UNFPA Sri Lanka inaugurates ‘One Stop Centre’ in KilinochchiNewsToday (Feb. 28) marked the opening of the One Stop Center at Kilinochchi’s District General Hospital by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sri Lanka. The One Stop Centre in Sri Lanka is a revolutionary service model that provides comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health, GBV survivors’ support, and Family Planning Services under one roof. The transformative approach is a joint effort between UNFPA Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Health, and World Vision Sri Lanka, with generous Norwegian support. The inauguration ceremony was attended by prominent guests including UNFPA Regional Director Pio Smith, UNFPA Sri Lanka Representative Kunle Adeniyi, Norwegian Embassy representatives, and local health authorities. UNFPA’s One Stop Centre in Kilinochchi is a significant milestone in integrating SRH and GBV services within regional healthcare facilities, addressing diverse needs of women and girls.
Source:The Nation
February 28, 2024 08:37 UTC
Lankan convict in Gandhi assassination case passes awayNewsOne of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who was released in October, Sri Lankan nationalSuthenthiraraja alias Santhan has passed away in a hospital in Chennai, India. Santhan alias Suthenthiraraja, one of the seven life convicts granted premature release in the case, had requested President Ranil Wickremesinghe to help him return to the country and live with his aged mother. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet passed a resolution in September 2018, recommending the release of the seven life convicts; but the Governor, instead of taking a decision, referred the matter to the Centre. Finally, the Supreme Court exercised extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and ordered the release of the life convicts. Robert Payas and Jeyakumar, also Sri Lankan nationals who have been kept in the Tiruchi special camp, have decided not to return home, fearing a threat to their life.
Source:Sunday Times
February 28, 2024 05:26 UTC
Source: phys.orgOlder workers who completed an evidence-based retirement planning course reduced their expected retirement age by an average of just over a year, felt more confident in making financial decisions, and felt better prepared to leave the workforce.
Source:The Nation
February 27, 2024 22:08 UTC
In Pix: Protest in front of Indian High CommissionNewsA group of civil society activists held a protest in front of the Indian High Commission in Colombo today (27).They demanded that the government expel Minister Harin Fernando from his post over his controversial comments that Sri Lanka was part of India. They also called on the government to stop "selling" the country to India. Pix by Akila JayawardanaYou can share this post!
Source:Sunday Times
February 27, 2024 16:37 UTC
Source: phys.orgLife on our planet appeared early in Earth's history. Surprisingly early, since in its early youth our planet didn't have much of the chemical ingredients necessary for life to evolve. Since prebiotic chemicals such as sugars and amino acids are known to appear in asteroids and comets, one idea is that Earth was seeded with the building blocks of life by early cometary and asteroid impacts. While this likely played a role, a new study published in Nature Astronomy shows that cosmic dust also seeded young Earth, and it may have made all the difference.
Source:The Nation
February 27, 2024 07:00 UTC
Bitumix launches the newest stage of its scholarship programmesEducationBitumix Private Limited, the leading company in the production and sale of bitumen and related products in Sri Lanka, has expanded fulfilling its corporate social responsibility by implementing the latest stage of the Bitumix Sisu Senehasa scholarship programme that provide financial assistance to students from low-income families. Under this programme, financial assistance is provided to selected students from the Anuradhapura District who are excelled in their education. The scholarship programme, a concept of Bitumix Managing Director Ashoka Siriwardena, was first launched in 2014 by providing financial assistance to six students. In addition to the Sisu Senehasa scholarship programme, Bitumix provides school books and other school items to the children of their staff members. Bitumix aims to further expand Sisu Senehasa and their scholarship programmes to brighten the future of children.
Source:Sunday Times
February 27, 2024 05:33 UTC
A 15-acre land and building in Malwana, widely believed to be of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and later disclaimed is to be made use for a proposed development project of the state, Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe said.
Source:Sunday Times
February 27, 2024 05:16 UTC
But new alternatives, such as plant-based mock meat or lab-grown meat, could closely match the real thing in taste and texture. In our research, we estimated that fully replacing animal-sourced products would release more than 60% of the world's agricultural land. But we could also use that land to produce energy while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, through a process known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (Beccs). And they point out that competition for agricultural land with food crops could threaten food security. And we then deducted the carbon that would have been stored by regrowing plants if we left the released agricultural land alone and did nothing.
Source:The Nation
February 26, 2024 16:04 UTC
Schematic explanation of how seismic events impact forest resilience. Schematic explanation of how seismic events impact forest resilience. Forest resilience changes in the 30 years post-earthquake for seven regions globally (western North America, northwestern North America, the Tibetan Plateau, the Mediterranean region, the Mongolian Plateau, southwestern South America and New Zealand). For North America, the Tibetan Plateau and South America, recovery occurred within a few years and lasted for >20 years in western North America. More information: Shan Gao et al, Shifts of forest resilience after seismic disturbances in tectonically active regions, Nature Geoscience (2024).
Source:The Nation
February 26, 2024 15:04 UTC
The incident happened around 3:40 p.m., according to a news release from Idaho State Police. The vehicle crossed over the center line and crashed head-on into a Nissan south of Swan Lake (north of Preston). Several agencies responded to the crash, including Idaho State Police, Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, Bannock County Search and Rescue, Downey Ambulance, Franklin County Ambulance, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Preston Police Department and Franklin County Fire Department. Officials noted that people at the crash scene helped the victims before law enforcement and emergency medical personnel arrived and expressed gratitude for their efforts. This incident remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police.
Source:The Nation
February 25, 2024 21:06 UTC
Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/WJBFA South Carolina man was convicted of a hate crime for the 2019 murder of a transgender woman in the conclusion to the first federal hate crime trial based on gender identity. Daqua Lameek Ritter was found guilty of fatally shooting Dime Doe, whom he had been in a secret relationship with. Prosecutors alleged that Ritter shot Doe three times to prevent others from discovering that he was having an affair with a trans woman. Ritter’s friends gave conflicting testimony about specific actions he took after the murder, such as disposing of incriminating evidence like clothes and a handgun. But they agreed that his behavior turned erratic and on edge as rumors swirled that he had murdered Doe.
Source:The Nation
February 24, 2024 20:02 UTC
Published at 10:00 am, February 24, 2024 | Updated at 10:22 am, February 24, 2024PAYETTE COUNTY — A Payette woman is dead after a train hit her on Friday night. According to a new release from Idaho State Police, the incident happened on Friday around 6:30 p.m. The woman, 29, was reportedly walking on the railroad tracks when a train heading north hit her. Traffic in the intersection was blocked for about three hours, allowing emergency responders to investigate and clear the scene, officials said. This incident remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police.
Source:The Nation
February 24, 2024 18:38 UTC
Source: phys.orgA new analysis by the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a particle collider at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, provides the first direct evidence of the imprint left by what may be the universe's most powerful magnetic fields on "deconfined" nuclear matter. The evidence comes from measuring the way differently charged particles separate when emerging from collisions of atomic nuclei at this DOE Office of Science user facility.
Source:The Nation
February 24, 2024 05:04 UTC
Ukraine's military on Friday destroyed a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said, the second time in a little more than a month that Ukraine has reported downing the sophisticated plane. Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted military sources as saying the A-50 was downed over Russian territory, between the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar. Ukraine's military in January said its air force destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50 surveillance plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence directorate, told the Financial Times a month ago that Russia had eight A-50s at that time. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Source:The Nation
February 23, 2024 22:20 UTC