Rear Admiral Jayarathne appointed Navy Chief of Staff.

Rear Admiral YN Jayarathne has been appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy with effect from 17.08.2021 by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Accordingly, Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne, officially handed over the letter of appointment in t…

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International Day of Medical Transporters - 20 August

Every year on August 20th, International Day of Medical Transporters honors ambulance drivers and the important work they do. The day also encourages us to learn more about the job of a medical transporter. A medical transporter has the important job of getting a sick or inj…

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World Mosquito Day - 20 August.

August 20th recognizes World Mosquito Day marking the occasion when Sir Ronald Ross discovered that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans in 1897. During Ross’s work with the Indian Medical Service, he made his groundbreaking discovery. The malarial parasite was …

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World Humanitarian Day - 19 Augsut.

Each year, World Humanitarian Day is held on August 19th to honor aid workers who put their lives at risk to better the lives of others. The day also rallies support for people around the world affected by crises. Around the world, the United Nations, along with Internation…

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World Photography Day - 19 August.

Every year on August 19th, World Photography Day (also known as World Photo Day) celebrates the art, craft, science, and history of photography. The day also encourages photographers from around the globe to share a single photo that encapsulates their world. The kind of pho…

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International Orangutan Day - 19 August.

For the love of orangutans, International Orangutan Day on August 19th spreads awareness about the threat of their extinction. Celebrate these fantastic apes and encourage the public to take action in protecting them. Since orangutans have 97% of the same DNA as humans, it s…

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New island created by underwater volcano in Japan.

An underwater volcano has erupted in Japan, creating a new tiny island. The new island is around one kilometre in diameter, and is located near to the volcanic island Iwo Jima, about 1.2 kilometres south of Tokyo. It was spotted by the Japan Coast Guard after a nearby underw…

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Germany suspends development aid to Afghanistan.

Germany has suspended development aid to Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Other countries have also followed suit, although aid organizations say the cuts could hurt Afghanistan's poor the most. The beleaguered nation had been among the main recip…

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Uganda to Host 2,000 Afghan Refugees.

Uganda has agreed to temporarily host 2,000 Afghan refugees at the request of the United States.   Esther Anyakun, Uganda’s state minister for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees, says President Yoweri Museveni told her to make preparations to host 2,000 refugees from…

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Hakainde Hichilema wins Zambia Presidential Election.

Mr Hichilema defeated the incumbent, President Edgar Lungu, by a landslide - more than a million votes. The 59-year-old Hichilema won with a landslide victory, winning 59.38% of the total vote. He will replace incumbent President Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front.  It was Mr…

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Maki Kaji, creator of Sudoku puzzle passes away.

Maki Kaji, the creator of puzzle Sudoku passed away at the age of 69 years due to bile duct cancer. He was known as the father of Sodoku and was from Japan.  He was the president of Nikoli Co., Ltd., a Japanese puzzle manufacturer. Kaji established Japan’s first puzzle magaz…

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Messi signs for Paris St Germain after leaving Barcelona.

Lionel Messi joined star-packed Paris St Germain after leaving Barcelona, the club where he had begun, after 21 years. Messi, a six-time winner of the Ballon d'Or for Europe's best soccer player, signed a two-year contract with an option for a third year. Paris Sain…

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US Congress to award Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi.

An influential US lawmaker from New York on Friday (13) reintroduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives to posthumously award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his promotion of peace and nonviolence. The Congressional …

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World's Most Polluted Cities - 2020.

According to a report prepared by HouseFresh, a British company, Ghaziabad was the second most polluted city in the world in 2020. As per the report, Bangladesh was the most polluted country in the world in 2020. The report has stated that after Bangladesh, Pakistan, India …

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India register their third-ever Test victory at Lord's.

India pulled off a historic victory against England in the second Test of five-match series at Lord's. The Virat Kohli-led side successfully defended 271 runs on the final day. A game-changing partnership between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah helped India gain the e…

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NASA Spacewalk Briefing to Highlight New Solar Array Installation.

Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station Tuesday, Aug. 24, for a spacewalk to install a support bracket in preparation for future installation of the orbiting laboratory’s third new solar array. NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalk during a new…

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UK announces plan to resettle 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan.

The United Kingdom says it will welcome as many as 20,000 Afghans under a new resettlement programme that will give priority to women, girls and religious and other minorities, according to reports in British news outlets. The scheme aimed at those seen “most at risk of huma…

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Haiti struck by deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake.

A powerful earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti, killing at least 304 people and injuring more than 1,800. The 7.2-magnitude quake hit the west of the country on Saturday (14) morning, toppling and damaging buildings including churches and hotels. The prime min…

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One virus case puts New Zealand into Nationwide Lockdown.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation into a three-day lockdown after the discovery of the first community case of Covid-19 since February. The snap lockdown will begin at midnight tonight (17) as authorities rush to identify the source of a single infecti…

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Chinese pharma company to set up Covid-19 vaccine plant in Sri Lanka.

China and Sri Lanka are set to deepen their bilateral “vaccine diplomacy” with a leading Chinese pharma company preparing to set up a manufacturing plant to make anti-Covid jabs in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s home district, Hambantota. The new plant will be set up under a…

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Blue Origin takes NASA to court over SpaceX lunar lander contract.

