Myanmar's New State Administration Council.

The regime in Myanmar headed by the army has announced a new State Administrative Council. The council headed by the Army Chief General Min Aung Hlaing has eleven members out of which 8 are from the military. Earlier, addressing the meeting of the Union government, General M…

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International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - 06 February.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation is a UN-sponsored awareness day that takes place February 6 each year. It is an effort to make the world aware of female genital mutilation (also called FGM) and to promote its eradication. According to data fr…

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Iran launches new satellite-carrying rocket.

Iran's defence ministry said it has test launched a new satellite carrier with its "most powerful" solid-fuel engine. The test was "the first launch of the Zoljanah hybrid satellite carrier for sub-orbital testing". Zoljanah can put satellites in a &qu…

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Democracy Index 2020

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of …

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First openly gay cabinet secretary confirmed by U.S. Senate.

Pete Buttigieg was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday 02 Feb 2021 on an 86-13 vote to head the U.S. Transportation Department, the first openly gay U.S. Cabinet secretary confirmed by lawmakers. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who challenged Joe Bide…

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US extends nuclear arms treaty with Russia.

The United States has extended a key nuclear arms control treaty with Russia for five years, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday 03 Feb 2021. Then the treaty has been extended to 5th Feb 2026. This treaty is the only one left regulating the two largest nucl…

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New Zealand qualify for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final.

New Zealand become the first team to qualify for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final. The postponement of the Test series between South Africa and Australia means New Zealand have become the first team to qualify for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship fina…

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has published a new book.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has come up with his new book "The Little Book of Encouragement". "The Little Book of Encouragement", which has 130 quotes, is edited by Renuka Singh and published by Penguin Random House. The Dalai Lama says as one …

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International Day of Human Fraternity - 04 February.

This year 2021, for the very first time, we are celebrating the International Day of Human Fraternity in the context of World Interfaith Harmony Week, providing an opportunity to highlight the principles and values included in the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Pea…

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New members appointed to Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).

The new members of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) have been approved by a majority of the House. The decision has been made during the 6th meeting of the Parliamentary Council held yesterday (03) under the patronage of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. P…

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Canada declares the Proud Boys a terrorist group.

Canada on Wednesday 03 Feb 2021 declared the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, adding the far-right group to a list that includes al-Qaeda, ISIS and al-Shabab in an effort to crack down on "ideologically motivated violent extremism," described by the country's pu…

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Ancient Mummy Found Entombed in Strange Cocoon Never Seen by Archeologists.

The discovery of a rare "mud mummy" from ancient Egypt has surprised archaeologists, who weren't expecting to find the deceased encased in a hardened mud shell. The "mud carapace" is an unparalleled find; it reveals "a mortuary treatment not prev…

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73rd Independence Day celebrated today, February 4, 2021.

The 73rd Independence Day, which is themed “A prosperous tomorrow - a prosperous motherland”, is celebrated ceremoniously today (February 04) at Independence Square. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will grace the event following the arrival of distinguished guests. The President…

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Ford joins hand with Google.

Ford Motor Co has joined hands with Alphabet Inc’s Google to cooperate in software, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, to develop new consumer services and modernize internal operations.  The automaker will deploy Google artificial intelligence technology to improv…

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Archaeologists in Egypt discover a mummy with a golden tongue.

Egyptian archaeologists discovered 16 human burial chambers outside of Alexandria -- and at least one of them contained a human skull with a startling golden tongue. The tongue is an amulet made of gold foil, and might've been made to help the dead speak in the afterlif…

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Wikipedia introduces new Universal Code of Conduct to fight harassment.

Wikipedia has introduced a Universal Code of Conduct that looks to create a global standard for the site and ensure a “diverse, inclusive, and accessible” community of contributors, continuing its efforts to fight harassment. The formal code of conduct — like many Wikimedia …

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World Cancer Day - 04 February.

World Cancer Day is marked on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written i…

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Hollywood actor Hal Holbrook dies at age 95.

Hal Holbrook, the Oscar-nominated actor known for playing Deep Throat in All the President's Men, has died at 95. Holbrook, who also appeared in Wall Street, Into The Wild and Lincoln, died on 23 January, his assistant told the New York Times. As Deep Throat, Holbrook lea…

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Apple will invest $3.6 billion in Kia Motors.

Apple is investing 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in Kia Motors in a collaboration to built an electric car.  This is according to a report by Korean outlet DongA Ilbo (via Bloomberg), which claims a deal may get inked on February 17. According to the report, the plan is to l…

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Alibaba looking to raise up to $5 billion from bond issuance.

Alibaba is looking to raise up to $5 billion via U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. The Chinese e-commerce giant announced the bond offering, in a statement with very few details. Alibaba plans to sell several tranches of bonds with different maturities up to 40 years. Alibaba’s …

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Uber to buy Drizly for $1.1 billion.

Uber announced that it would be acquiring alcohol delivery service Drizly, in a stock and cash deal valued at approximately $1.1 billion. Drizly’s marketplace is expected to be built directly into the Uber Eats app, though the company notes that it will maintain Drizly as a…

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Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will leave his post later this year, turning the helm over to the company’s top cloud executive, Andy Jassy, according to an announcement Tuesday 02 Feb 2021. Bezos will transition to executive chairman of Amazon’s board. Bezos, 57, founded Amazon in 19…

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Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to restart fuel oil trade.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal to restart the fuel oil business by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). The Monopoly of fuel oil supply, upheld by the ‘Lanka Maritime Services Limited’ affiliated to CPC, was opened to the private sector in 2004. The bo…

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Vivo ranked among Top 5 Global Smartphone Brands in 2020, according to IDC.

According to the latest annual data from IDC, vivo, a leading global smartphone brand, ranked fifth in the global smartphone market in 2020 with a market share of 8.6 percent and shipments exceeding 110 million devices. With a year-over-year growth rate of over 1 percent, v…

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Period drama ‘Bridgerton’ smashes Netflix viewership records.

Netflix has claimed its biggest hit ever with “Bridgerton,” a drama set in Britain in the early 1800s. Some 82 million households watched the drama, based on novels by Julia Quinn, in its first 28 days, Netflix (NFLX) said in a statement on Wednesday. The company also claims …

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U.S. Government commits $40 million loan to support small businesses and empower Sri Lankan women.

The U.S. Government committed a $40 million loan to Sri Lanka’s SDB bank to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and women entrepreneurs. The loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the U.S. Government’s development bank, aims to suppo…

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First unmanned space flight set to launch in December.

India’s first unmanned space flight as part of the ‘Gaganyaan’ mission is scheduled to be launched in December this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday 01 Feb 2021.   Four Indian astronauts are being trained in Russia. The first unmanned launch, th…

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New species of chameleon is discovered in Madagascar.

New species of chameleon where the males have unusually large genitals for sex with bigger females is discovered. A new miniature species of chameleon where the male is much smaller but has unusually large genitals in order to have sex with the much larger female has been di…

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Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes inducted in the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

Former Legendary Australian  pacer Merv Hughes has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. The Australian and Victorian fast bowler became the 56th inductee after a career that spanned 53 Tests and 33 One Day Internationals for Australia. Fast, fearsome and li…

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A small rocket billed as the world's first commercial booster powered by biofuel has launched from Maine.

The Brunswick-based startup bluShift Aerospace launched its first rocket prototype, called Stardust 1.0, on Sunday (Jan. 31), despite freezing temperatures and two false starts. The rocket didn't reach space (or even a mile up), but marked a major milestone for a compan…

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