Our weekly chess column: “Chessentrics” Trivia Challenge : Mid-year version
The stockpile of chess trivia grew exponentially during the first half of 2021. If yes, Then here’s your chance to ace our mid-year quiz and prove your “chessentricity”. Magnus Carlsen; He pre-moved 1…e5, thinking that Anand would start with 1.e4. Even the chess pieces are told to be socially responsible!after beating Anand, Kamath got his chess.com account banned for using engine assistance. The popular opinion is he started with 1…e5 thinking that would fool the cheat-detection algorithms.They all exist.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 21:56 UTC
Samsung Galaxy M22 European pricing leaks
Samsung is yet to provide any official info on the Galaxy M22. Even without an official retail release, though, it seems that a European vendor has jumped the gun a bit with a listing for the Galaxy M22. Samsung Galaxy M22 retail listingThat's for a 4GB RAM and 128GB storage variant and it sounds quite plausible, considering that if history is any indication, the Galaxy M22, should be based on the already released Galaxy A22. A theory corroborated further by an older GeekBench leak, that suggests the Galaxy M22 (SM-M225FV) is also powered by a MediaTek Helio G80. This is just speculation on our part, though and we'll just have to wait and see what the Galaxy M22 actually packs under the hood when it launches.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 19:52 UTC
Cacophony of boos and cheers as England take the knee before kick-off as Ukraine stay on their feet
Ukraine stayed on their feet as England continued with the Black Lives Matter gesture ahead of the quarter final clash at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Lee Bee, who goes by 'Anti-woke Bloke', tweeted: 'Ukraine stand tall and proud - England booed as they take the knee. But Lowri Ann, writing after England took an early lead, wrote: 'I have to give it to the England players, they get booed by their "fans" then give them goals like that. As the team has reiterated many times, they will collectively take the knee ahead of their fixtures during the tournament. 'There can be no doubt as to why the players are taking a knee and what it represents in a footballing context.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 19:52 UTC
Fitbit Luxe review: Form over function
About this Fitbit Luxe review: I used the Fitbit Luxe for eight days running software version 58.20001.130.17. The Fitbit Luxe review unit was provided to Android Authority by Fitbit. What you need to know about the Fitbit LuxeJimmy Westenberg / Android AuthorityFitbit Luxe: $149.95/€149.95/£129.99/Rs.10,999/$199.95 CAD Fitbit Luxe Special Edition: $199.95/€199.95/£179.99/Rs.17,999/$249.95 CAD $149.95/€149.95/£129.99/Rs.10,999/$199.95 CAD$199.95/€199.95/£179.99/Rs.17,999/$249.95 CAD The Fitbit Luxe is a basic fitness and health tracker with an emphasis on aesthetics. Unfortunately, there’s no Fitbit Pay support on the Luxe.The Fitbit Luxe has a 5ATM water resistance rating. Value and competitionFitbit Luxe The prettiest Fitbit What the Fitbit Luxe lacks in features, it makes up for in aesthetics.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 18:56 UTC
Sri Lanka wins Future Policy Award 2021 for pesticide control suicide prevention
Sri Lanka has been awarded a special accolade at Future Policy Award 2021, in recognition of the policies and laws adopted to regulate highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) and to reduce the suicide rate in the country. The WFC stated: “Sri Lanka had one of the world’s highest suicide rates, and pesticide poisoning accounted for more than two thirds of all cases. The country’s suicide rate has been reduced by 70 percent, particularly in rural villages and among children and youth. Whilst at the same time, Sri Lanka has maintained its agricultural productivity. Internationally, the Sri Lankan experience recommends the banning of HHPs as one of the most cost-effective approaches for suicide prevention.”
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 18:22 UTC
Doctors warn Independence Day weekend could lead to a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases
But doctors tell DailyMail.com they have some fears another surge could form after the holiday this year just like the year before. The state of Arizona became a COVID-19 hotspot, and hospitals like Bessel's were overwhelmed with patients. Coronavirus cases have also risen in Nevada by 167 percent in the past two weeks from around 250 per day to around 660 per day. She noted that Arizona - where about 50 percent of the state's population has received one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine - is below the national average of 67 percent and is not near herd immunity yet. He uses Spring Break, where, similar to July 4, thousands of people flocked to Florida's beaches for a weekend of debauchery, and a surge of cases did not occur.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 18:00 UTC
Muslim family law reforms soon
Draft to Cabinet in the pipelineBy Yoshitha PereraThe Muslim family law reforms could be finalised within the course of next week and the relevant law’s draft could be submitted to Cabinet soon afterwards, The Sunday Morning learnt. He said: “The common consensus of the Advisory Committee on Muslim Law Reforms has been recognised and the draft will be finalised soon.”Responding to The Sunday Morning’s query, Mayadunne said that the Advisory Committee on the Reform and Review of Family Law had presented its report to Justice Minister M.U.M. He said: “The special purpose of the 12-member committee, headed by Kushan De Aliws PC, was to update the general marriage and divorce law, which had not been amended since Independence. Accordingly, matters relating to the marriage law and the grounds for filing for divorce are to be changed.”Mayadunne also said that when arriving at the relevant reforms, the Advisory Committee had considered a number of local reports on policies, minors, matrimonial cases, and family law as well as proposed amendments to the Civil Procedure Code. He also added that the committee had observed the legal status in relation to this subject in the UK, South Africa, India, and Singapore.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 17:03 UTC
Covid-19 vaccines: Sinovac-CoronaVac jab approval pending
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Expert Committee member Dr. Rajiva de Silva explained that whether or not approval will be granted is not certain. It was also revealed that the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine is being looked at purely as a backup vaccine for the country. Therefore, we do not require the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine at the moment. However, if there are delays in procuring the 33 million vaccines, then we might have to think of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine,” sources told The Sunday Morning. NMRA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe confirmed to The Sunday Morning that the Expert Committee has requested for more details on the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 17:03 UTC
