News

Last lunar eclipse of 2022 today

Published

1 year ago

November 8, 2022

editor

Professor Chandana Jayaratne, Director of the Astronomy and Space Science Unit of the Physics Department of the University of Colombo, said the last lunar eclipse of this year can be seen this afternoon (08).

Professor Jayaratne said that although it appears as a full lunar eclipse to other countries, it appears as a partial lunar eclipse in Sri Lanka.

“We can see the last part of it as a partial lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs at 1:32 pm. The mid-stage of the eclipse is at 4:29. The end of it is at 5:27. However, we won’t be able to see the beginning of the eclipse because the moon is below the horizon. Moonrise is visible to Sri Lanka at 5:48 pm today from the East but more towards the North. The moon will rise with the eclipse from 5.48 to 6.19 for about 31 minutes. If we look at the eastern horizon, we will be able to see the partial lunar eclipse,” he said.

(Ada Derana)

News

China to back digital education transformation project

Published

2 hours ago

May 7, 2024

nipuni

The Chinese Government has pledged support for Sri Lanka’s digital education transformation project.

This project is expected to enhance general education by providing classrooms, data centres, and necessary equipment like tables, studio rooms, and conference rooms.

These resources will facilitate blended learning methods, and resource sharing, and enable teachers with special skills to engage students effectively.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Education.

News

MoP fertilizer subsidies to farmer accounts from today

Published

2 hours ago

May 7, 2024

nipuni

The Department of Agriculture emphasizes that the application of Muriate of Potash (MoP) to paddy cultivation has been quantitatively reduced in the last few seasons.

According to the Department of Agriculture, it is mandatory to use MoP fertilizer to strengthen paddy pods as well as to improve the quality of paddy seeds.

But the use of MoP has decreased in the last ‘Maha’ season. Only 11,000 MT of MoP was used despite around 800,000 hectares being cultivated during the season.

Although the MoP requirement for the ‘Maha’ season is 30,000 MT, it appears that only one third was purchased by farmers.Therefore, in a bid to promote the use of MoP, it has been decided to credit the fertilizer subsidy money to the farmers’ accounts in this ‘Yala’ season.

The Department of Agricultural Development states that depositing subsidies will commence from today (May 07) with financial allocations scheduled to be given to the farmers who have finished planting paddy fields.

Authorities have assured that sufficient stocks of MoP are available in the country.