Following a $2 billion Hail Mary, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has filed a complaint with the US Court of Federal Claims over NASA's handling of the Human Landing System program. The court challenge comes less than a month after the US Government Accountability Office (G…

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July was Earth’s hottest month on record.

July was the hottest month globally ever recorded, a US scientific agency said Friday (13), in the latest data to sound the alarm about the climate crisis. July is typically the world's warmest month of the year, but July 2021 outdid itself as the hottest July and month …

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Naomi Osaka to donate prize earnings to Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is of Haitian and Japanese descent, will play in the Western and Southern Open, which has a $255,220 prize Naomi Osaka is once again using her social media presence and platform to help create change and put the most dire situations in the forefr…

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Prehistoric cave paintings found in Spain.

Prehistoric cave paintings have been found in Spain and making them to show Neanderthals were artists. Red ochre pigment discovered on stalagmites in the Caves of Ardales, near Malaga in southern Spain, were created by Neanderthals about 65,000 years ago, making them possibl…

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Indonesia's most active Mount Merapi in New Eruption.

Indonesia’s most active volcano erupted Monday (16) with its biggest lava flow in months, sending a river of lava and searing gas clouds flowing 3.5 kilometers (more than 2 miles) down its slopes on the densely populated island of Java. The rumbling sound could be heard seve…

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Malaysian PM resigns after failing to get majority support.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned less than 18 months into his tenure, becoming the country’s shortest-ruling leader after conceding that he lost majority support to govern.  Muhyiddin, who came to power in March 2020, will remain as caretaker until a new pr…

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Indonesia Independence Day - 17 August.

Indonesia Independence Day is the national holiday in Indonesia as it marks the anniversary of Indonesia’s Proclamation of Independence on August 17, 1945.  All parts of Indonesia celebrate this day with full enthusiasm. The day is referred to by Indonesians as Tujuhbelas Ag…

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Germany football legend Gerd Mueller passes away.

German football legend Gerd Muller has passed away at the age of 75, his former club Bayern Munich announced. The former striker, who held the nickname 'Der Bomber' during his career, was regarded as one of the greatest ever forwards to play the game and helped his c…

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Taliban declares ‘war is over’ in Afghanistan as US-led forces exit Kabul.

The Taliban has declared the war in Afghanistan is over after insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul as US-led forces departed and Western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens. Spokesman Mohammad Naeem said in interviews with Al Jazeera TV the Ta…

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The World’s Top 10 Airports of 2021.

The World's Top 10 Airports of 2021, voted for by airport customers from across the world during the 2020-2021 World Airport Survey During the period of the global pandemic, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar is named the World's Best Airport 2021, with Tokyo…

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Una Stubbs: ‘Till Death Us Do Part’ and ‘Sherlock’ star dies aged 84.

Actress Una Stubbs, who appeared in some of the best-loved shows on British TV from the 1960s to the 2010s, has died at the age of 84. She found fame in Cliff Richard's 1963 film Summer Holiday before starring in hit sitcom Till Death Us Do Part. The actress went on to ap…

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Taliban enters Kabul; Afghan president flees.

Afghanistan — Taliban fighters entered Kabul on Sunday and sought the unconditional surrender of the central government, officials said, as Afghans and foreigners alike raced for the exit, signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan. Two A…

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49 million-year-old beetle looks like it was squashed.

A beetle that lived about 49 million years ago is so well-preserved that the insect looks like it could spread its strikingly patterned wing coverings and fly away. That is, if it weren't squashed and fossilized.  Wing cases, or elytra, are one of the sturdiest parts of …

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Global Youth Development Index (YDI) 2020.

Prepared by the Commonwealth Secretariat Youth Division the Global Youth Development Index (YDI) is an aggregate of indicators that measure progress on youth development. The rankings and domain scores for 181 countries in the 2020 Global Youth Development Index (YDI), incl…

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75th Indian Independence Day 2021.

India is celebrating the 75th Independence Day on 15th August 2021 to mark the country's freedom from nearly two centuries of British colonial rule. India is marking its 75th Independence Day as "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav". Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leadin…

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India, Saudi Arabia begin maiden bilateral naval exercise.

The maiden bilateral naval exercise between India and Saudi Arabia, dubbed “Al-Mohed Al-Hindi,” began on 09 August 2021 in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The exercise comprises several shore and sea-based drills between the navies of the two countries. A flagship warship of India’…

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Pakistan successfully test fires a ballistic missile.

Pakistan on Thursday 12 August 2021 successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres, the army said. The successful training launch of ballistic missile Ghaznavi was aimed at ensuring operational rea…

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Tusk reveals woolly mammoth's massive lifetime mileage.

Scientists have analysed the chemistry locked inside the tusk of a woolly mammoth to work out how far it traveled in a lifetime. The research shows that the Ice Age animal traveled a distance equivalent to circling the Earth twice. Woolly mammoths were the hairy cousins of t…

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Water molecules detected on the moon by Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.

The Chandrayaan-2 moon mission landed hard on the lunar surface in 2019, the orbiter that accompanied it has been delivering vital data to scientists on the ground. A scientific paper published earlier this week stated that the Chandrayaan-2 satellite confirmed the presence …

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ICC to push for cricket’s inclusion in Olympics.

The ICC has confirmed its intention to push for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games going forward, starting preparations for a bid on behalf of the sport with the primary target being its addition to the Los Angeles 2028 itinerary. A Working Group to lead the bid has b…

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