(NewsNation) — The U.S. House approved a plan to ban the social media app TikTok, but there is still a long road ahead before it’s potentially implemented. TikTok, which has more than 150 million American users and is highly popular with young Americans, is owned by Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd. Under the bill, app stores or web hosting services in the U.S. would be blocked from having ByteDance-controlled applications, including TikTok, unless the app completely cuts ties with its China-based company. The choice is TikTok’s.”FILE – The TikTok app logo is displayed on Sept. 28, 2020, in Tokyo. The measure banning TikTok has elicited strong reactions from both supporters and opponents who are now one step closer to a potential ban.
Source:The Nation
March 13, 2024 21:33 UTC
However, petty personal and political calculations took precedence over the countryThis political grandstanding is nothing more than benefitting from the country’s misery. When even a remotely cohesive nation is faced with an existential crisis, its disparate stakeholders momentarily set aside their differences. Two years back, it was an existential crisis that threatened the state’s very existence as a cohesive and functioning unit. Sri Lankan politics suffer from a strong sense of self-seeking opportunism that prevents the country from forging a common goal. This also raises concern about the country’s uncertain political future, where political parties thrive in harnessing public anger rather than offering solutions.
Source:The Nation
March 13, 2024 18:35 UTC
Source: phys.orgIn 2021, two Stony Brook University researchers—Jason Jones, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, and Steven Skiena, Ph.D., Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Computer Science—began conducting a survey study on attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) among American adults. Some of their recent findings, published in the journal Seeds of Science, show a shift in Americans' views on AI.
Source:The Nation
March 13, 2024 05:59 UTC
Source: phys.orgNepal has ordered Everest mountaineers to carry mandatory trackers after one of the deadliest seasons last year—and remove their excrement using compostable bags similar to those used for dog waste.
Source:The Nation
March 12, 2024 22:06 UTC
New Chief Secretaries appointed for North and Wayamba ProvincesNewsPresident Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed Mr. L. Ilangovan as the new Chief Secretary of the Northern Province. Mr. Ilangovan, a distinguished officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, has previously served in various ministries in the Northern Province and held the position of Northern Province Governor's Secretary. Prior to his appointment as the Chief Secretary, he served as the President's Additional Secretary for Northern Province Development at the Presidential Secretariat. Meanwhile, Ms. Deepika K. Gunaratne was appointed as the new Chief Secretary of the Wayamba Province. Her appointment letter was handed over by President's Secretary Mr. Saman Ekanayake at the Presidential Secretariat today.
Source:Sunday Times
March 12, 2024 21:46 UTC
Source: phys.orgNumerous measurement stations around the world provide us with data about air quality, allowing us to enhance it. Although we are increasingly collecting data from marine areas, access to such data is considerably more challenging. Signals are poorly transmitted through water, differences in both pressure and currents hinder measurement devices and there is an absence of pre-constructed computing infrastructure.
Source:The Nation
March 12, 2024 20:57 UTC
President advocates principled educational systemEducationPresident Ranil Wickremesinghe highlighted the value of education in building children’s resilience and motivating them to face obstacles with steadfast values while attending the “Sesquicentennial Banquet” of Wesley College Colombo last night (Mar. There, President Wickremesinghe praised Wesley College alumni including Henry Highfield and Sir Baron Jayatilaka, highlighting their significant contributions to Sri Lanka's independence and nation-building journey. During his remarks, he revealed intentions to support AI teaching in classrooms, demonstrating the government’s commitment to funding AI Research and Development. He simultaneously declared his plans to back private educational institutions, such as Wesley College, which have long been essential to the nation’s educational landscape. The event also featured the Principal of Wesley College Avanka Fernando, prominent German politician and businessman Ian Karan, college’s alumni and distinguished guests.
Source:Sunday Times
March 12, 2024 13:46 UTC
Source: phys.orgNew research has revealed that, despite being scattered across more than a million square kilometers, remote coral reefs across the Seychelles are closely related. Using genetic analyses and oceanographic modeling, researchers at Oxford University have demonstrated for the first time that a network of ocean currents scatter significant numbers of larvae between these distant islands, acting as a "coral superhighway."
