Category: Environment
Report on Wilpattu resettlement presented to President Sirisena
June 8, 2015 (LBO) – A report prepared by environmental organizations on the controversial issue of the resettlement within Wilpattu Sanctuary boundaries in Sri Lanka was presented to President Maithripala Sirisena last week.President Sirisena assured that he would not let any person to damage the environment but will take the final decision on the resettlement […]
Cycling Culture Can Help Cure Sri Lanka’s Road Congestion: Min Ranawaka
Jun 04, 2015 (LBO) – Cycling can help reducing the congestion on Sri Lanka urban roads and conserve energy, Minister of Power and Energy said. “A vehicle needs to travel at 60-70 km/h to be fuel economical, this was possible in the 1980’s in Colombo, but now it has become 8 km/h and in the […]
Heavy Rains and Floods force a 660,000 Sri Lankans from homes
Dec 26, 2014 (LBO) – Heavy raining and flooding in Sri Lanka has forced about 663228 people out of their homes, the disaster management center (DMC) said Thursday. It is also said, that cloudy skies and intermittent showers or thundershowers will occur over most parts of the country and very heavy falls are also likely […]
China-India energy rivalry in spotlight as Modi visits Nepal
KATHMANDU, August 2, 2014 (AFP) – Energy will be high on the agenda when India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Nepal on Sunday, eager to claw back lost ground in the race for resources with China. “It makes more sense for Delhi and Beijing to work together — whether it’s a case of using […]
‘s far north sparks mystery
MOSCOW, July 26, 2014 (AFP) – A vast crater discovered in a remote region of Siberia known to locals as “the end of the world” is causing a sensation in Russia, with a group of scientists being sent to investigate. The giant hole in the remote energy-rich Yamalo-Nenetsky region first came to light in a […]
Flipkart battles Amazon for India e-shopping dominance
NEW DELHI, June 4, 2014 (AFP) – India’s online retailers are bulking up on acquisitions and funding as they battle the world’s biggest Internet shopping giant, Amazon, for supremacy in the hyper-competitive domestic market.Late last month, Flipkart, India’s largest e-shopping portal, announced the takeover of rival Myntra in a deal analysts estimated at 0 million […]
Extinct bat found in Papua New Guinea
SYDNEY, June 4, 2014 (AFP) – A big-eared bat which was thought to be extinct has been found in a forest in Papua New Guinea, highlighting the unique biodiversity of the developing nation, researchers said Wednesday. Until the find the bat, or Pharotis imogene, had not been seen in 120 years. “The species was presumed […]
13 dead as rains lash Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, June 2, 2014 (AFP) – Unusually heavy monsoon rains have flooded Sri Lanka’s capital and neighbouring districts where mudslides killed at least 13 people, officials said Monday. The island’s western and southern regions experienced heavy rains with more than 100 millimetres (four inches) dumped within about one hour on Sunday, an official at the […]
Sri Lanka elephants migrate from Canada to US
WASHINGTON, May 24, 2014 (AFP) – Three female Asian elephants took up residence at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington on Friday after a 2,500-mile (4,000-kilometer) road trip from western Canada.Now in quarantine for 30 days as they adapt to their new surroundings, the immigrant pachyderms can be seen on the National Zoo’s “elephant cam” […]
” dinosaur found in Argentina
BUENOS AIRES, May 17, 2014 (AFP) – Paleontologists in Argentina’s remote Patagonia region have discovered fossils of what may be the largest dinosaur ever, amid a vast cache of fossils that could shed light on prehistoric life.Finding so many individual dinosaurs at one site could confirm the hypothesis that these herbivores lived in herds, as […]
Preglacial landscape found deep under Greenland ice
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2014 (AFP) – US geologists said Thursday they have uncovered a preglacial tundra landscape preserved for 2.7 million years far below the Greenland ice sheet. They then sampled a rare form of the element beryllium, the beryllium-10 isotope formed by cosmic rays. The research, backed by National Science Foundation funding, found that […]
Morning light could be secret to healthy weight
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2014 (AFP) – Being slimmer could be as simple as waking up early for some morning sunshine, US researchers suggested on Wednesday. Morning light was found to have an influence on body mass, regardless of a person’s physical activity level, caloric intake, sleep timing, age or the season. The study found morning […]