
Top 10 Animals With Totally Crazy Body Parts
It also leads to some animals with totally bizarre body parts. 10 Genetically Modified Animals Not Intended For Consumption10 Sponge’s “Brain”Although modern sponges are brainless animals, some scientists believe that this was not always the case. This ability to see many colors allows mantis shrimp to communicate by using their brightly colored body parts. The harvestman’s most astonishing, totally bizarre body parts are its legs and not only because of their length. The claws lie along bifurcated folds each pair of which connect a section of web on either side of it, further complicating the look of the animal’s bizarre feet.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 06:56 UTC
President’s efforts foiled a food shortage conspiracy: Bandula
Due to the decision taken by the President to raid rice mills which are hoarding stocks, a conspiracy to create a food shortage in the country was foiled, Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardana told the media yesterday (09). He went on to say how suppliers had not participated in the call for tenders by Sathosa, which in turn created a situation where there was a lack of rice and other essential foods at Sathosa outlets. Gunawardana praised President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for foiling this conspiracy by understanding the plans of traders and appointing the Essential Services Commissioner to attend to this matter. He also reassured the public that such disruptions on the supply of essential food will not take place any longer.
Source:The Nation
September 10, 2021 06:45 UTC
Tokyo 2020: Ellie Simmonds confirms retirement from swimming
By Ed Elliot, Press AssociationPublished: 14:36 EDT, 9 September 2021 | Updated: 14:55 EDT, 9 September 2021Five-time Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds has confirmed her retirement from swimming. The 26-year-old announced last week that she expected Tokyo 2020 to be her fourth and final Paralympic Games. Ellie Simmonds has confirmed her retirement from swimming following the Tokyo ParalympicsThe 26-year-old (C), who was a flagbearer at the opening ceremony, says it is time to step away'Being a Paralympian has changed my life. She claimed gold again at Rio 2016 but failed to make the podium in Tokyo. 'I love swimming and I'll still be found in the pool, but now I'll be able to do it without the 04:30 alarm.'
Source:The Nation
September 09, 2021 16:07 UTC
How to watch the PlayStation Showcase 2021
While Microsoft has hosted plenty game showcases in 2021, Sony has been comparatively quiet about what’s coming to the PS5 in 2022. As for what we won’t see, Sony says the new PSVR hardware made for PS5 won’t be in the stream. When does the PlayStation game showcase start? Where can I watch the PlayStation game showcase? Sometimes, the Twitch stream can be a few seconds ahead, so keep that in mind.
Source:The Nation
September 09, 2021 14:26 UTC
Another 175 COVID fatalities confirmed in Sri Lanka
September 9, 2021 07:24 pmThe Director-General of Health Services has confirmed another 175 coronavirus-related deaths for September 08 (yesterday), increasing the official death toll in the country to 10,864. According to the figures reported by the Department of Government Information today (09)the victims include 96 males and 79 females while only one are below the age of 30. Thirty-five of the Covid-19 deaths are individuals between the ages of 30-59, and the remaining 139 are persons aged 60 and above.
Source:The Nation
September 09, 2021 13:52 UTC
vivo X70 and vivo X70 Pro bring improved cameras
vivo introduced the X70 series today in China, and the lineup consists of three phones - vivo X70, vivo X70 Pro, and vivo X70 Pro+. The saying “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” was implemented by vivo in the display department, and both the vivo X70 and vivo X70 Pro come with a 6.56” AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate that is also found on their predeccessors - vivo X60 and vivo X60 Pro. The same goes for the chipset on the X70 Pro which retains the Exynos 1080, while the vivo X70 now comes with a Dimensity 1200 by Mediatek. vivo X70The vivo X70 and vivo X70 Pro are already listed on the company website. We should hear more about the vivo X70 and vivo X70 Pro's international availability tomorrow.
Source:The Nation
September 09, 2021 13:52 UTC