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Last glaciers in Africa could be lost by 2050 – report

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Glaciers across the globe – including the last ones in Africa – will be unavoidably lost by 2050 due to climate change, the UN says in a report.

A third of glaciers located in UN World Heritage sites will melt within three decades, a UNESCO report found.

Mount Kilimanjaro’s last glaciers will vanish as will glaciers in the Alps and Yosemite National Park in the US.

They will melt regardless of the world’s actions to combat climate change, the authors say.

The report, which makes projections based on satellite data, comes as world leaders prepare to meet in Egypt for next week’s COP27 climate change conference.

About 18,600 glaciers have been identified across 50 UN World Heritage sites. They represent almost 10% of the Earth’s glacierised area and include renowned tourist spots and places sacred to local populations.

The retreat and disappearance of glaciers was “among the most dramatic evidence that Earth’s climate is warming”, the report said.

“We hope we might be wrong, but this is the hard science,” said UNESCO project officer Tales Carvalho Resende, one of the authors. “Glaciers are one of the valuable indicators of climate change, because they’re visible. This is something we can really see happening.”

The remaining two thirds of glaciers in UN World Heritage sites could be saved, but only if the world limits global warming to 1.5C, the authors say. Another UN report last week found that the world currently had “no credible pathway” to achieve that.

(BBC News)

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Lohan Ratwatte transferred to prison hospital 

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Former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, who was arrested and remanded on charges of using a luxury car illegally imported from abroad and assembled in Sri Lanka, has been transferred to the prison hospital.

He was arrested by Mirihana Police on October 31 in Katugastota, Kandy.

Ratwatte was subsequently produced before the Acting Magistrate of Nugegoda from the Mirihana Police Station, and was ordered to be remanded until November 7.

However, the Acting Magistrate granted permission for Ratwatte to receive treatment at the prison hospital.

Police said that the former state minister was arrested in Kandy over an incident of discovering an unregistered car at his wife’s house in the Mirihana area of Nugegoda.

The car without registered number plates was found on October 26, 2024, according to police.

Police had found the luxury car in question during an inspection carried out based on information received by the police headquarters that there is a luxury car without number plates in a three-storied house in the Embuldeniya area in Mirihana, belonging to Shashi Prabha Ratwatte, the wife of former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte.

During the investigation, both Ratwatte and his wife had explained to the police that his mother-in-law resides in the said house. They had claimed that the car had been brought there three weeks ago by Ratwatte’s private secretary, who was recently found dead with gunshot injuries in the Katugastota area of Kandy.

(AdaDerana)
(This story, originally published by AdaDerana has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Bell 412 helicopter on standby for KDU bus accident patients

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The Defence Secretary has directed the Sri Lanka Air Force to keep a Bell 412 helicopter ready at the Diyatalawa Air Force Base for the potential airlift of patients injured in the recent bus accident to Colombo for further treatment if needed.

The accident, which occurred at Ambagas Junction on the Dunhinda-Badulla road around 7:45 AM on November 1, involved a bus carrying 42 people from the Kotelawala Defence University’s (KDU) Southern Campus. Among the group were 36 students from the 39th KDU Intake, three lecturers, an instructor, a senior military officer, and the bus driver.

Two female students, residents of Kurunegala and Nivithigala, tragically lost their lives. 

The remaining 40 were admitted to the Badulla General Hospital, with seven in the ICU and one in critical condition.

KDU’s Vice-Chancellor confirmed that arrangements for the funerals will be made with university support. 

Preliminary findings suggest a mechanical fault may have caused the accident, with a detailed investigation underway.

The Ministry of Defence has expressed condolences to the victims’ families and commended the prompt rescue efforts of local residents, as well as the swift response by Dr. Palitha Rajapaksa and the hospital staff.

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(Previous News : November 01, 2024 11.28 am)

2 dead in Badulla bus tragedy

Two persons have been reported dead after a bus carrying a group of university students had toppled across the road at Dunhinda Road in Badulla this morning (Nov. 01).

The accident had occurred between the third and fourth kilometer posts on the Badulla-Mahiyanganaya main road, near the Dunhinda access road, after the bus collided with a bund.

According to reports, the bus was carrying a group of students from the Southern Campus of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), who had been on a field trip.

Over 30 persons injured had been rushed to the Badulla Hospital, reports say.

(Pic : Accident 1st)

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Doctors at Karapitiya Hospital begin 24-hour strike over internal threats

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Doctors at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle have commenced a 24-hour token strike, according to the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA).

GMOA Treasurer Dr. Ubhaya Bandara Warakagoda stated that the strike was initiated in protest over threats made by a doctor against several other doctors of the hospital.

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