Dawoodi Bohras spiritual leader calls on President Wickremesinghe

The spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin Saheb callep met President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the official residence of the President on Paget Road this (03) afternoon.

Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin Saheb informed  President Wickremesinghe about the Bohra Conference scheduled to be held  in the vicinity of the Bambalapitiya Bohra Mosquet this year.

As a gesture of goodwill, a book documenting various programs and religious services conducted by the Bohra community over the past four years was presented to the President.

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Lanka signs security pact with US to prevent illicit maritime trafficking in nuclear and radioactive material

Sri Lanka has signed a nuclear security pact with the United States to detect and interdict illicit trafficking in special nuclear material and other radioactive material, as part of the efforts to address the growing global security threats.

The Sri Lankan Navy signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the US National Nuclear Security Administration at the Navy headquarters here on Wednesday.

The MoU was signed in the presence of the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung and the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera.

“The U.S.-Sri Lanka partnership in addressing global security threats is ever-growing,” Ambassador Chung posted on X.

The new MOU between the Sri Lanka Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration will “bolster our joint efforts to prevent illicit maritime trafficking in nuclear and radioactive material,” she wrote.

The MoU addressed bilateral cooperation to detect and interdict illicit trafficking in special nuclear material and other radioactive material through technical and methodological cooperation, including the installation and improvement of technical systems for the detection and identification of such material at border crossing control points of Sri Lanka.

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President prioritizes resolving farmers woes amidst economic challenges

President Ranil Wickremesinghe affirmed his commitment to prioritize the concerns of farmers in the nation’s rebuilding efforts. He also announced that the country’s most extensive agricultural modernization initiative.is to be launched soon.

The President shared these sentiments during his participation at a paddy harvesting ceremony in Galamatiyawa village within the Thambalagamuwa Divisional Secretariat. Of the 9000 acres of paddy cultivation undertaken in the area during the Maha season, 672 acres is within the Galamatiyawa village.

Residents of Galamatiyawa, irrespective of political affiliation, ethnicity or creed, gathered to express their grievances to the President who promptly directed relevant officials to investigate and provide solutions.

Foremost among the issues raised were the urgent need for a canal to ensure adequate water supply for crop cultivation and the installation of an electric fence to safeguard farmlands from elephant intrusions. In response, President Wickremesinghe disclosed plans for a comprehensive feasibility study to construct a canal, facilitating water distribution across nine tanks from Vendrasan to Puliyuthukulam. Additionally, he instructed officials to install street lights along area 94 to Palam Patar until the electric fence is constructed.

 

 

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Contract signed to build Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems on main islands off Jaffna

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, Government of Sri Lanka and M/s. U Solar Clean Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd., signed the contract for the implementation of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems in Delft, Nainativu and Analaitivu islands off Jaffna, in the presence of the High Commissioner of India, Santosh Jha, and the Minister of State for Power and Energy, Indika Anuruddha, yesterday (01).

Issuing a statement, the Indian High Commission (IHC) in Colombo said the project, which is aimed at addressing energy needs of the people of the three islands, is being executed through grant assistance from the Government of India (GOI). The hybrid project combines various forms of energy, including both solar and wind, towards optimizing capacities.

The three islands are not connected to the national grid, the IHC said.It added that the energy sector was identified as a priority area in the India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision document which was adopted during the visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India in July 2023. Several landmark initiatives, such as the power grid connectivity, multi-product two-way oil pipeline, are currently under discussion between India and Sri Lanka in the energy sphere.The IHC said the GOI’s overall development partnership portfolio in Sri Lanka stands at 5 billion U.S. Dollars with almost 600 million dollars being in grants.

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Elon Musk sues ChatGPT-maker OpenAI over Microsoft links

Elon Musk is suing OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, arguing it has breached the principles he agreed to when he helped found it in 2015.

The lawsuit – which has also been filed against OpenAI boss Sam Altman – says the firm has departed from its original non-profit, open source mission.

It says instead of trying to “benefit humanity” – as it was set up to do – it is focusing on “maximising profits” for major investor Microsoft.

OpenAI has been approached for comment.

The firm was created with the intention of building what’s known as artificial general intelligence (AGI) – AI that can perform any task a human being is capable of.

It was also set up as a not-for-profit company, meaning it would not aim to make money.

The lawsuit, which has been filed in San Francisco, states it was under these conditions, that Mr Musk agreed to found OpenAI, along with Mr Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman. He left three years later.

“This case is filed to compel OpenAI to adhere to the Founding Agreement and return to its mission to develop AGI for the benefit of humanity, not to personally benefit the individual Defendants and the largest technology company in the world,” the lawsuit says.

The filing comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that US regulators had begun to probe the ChatGPT creator over whether investors had been misled, following boardroom drama at OpenAI in November 2023. It saw Mr Altman suddenly ousted from the board, before being reinstated at the helm several days later.

The board at the time accused Mr Altman of not being “consistently candid in his communications”, and said as a result they had “lost confidence” in his leadership. It was a row Microsoft became deeply embroiled in – including an offer to take on any staff who quit OpenAI.

Mr Musk had said in a post on X – formerly Twitter – that he was “very worried” by the situation. His lawyers now say in this lawsuit that these “stunning developments” highlight Microsoft’s increased influence over the company.

“Its technology, including GPT-4, is closed-source primarily to serve the proprietary commercial interests of Microsoft,” it says.

Microsoft’s initial $1bn backing of OpenAI in 2019 came shortly after the AI firm – previously operating as a non-profit – announced a new “capped profit” structure which would allow investment in it. Microsoft’s investment swelled to a multi-year, multi-billion partnership in January 2023 following the launch of OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT.

The partnership is now being examined by UK, EU and US regulators.

The lawsuit also alleges that details about the design of OpenAI’s most recent AI model, GPT-4, were kept secret. “On information and belief, this secrecy is primarily driven by commercial considerations, not safety,” it says.

Mr Musk announced his own AI start-up called xAI in July 2023, citing its mission as being to “understand reality”. It developed Grok, its own chatbot with a little humor,  to try and rival the likes of ChatGPT in November that year.

Mr Musk’s lawyers say, among other desired outcomes of the lawsuit, they want OpenAI to be ordered to continue making information relating to its AI developments available to the public.

Microsoft declined to comment.

(BBC)

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Lucknow Super Giants sign Lance Klusener as assistant coach

Lucknow Super Giants have signed former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener as an assistant coach for IPL 2024. Klusener is also in charge of Super Giants’ SA20 affiliate (Durban’s Super Giants). Klusener will join head coach Justin Langer and fellow assistant coach S Sriram in Super Giants’ back room.

This will be Klusener’s second stint as a coach in the IPL having served as an assistant to former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock at Mumbai Indians in the early years of IPL.

Under Klusener, Guyana Amazon Warriors won their maiden CPL title last year. Klusener will reunite with West Indies sensation Shamar Joseph in the IPL – they had previously worked together at Amazon Warriors in the CPL. Joseph had joined Super Giants as Mark Wood’s replacement. .

Klusener has had stints as head coach of Afghanistan and batting coach of South Africa and Zimbabwe. He has also worked with Tripura in the Indian domestic circuit.

In all Klusener had played 49 Tests and 171 ODIs for South Africa from 1996 to 2004.

Super Giants will open their IPL 2024 campaign against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on March 24.

(Cricinfo)

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Heroic moment truck driver saved by brave firefighter as cab dangles 70ft above river

Dramatic video shows the brave firefighter abseiling down to the truck's cab where the driver is hauled to safety.

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