China declared officially as a malaria-free country by WHO.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared China malaria-free, after a 70-year effort to wipe it out. China used to report 30 million cases a year during the 1940s. Since then, eradication efforts have driven down case numbers. The country used various methods to break …

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Global Cybersecurity Index 2020

The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) published its 2020 Global Cyber Security Index on Tuesday 29 June 2021, and listed the US first in overall ranking, followed by a tie for second place tie between the UK and Saudi Arabia. The index ranks nations …

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Jaswar Umar elected President of Football Sri Lanka.

Mr. Jaswar Umar has been elected as the new President of Football Sri Lanka (FSL), during the election of the federation’s office-bearers held today (30). Mr. Umar received a total of 96 votes to narrowly edge out the other candidate for the presidency, Dr. Manil Fernando wh…

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International Reggae Day - 01 July.

Every year on July 1st, International Reggae Day celebrates reggae culture and its influence on Jamaican music. Reggae developed in the 1960s and evolved into a popular style of music. With its roots in Jamaica, Reggae music is an integral part of the Jamaican culture. It is…

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Europe's Space Agency to hire first Disabled Astronaut.

The European Space Agency hopes to hire and launch the world’s first physically disabled astronaut. The 22-member space programme has just closed its latest decennial recruitment call for astronauts and received 22,000 applicants. The ESA, whose Ariane rocket once dominated t…

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An Indian warship conducted Military Drill with South Korean Ship In East China Sea.

An Indian Navy warship carried out a military drill with a South Korean vessel in the East China Sea on 28 June 2021. This partnership exercise was aimed at enhancing interoperability and facilitating the exchange of best practices between the two navies. Indian Navy's in…

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China turns on world’s 2nd-biggest hydro power dam.

The Government of China officially turned on the first two generating units of the Baihetan Dam, the world’s second-biggest hydroelectric dam, to start generating energy. The Baihetan Dam is set up on the Jinsha River, in southwestern China. About the dam: The dam is a 289-me…

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UK financial regulator bans world’s largest crypto exchange.

Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has been issued a warning by the UK's financial regulator. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ruled that the firm cannot conduct any "regulated activity" in the UK. It also advised people to be war…

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International Asteroid Day - 30 June.

Every year on June 30th, International Asteroid Day raises public awareness about the hazards of an asteroid impact. It’s also a day to inform the public about crisis communication actions necessary in the event of a credible near-Earth object event. Considered minor planets…

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International Day of Parliamentarism - 30 June.

Every year on June 30th, the International Day of Parliamentarism celebrates the fundamental principles of parliamentarism. The day also draws attention to how the parliamentary systems of government improve the lives of people around the world. A parliamentary democracy is …

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Philippines on FATF grey list, working on junket controls.

The Paris-based watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has added the Philippines to its “grey list” of jurisdictions that it regards need increased monitoring in relation to risk of financial crimes.  The Financial Action Task Force said in its latest update: “When …

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Envirnment Ministry has banned all types of lunch sheets without publishing new gazette.

The Environment Minister, Mahinda Amaraweera, advised the ministry officials to take steps to ban all types of lunch wrapping sheets in the country without publishing a new gazette notification. The decision was made by the Minister yesterday, after taking into account all s…

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The International Day of the Tropics - 29 June.

Each year on June 29th, the International Day of the Tropics raises awareness about various challenges that tropical nations face. It’s also a day to celebrate the extraordinary diversity of the Tropics. The regions of the Earth that lie in the middle of the planet are calle…

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Matt Hancock quits as health secretary after breaking social distance guidance.

Matt Hancock has resigned as health secretary after he breached social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague. In a letter to the PM he said the government "owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down". P…

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Former South African President Jacob Zuma sentenced to 15 months.

South Africa's highest court found former President Jacob Zuma guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to 15 months in prison on Tuesday 29 June 2021, a landmark move in the country's long-running corruption saga. The Constitutional Court of South Africa ordere…

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BCCI confirms 2021 T20 World Cup switch to UAE.

The BCCI has communicated to its member associations that this year's T20 World Cup will be held in the UAE. However, BCCI retain the hosting rights of the 16-team event that is scheduled to begin on October 17, two days after the completion of the IPL final, also in the…

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Sudirman Cup moved to Finland, World Tour Finals to Indonesia.

