New Zealand Captain Sophie Devine hits Fastest Century in Women's T20 History.

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine hit the fastest century in women's Twenty20 history on Thursday 14 January 2021, taking just 36 balls to reach 100 in a domestic match in Dunedin. Devine tore apart the Otago Sparks bowling attack, hitting nine sixes and seven fours to …

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Xiaomi and 8 More Chinese Companies Blacklisted by US Government.

The US government has blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and China's third-largest national oil company for alleged military links, heaping pressure on Beijing in President Donald Trump's last week in office. The Department of Defense added nine companies to…

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Selling rate of US $ exceeds Rs.198 mark.

According to the daily exchange report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the current buying rate of the US Dollar today (20) stands at Rs.192.85 and selling rate of the US dollar stands at Rs.198.26. Meanwhile, commenting on the continuous depreciation of the rupee ag…

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Joe Biden sworn in as 46th president of the United States.

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States in inaugural ceremonies on the west front of the Capitol that have begun in Washington, D.C. on 20  January 2021.  The ceremonies have been scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic, with heightened security…

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India beats Australia and wins Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba.

India has scored a famous victory in the Test series against Australia. India successfully chased the 328 on the last day of the final game at the Gabba to win the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Explosive wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who was not picked for th…

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Netherlands PM Mark Rutte and his entire cabinet quits.

The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte and his entire Cabinet has resigned recently over the childcare subsidies scandal, in which thousands of families were wrongly accused of child welfare fraud. However, the Rutte government will stay on in a caretaker role until parliamen…

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Government of India decides to celebrate January 23 as Parakram Diwas.

The birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, on January 23, as ‘Parakram Diwas’ every year, the Ministry of Culture announced. The day is celebrated to honour and remember Netaji’s indomitable spirit and selfless service to the nation. Earlier this month, the Minis…

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Adani group signs concession agreement with Airports Authority of India (AAI)

Adani Group has announced that it has signed a concession agreement with Airports Authority of India(AAI) for Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram airports. The concession period is 50 years from the commercial operation date. Adani Group had emerged as the highest bidder for…

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Tariff concession for Mongolia.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Trade for awarding tariff concession as well as conduct discussions with Mongolia for identifying tariff concessions that be mutually agreed upon between the two parties, the state information o…

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Drafting of Sign Language Bill approved.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal to make necessary provisions through an Act of Parliament for making Sign Language a recognized means of communication and to advise the legal draftsman to draft the relevant bill. The proposal has been tabled by Prime Minis…

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148th session of the Executive Board of World Health Organisation.

The 148th session of the Executive Board take place on 18-26 January 2021. The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms. The annual Board meeting is held in January when the members agree upon the agenda for the World Heal…

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International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) won't be held Men's World Championship 2021 in Belarus.

The International Ice Hockey Federation cited safety concerns and said it will seek a new country to co-host the tournament with Latvia or host it on its own. The tournament is scheduled to start May 21. Criticism of Belarus’ role as co-host grew after authoritarian presiden…

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Yonex Thailand Open Badminton Tournament - 2021.

Carolina Marin and Viktor Axelsen has won Thailand Open in Bangkok badminton tournament 2021. The Yonex Thailand Open Super 1000 badminton tournament was held from 12 January 2021 to 17 January 2021. It was the first badminton tournament of 2021 by Badminton World Federatio…

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Russia withdraws from Open Skies Treaty.

Russia said on Friday 15 Jan 2021 it will withdraw from an international treaty allowing observation flights over military facilities following the United States’ exit from the pact. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the US withdrawal from the Open Skies Tre…

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Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) keeps policy rates unchanged.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 18 January 2021, decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at their current levels of 4.50 per cent and 5.50 per…

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Blue Origin launches New Shepard rocket mission.

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin launched another version of his New Shepard mission Thursday 14 January 2020 in the remote west Texas landscape. Mission NS-14 took a little more than 10 minutes to complete and sent the crew capsule more than 350,000 feet into the a…

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US designates UAE, Bahrain as ‘Major Strategic Partners’.

The United States has recently designated the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the “major strategic partners” of the country. This has been announced before the formal transition of the president’s office from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.  This announce…

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Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE)'s All Share Price Index (ASPI) sets new all-time high among the best performing indices globally.

The All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange reached its all-time high index tally today closing the 10th trading day of 2021 on 7922.66 points. The previous highest points figure recorded was 7811.80 points on 14 February 2011. The ASPI gained 188.09 poin…

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China's 'Bat Woman' honored as advanced personnel of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Chinese virologist from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) Shi Zhengli was honored as an "advanced worker of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)". Shi was also elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2019.  During the CAS 2021 annual work…

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At 17.5 million, Indian diaspora largest in the world: UN report

India continued to be the largest country of origin of international migrants. It had the largest number of migrants living abroad (17.5 million), followed by Mexico (11.8 million), and China (10.7 million). The top destination country remained the United States (50.7 milli…

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Highest volcano on Indonesia’s Java island Semeru has erupted.

The highest volcano (3676m) on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java, spewed hot clouds as far away as 4.5km today (18th December). There were no immediate evacuations, but the National Disaster Mitigation Agency warned people who live in the villages on the slop…

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Rohit Sharma becomes the First Cricketer to smash 100 Sixes against Australia in International Cricket

Rohit became the first cricketer to score 100 sixes against Australia in international cricket. The hitman has now hit nine sixes in Test matches against Australia, 76 sixes in ODIs and 15 in T20Is making him the first cricketer to smash 100 sixes vs Australia.  The six agai…

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India Finds Its First Ever Lithium Reserves.

India has discovered its maiden lithium reserves discovery in the igneous rocks located in the Marlagalla-Allapatna region of Karnataka's Mandya district. Though the discovery is very small in size in the present and stands at only 1,600 tonnes of lithium, it marks an in…

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North Korea unveils new submarine-launched missile.

North Korea has unveiled a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, described by state media as "the world's most powerful weapon". Several of the missiles were displayed at a parade overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, reported state media. The weapon's…

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Uganda's long-time leader Yoweri Museveni declared as the election winner.

Uganda's long-time President Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected, electoral officials say, amid accusations of vote fraud by his main rival Bobi Wine. Mr Museveni won almost 59% of the vote, with Bobi Wine trailing with about 35%, the Electoral Commission said. Thursday&#…

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Nepali climbers make history with winter summit of K2 mountain.

A team of 10 Nepali climbers has set a new world record by becoming the first to reach the summit of K2, the world's second highest mountain, in winter. Mountaineer Nimsdai Purja, a member of the group, said they reached the peak at 17:00 local time (12:00 GMT). Dozens of…

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Fiji wins presidency of The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR).

The favorite of Western nations, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, beat off competition from Bahrain and Uzbekistan to win the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) on Friday (15 Dec) elected Fiji's ambassador as its 2021 p…

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US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII.

US greenhouse gas emissions tumbled below their 1990 level for the first-time last year as a result of the response to the current pandemic. A preliminary assessment from research group Rhodium says that overall emissions were down over 10%, the largest fall since World War …

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World Religion Day - 17 January.

Every year on the third Sunday in January, people from all cultures and backgrounds come together World Religion Day. The day celebrates the commonality of the major faiths of the world. It may surprise you to know that there are over 4,000 recognized religions in the world.…

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Sri Lanka Tamils appeal to UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for rights accountability.

Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil political parties and civil society groups have urged the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international independent investigatory mechanism with a strict time frame to ensure accountability from the island nation on the alleged human right…

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