Source:The Nation
March 12, 2024 12:15 UTC
Source: phys.orgPolitical anger and cynicism are rising in the United States and in many democracies worldwide, and both are associated with exposure to political attacks on social media, a new University of Michigan study shows.
Source:The Nation
March 12, 2024 09:32 UTC
FEATURE-Threads of Resilience: Is Sri Lanka’s apparel sector prepared to face another pandemic? Scientists predict a higher likelihood of its origin in tropical regions, placing Sri Lanka at considerable risk. Approximately 33 per cent of these female apparel workers are informal (for comparison only 13 per cent of male apparel workers are informal). Apparel workers faced many challenges during this initial period due to the nature of their work and their living arrangements. (Chaya Dissanayake is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka -IPS).
Source:Sunday Times
March 12, 2024 05:48 UTC
Source: phys.orgA UCL-led research team has used artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to infer the influence and properties of dark energy more precisely from a map of dark and visible matter in the universe covering the last 7 billion years.
Source:The Nation
March 11, 2024 16:43 UTC
Anna Zvereva/Wikimedia CommonsAbout 50 people required medical treatment at an airport in New Zealand on Monday after a “technical problem” during an inbound flight caused a plane to suddenly drop, throwing passengers and crew into the ceiling of the cabin. Chilean airline LATAM’s flight LA800 between Sydney, Australia, and Auckland was met by a large emergency response, including seven ambulances, when it finally landed at Auckland International Airport. A total of 12 people—including one in a serious condition—were taken to hospitals for treatment, according to Hato Hone St John, a New Zealand ambulance charity. With about an hour remaining of the flight, the 8-year-old Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plunged without warning. Source: www.thedailybeast.com
Source:The Nation
March 11, 2024 12:32 UTC
Diego Herrera Carcedo/Getty ImagesKUPYANSK, Ukraine—Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk are running low on ammunition and weapons as they fight to remain in control of a city that doesn’t even want to be saved from the Russians. In this eastern town, soldiers say that they are afraid that pro-Russian civilian collaborators might help to poison, bomb, or otherwise kill them because they believe that life under Vladimir Putin’s occupation would be better than living in a free Ukraine. Located in the eastern Kharkiv region, Kupyansk was once nicknamed “Little Russia” and has become known for its pro-Russian sentiment. By Feb. 27, 2022, Kupyansk was already occupied, and it would remain under Russian control until September 2022, when Ukraine’s rapid counteroffensive saw Kyiv reclaim 1,160 sq miles of land in just two months. Source: www.thedailybeast.com
Source:The Nation
March 11, 2024 09:35 UTC
Ranil Wickremesinghe to stand as common candidate for Presidential electionsNewsPresident Ranil Wickremesinghe was today declared as the common candidate of the United National Party (UNP) led front. The announcement was made at UNP rally in Kuliyapitiya which was described as the first meeting to launch Presidential election campaign. Senior UNP member Ravi Karunanayake addressing the meeting said that President Wickremesinghe would be definitely standing as the common candidate of the UNP led common front. President Wickremesinghe and senior members of the party including Chairman Wajira Abeywardene, General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara, Deputy Leader Ruwwan Wijewardene and Assistant Leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. President Wickremesinghe addressing the meeting said he was now inviting all party members who left the UNP and joined the SJB.
Source:Sunday Times
March 11, 2024 05:54 UTC
AFP and other news agencies removed from their services on Sunday the first official photo of Britain's Princess Kate to be released since her abdominal surgery, saying the image was found to have been manipulated. In a statement, the palace said the photo was taken "in Windsor earlier this week" by Kate's husband, Prince William. However, multiple news agencies including AFP later pulled the image over concerns it had been manipulated. The king withdrew from public duties during his treatment, though he attended church services and held his weekly audience with the prime minister. Camilla steps inCharles's wife Queen Camilla, 76, has been the most visible senior royal, stepping in to cover many of her husband's public duties during his treatment.
Source:The Nation
March 11, 2024 04:01 UTC