The Sudirman Cup Finals 2021 and the BWF World Tour Finals, two key badminton tournaments this year which were originally planned to take place in China, have now been moved to Vantaa, Finland and Bali, Indonesia respectively. Vantaa, Finland is the new host of the Sudirman …

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Turkey and Azerbaijan started Joint Military Drills.

The armed forces of Turkey and Azerbaijan have began joint military drills called “Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – 2021,” in Baku on Monday 28 June 2021, deploying tanks, helicopters and drones in an effort to improve the two countries’ combat interoperability. The main purpose of t…

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Singapore’s surprising new plan to ‘Live with Covid’ revealed.

A country that has been one of the world’s most successful at combating Covid-19 has announced it will soon fundamentally change how it manages the pandemic. The city state of Singapore has stated covid will be treated like other endemic diseases such as flu. There will be no…

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Cristiano Ronaldo becomes joint top-scorer in men's international football.

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the joint-top scoring men's international player of all time. He is currently tied with Iran legend Ali Daei, who scored 109 times in 149 matches between 1993 and 2006.  Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties to tie the overall men’s scoring …

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French non-fiction author Emmanuel Carrere wins top Spanish award.

French author Emmanuel Carrere, popular for his non-fiction books in a high literary vein, has been granted this year’s Spanish Princess of Asturias Literature Award. The award is one of the eight prestigious prizes by the foundation named after the heir to the Spanish thro…

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Ukraine, US launch Black Sea drills

Ukraine and the United States have launched a military exercise involving more than 30 countries in the Black Sea and southern Ukraine, despite Russian calls to cancel the drills. The "Sea Breeze 2021" manoeuvres that began on Monday (28) and will last for two week…

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Scientists find Neanderthal ancestor, challenging what we thought about human evolution.

Scientists had discovered a new kind of early human in Israel after studying pieces of fossilized bone dug up at a site used by a cement plant in central Israel. After studying fossils in Israel, scientists said they discovered a new kind of early human. Researchers from Tel…

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Max Verstappen Wins 2021 Styrian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen (Netherlands-Red Bull) has won the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix. This is the Verstappen's 14th career win and 4th of the  Formula One season.  Also, with this win, Verstappen leads the 2021 driver’s championship standings with 156 points followed by Hamilton (1…

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Turkmenistan's capital tops list of most expensive cities for expats.

The capital of Turkmenistan in Central Asia has been named as the world's most expensive city for foreign workers. Ashgabat, a city of about one million people, topped a 2021 cost-of-living survey by consultancy firm Mercer. The ranking puts Ashgabat above last year's…

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Pakistan to remain on FATF grey list.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has refused to take Pakistan out of the ‘Grey List’ yet again. It said Pakistan had failed to take appropriate action against UN-designated terrorists such as 26/11 accused Hafiz Saeed and JeM chief Masood Azhar. Although the global ant…

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Zhang Zhizhen: First Chinese man to qualify for Wimbledon.

Zhang Zhizhen will be the first Chinese man in the Open Era to play in the main draw at Wimbledon next week after the world No. 178 booked his place by defeating Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-0 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(6) in the qualifiers on Thursday. The 24-year-old is only the fo…

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AWS has acquired messaging service Wickr.

Amazon’s cloud services giant Amazon Web Services (AWS) is getting into the encrypted messaging business. The company has just announced that it has acquired secure communications service Wickr — a messaging app that has geared itself towards providing services to governmen…

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Nuclear capable missile successfully test-fired in India.

India on Monday (28) successfully carried out the test-firing of a new missile of the Agni series known as Agni-Prime at 10.55 am, off the coast of Odisha. It was test-fired successfully from launchpad No-4 of Chandipur. The new nuclear-capable missile is fully made up of co…

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Yam-based eco friendly lunch sheets, shopping bags introduced to Sri Lanka.

With the decision of the Environment Ministry to ban polythene and plastic lunch sheets and shopping bags, local manufacturers are keen to introduce new products made out of eco friendly and easily perishable materials. As an alternative to this ban, various manufacturers ar…

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