Explained: The Katchatheevu dispute with Sri Lanka that Modi is raking up this election season
Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the Congress ‘callously gave away’ the island to Sri Lanka in 1974 is not the first time the matter has been raked up.
This male Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) has a huge casque (beak extension). When vying for females, they do mid-air battle with them. So why do the females have them? You can tell the females apart because they have white skin around their eyes whereas the males are all black.
In the city of Negombo, on the west coast of Sri Lanka, there's an expansive fish market and nearby, fishermen dry their catch of mackerel, sprats and sardines. "Sun-dried fish can last for weeks and, because many residents don’t own refrigerators, is a staple in the local cuisine, adding a unique flavor to Sri Lankan dishes," says photojournalist Claudio Sieber, who took this great shot for @hakaimagazine.
Human Development Index: India Ranks 134th, Falls Behind Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and China
The report revealed that affluent countries are experiencing unprecedented levels of growth, while half of the world's poorest nations have failed to regain their pre-pandemic progress.
Beautiful new backyard friend came to visit. Greater coucal or Crow Pheasant (Centropus sinensis) is pretty massive but apparently primarily eats snails. Admittedly, the snails here are also huge.
Came home to my parent's house for the weekend. It's a beautiful, warm, and sunny morning here.
I will probably read a book throughout the day. #SriLanka
The Universal Declaration of #HumanRights Art. 19 states you have the right to "receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers".
@protonvpn will make #VPN available for free, starting 2 weeks before important #elections, until 1 week after, from:
Hundreds of American children were poisoned last year. Records show how, time and again, the contamination went unnoticed across borders.
by Will FitzgibbonandChristina Jewett
February 27, 2024
"Cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches sold in grocery and dollar stores last year poisoned hundreds of American children with extremely high doses of lead, leaving anxious parents to watch for signs of brain damage, developmental delays and seizures.
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, citing Ecuadorian investigators, said a spice grinder was likely responsible for the contamination and said the quick recall of three million applesauce pouches protected the food supply.
"But hundreds of pages of documents obtained by The Examination, in collaborations with The New York Times and El Universo, along with interviews with government and company officials in multiple countries, show that in the weeks and months before the recall, the tainted applesauce sailed through a series of checkpoints in a food safety system meant to protect American consumers.
"The documents and interviews offer the clearest accounting to date of the most widespread toxic exposure in food marketed to young children in decades. Children in 44 states ate the tainted applesauce, some of which contained lead at extraordinarily high levels.
"Time and again, the tainted #cinnamon went untested and undiscovered, the result of an overstretched FDA and a food safety law that gives companies, at home and abroad, wide latitude on what toxins to look for and whether to test.
"'It’s amazing in a bad sense what a catastrophic failure this was,' said Neal Fortin, director of the Institute for Food Laws and Regulations at Michigan State University. 'Largely, the food supply regulatory system is based on an honor system.'
"The cinnamon originated in #SriLanka and was shipped to #Ecuador, where it was ground into a powder. It was probably there, the FDA has said, that the cinnamon was likely contaminated with #LeadChromate, a powder that is sometimes illegally used to tint or bulk up spices.
"The ground cinnamon was then sold, bagged and sold again to a company called #Austrofood, which blended it into applesauce and shipped pouches to the United States. It was sold under the brand name #WanaBana and various generic store labels.
"Austrofood never tested the cinnamon or its tainted applesauce before shipping it to the United States. The company said it relied on a certificate from a supplier saying the cinnamon was virtually lead free, records show. In a statement, the supplier, Negasmart, did not discuss that certification but said it had complied with all regulations and quality standards.
"The FDA can inspect overseas food companies that ship to the United States, but even as food imports soared to record levels in 2022, international inspections fell far short of targets set by law.
"American inspectors had not visited Austrofood in five years, records show.
"'Companies have the responsibility to take steps to assure that the products they manufacture are not contaminated with unsafe levels of heavy metals,' Jim Jones, the top FDA food official, said in a statement. 'The agency’s job is to help the industry comply and hold those who evade these requirements accountable, as appropriate.'
"The FDA says it has no authority to investigate far down the international supply chain. Records show that the Ecuadorian government had the authority but not the capacity. Ecuadorian regulators had never before tested cinnamon for toxins and, when the FDA called looking for help, nearly half of the government’s lab equipment was out of service, said Daniel Sánchez, the head of Ecuador’s food safety agency.
"Private safety audits commissioned by American importers are supposed to provide another layer of protection. But audits typically look only for the hazards that the importers themselves have identified.
"None of the importers would say whether they considered lead a risk or tested for it and it is unclear what, if any, steps they took. But none blocked the applesauce. Records show one auditor gave the applesauce maker an A+ safety rating in December, as American children were being poisoned.
"The FDA has the power to test food arriving at the border. There is no indication that anyone tested the applesauce when it arrived at ports in Miami and Baltimore. Inspectors conduct about half as many such tests as they did a decade ago.
"The FDA said it planned to analyze the incident and whether it needs to seek new powers from Congress to prevent future outbreaks."
Russians staying in Sri Lanka have showed their gratitude by creating a number of “whites only" night clubs, denying access to local Sri Lankans. So Sri Lankan authorities now decided to help the racists by telling all 288,000 Russians in Sri Lanka to take the next flight back to good old Moscow, where the average skin color is more to their liking.
@pjw@randahl i dont think you understand the sensitivity of a "whites only" club being launched in #SriLanka again.
British Colonization ended less than a century ago, horrifying stories of how locals were treated at the hands of the Racist White Colonials are still widely known.
This is an under-reaction if any. If it were #India or #Pakistan, its very likely mobs would be stirring to punish the 're-colonials'.
Sri Lankan Gov is trying an incredible balancing act.
In #SriLanka, "furious social media backlash over Russian-run businesses with a “whites only” policy that strictly bars locals. These businesses include bars, restaurants, water sports and vehicle hiring services."
"Sri Lanka ends visas for hundreds of thousands of Russians staying there to avoid war" | The Independent
The opening of Edward Galeano’s book looks at historical origins of Latin America’s underdevelopment, the central theme being the #genocide of the #NativePopulation by the Spanish & Portuguese ‘civilising’ #ColonialProject in the Americas. This involved hunger, overwork, communicable diseases & massive damage to the cultures, flora and fauna of the continent. Echoes of this are found in the 30 yrs #CivilWar in #SriLanka & the #Palestinian struggle for #SelfDetermination.