Recommencing Mendis’ operations: Strict conditions on Aloysius’ venture
Due taxes with interest as instalmentsPresent taxes to be paid every 15 daysBy Yoshitha PereraThe Excise Department has permitted liquor manufacturing company W.M. Mendis & Co. Ltd, owned by Arjun Aloysius of the Perpetual Group, to re-commence its operations by signing an agreement under strict conditions to repay its defaulted taxes with the legal interests owed to the Government, The Sunday Morning learnt. According to the agreement, the liquor manufacturer had requested to re-commence its operations and they had paid the first instalment when entering into the agreement.”W.M. Mendis & Co. Ltd. lost its license to produce liquor in 2018 due to its failure to pay taxes on time. Mendis & Co. Ltd were suspended for various reasons including default payments of tax.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 17:03 UTC
Vaccinating O/L, A/L students: Approximately 750,000 vaccines needed
Requests made to Health Ministry; no decision yetTeachers, staff vaccination to go ahead as plannedAdvisory Comm. yet to recommend; suitable jab undecidedOpening schools with less than 100 students in the pipelineBy Yumiko PereraSri Lanka would require nearly 750,000 vaccines if the country is looking at vaccinating schoolchildren in the GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) and Advanced Level (A/L) classes, The Sunday Morning learnt. According to Education Ministry Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera, although several requests have been made in this regard to the Health Ministry, no concrete decision has been made yet. For now, as per the Government’s plan, individuals above the age of 30 are the main priority group that would be inoculated. “For the A/L students, we would require nearly 400,000 vaccines, and for the O/L students, we would require nearly 350,000 vaccines, and approximately 750,000 vaccines would therefore be required in total,” he elaborated.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 16:52 UTC
Laws against fake news: Draft yet to be finalised
By Yoshitha PereraThe draft of the proposed legislation on action against the spreading of fake news and misleading digital content via social media has not yet been finalised, The Sunday Morning learnt. Mayadunne said that the drafting of new laws to curb the spread of alleged falsehoods has not reached its final stages and it would take some time to complete the draft. “At this point, I can’t mention an exact time period, and it will take some time to present the final draft to Cabinet,” he said. In April 2021, the Cabinet approved the legal concept papers to mark fake news as an offence under the Penal Code. The statement further mentioned that persons sharing falsehoods on social media could be arrested without a warrant.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 16:52 UTC
Wheat flour price hike: Legal action against major manufacturer
Only one company is at fault: AlagiyawannaBakery owners hold off on bread price hikeBy Yoshitha PereraIn the midst of bakery owners sounding the alarm over an imminent increase in the prices of bread and bakery products if the increased wheat flour price remained unchanged, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has taken legal action against a major wheat flour manufacturing company for its random price hike, The Sunday Morning learnt. Speaking with The Sunday Morning, Co-operative Services, Marketing Development, and Consumer Protection State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna said the CAA has already taken legal action against one major wheat flour manufacturing company for their arbitrary price hike. He said: “Earlier, it was reported that there were two such companies which had increased the price. 10, after receiving assurance from the Government that it would control the price of wheat flour in the market. 10 after the price of wheat flour increased by Rs.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 16:52 UTC
Health experts explain what it means to miss Biden's goal of 70% of US adults vaccinated by July 4
The U.S. is not going to meet President Joe Biden's July 4 goal of having 70 percent of adults with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. On May 4, Biden announced a new vaccination goal for the U.S: an aim to administer at least one vaccine shot to 70 percent of the adults in the country by July 4. The country had hit Biden's previous big vaccination goal: 200 million vaccine shots were administered during his first 100 days in office. Vaccination rates vary wildly across the U.S. from over 80 percent in some states to under 50 percent in others. Data compiled by Bloomberg show that almost every state has lower vaccination rates among black residents than among white residents.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 16:52 UTC
Government denies ‘excessive’ money printing
2,600 mFitch warns of big banks’ heightened sovereign risk, weaker capital positionsBy Yoshitha PereraDenying claims made by various parties against the Government regarding excessive money printing, Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal said the Government had printed money to settle the provisional advance taken by the annual budget. At a media briefing held at the Government Information Department, he explained the money printing that took place on 28 June amounted to Rs. He said: “Every central bank in the world gives a provisional advance. Wijewardena said that over the past 17 months, the total money supply for goods and services in Sri Lanka has increased by Rs. Therefore, the money supply is increasing.”Dr. Wijewardena also noted that during this period, the money supply had increased by 32%.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 16:41 UTC
Daily COVID cases count drops to 1,251 on Saturday
The Health Ministry says 241 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 today (July 03) as the daily count of positive cases dropped to 1,251. Sri Lanka had confirmed more than 1,700 coronavirus infections yesterday and a little over 1,800 on the day before. According to the Government Information Department, all new cases reported today have been associated with the New Year cluster, which has recorded a total of 256,417 virus infections since mid-April this year. The new development brings Sri Lanka’s confirmed coronavirus cases tally to 264,046. Official data showed that as many as 231,394 patients who were infected with the virus have regained health so far.
Source:The Nation
July 03, 2021 16:18 UTC