News
Scientists discover ‘something morbidly mysterious’ in Indian Ocean
After discovering a host of bizarre creatures of the deep near Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO has found something quite surprising in the depths of the watery abyss: a shark graveyard, full of fossilized teeth, some millions of years old, said a report published by the Science Alert yesterday.It said: Initially, researchers thought they’d pulled up a net full of disappointing sediment and manganese nodules. Until they had a closer look.
“It was amazing, it really was,” Museums Victoria Research Institute collections officer Dianne Bray tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“Not all were fossils, some were relatively recent mako sharks and two species of great white shark relatives.”
More than 750 mineralized teeth, representing a range of predatory species, were hauled up from a depth of 5.4 kilometers (3.3 miles).
Western Australian Museum’s fish curator Glen Moore says the discovery contained an interesting mix of modern and ancient shark parts, including some from the immediate ancestor of the megalodon.
“This shark evolved into the megalodon, which was the largest of all sharks but died out about 3.5 million years ago,” says Moore in a statement.
Megalodon sharks were so massive they could have swallowed today’s largest shark, the great white (Carcharodon carcharias), whole.As sharks have cartilage skeletons rather than bones, most of their remains decompose before they become fossilized, except for their teeth and the occasional scales. So these remains are the only clues we have of these ancient animals’ 450 million-year history on Earth.Why so many of these remains, spanning such a long period of history, were gathered in one place is unclear.
“I don’t know of any obvious explanation of why they might all be together other than perhaps it was a low point in the ocean floor, so they would eventually make their way down,” Moore said.
The graveyard of predators was found during an investigation of two new marine parks, located 2,500 kilometers (about 1,500 miles) off Australia’s west coast.
The CSIRO research vessel that found the graveyard, the aptly named Investigator, has since embarked on another trip, this time to Gascoyne Marine Park off Western Australia, where the vessel has also floated across a new shark species.
“Early in the voyage, we collected a striking small, stripey hornshark,” says CSIRO ichthyologist Will White in a statement.
The hornsharks we already know of tend to hide amongst rocks and seaweed on the shallow seafloor during the day, emerging at night to feed. They also lay the most peculiarly corkscrew-shaped eggs. But this new species was found in water over 150 meters deep, where such cover as seaweed isn’t available.
“It’s been estimated that around a third of the species collected on recent biodiversity survey voyages on RV Investigator may be new to science,” says CSIRO marine ecologist and expedition leader John Keesing in a statement.
“The discoveries we make aren’t just limited to new species. These voyages give us the opportunity to learn more about marine ecosystems, as well as species range, abundance, and behaviour.”
COPF final report on USD 2.5 mn cyber fraud recommends action against all responsible
The US$2.5 million loss incurred during Sri Lanka’s foreign debt repayment to Australia was a clear case of a cybercrime and theft, Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva told Parliament yesterday.
Presenting the COPF final report on the cyber fraud, Dr. de Silva said the incident amounted to a serious financial crime and called for a comprehensive investigation, by law enforcement authorities, to identify and prosecute all those responsible.
The report revealed serious governance, procedural and operational failures that enabled the fraudulent transfer of public funds, while recommending sweeping reforms to strengthen cybersecurity, financial controls and public debt management systems.
According to the report, officials of the Treasury and the Central Bank bore responsibility for governance lapses that contributed to the failures. It also highlighted the fact that the Ministry of Finance was operating an outdated Microsoft Exchange Server after security support had ended, while basic safeguards, such as multi-factor authentication, had not been implemented.
The COPF said suspicious payment instructions linked to debt repayments involving India, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium had also been detected, preventing further losses. However, the US$ 2.5 million fraud materialised only in the repayment transaction involving Australia.
The report has noted that officials had failed to verify lender email domains, relied on unverified email communications and lacked adequate internal controls, allowing the fraud to continue for months.
Although the investigation uncovered system-wide weaknesses across several institutions, only four mid-level Finance Ministry officials had been suspended so far, the report said.
The COPF has recommended a special audit of the foreign debt repayment process, strengthened cybersecurity measures across state institutions, updated financial regulations and improvements to public debt management systems.
by Saman Indrajith
News
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, together with Opposition MPs, yesterday signed a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in Parliament against Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara.The move comes in response to the unrest at the Negombo Prison, where both prison officers and inmates were killed.
Opposition members said the Minister had failed to fulfill his responsibility and accountability regarding their safety.According to the Opposition group, the NCM seeks to hold the Minister directly accountable for lapses in ensuring protection within the prison system.
The Attorney General yesterday informed the Supreme Court that the government has decided to review the legality of agreements entered into by the previous administration to hand over the country’s electronic visa issuance operations to private companies.
Additional Solicitor General Viveka Siriwardena, appearing for the Attorney General, made the submission when the Supreme Court took up the fundamental rights petitions filed by former MPs President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran, Patali Champika Ranawaka, and Rauff Hakeem, challenging the previous Cabinet’s decision to outsource the e-visa system.
The petitions were heard before a three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Arjuna Obeyesekere.
The Additional Solicitor General informed court that the current Cabinet had appointed a subcommittee to examine the legality of the agreements with the private companies and requested time to report on its findings, stating that the review was still underway.
President’s Counsel Sumanthiran, appearing as one of the petitioners, told the court that although the present government had indicated its intention to cancel the transaction, the petitioners wished to proceed with the case.
He noted that members of the current Cabinet had been named as respondents in the petitions.The Supreme Court directed the petitioners to issue notice on the members of the current Cabinet, named as respondents, and fixed September 29 for further proceedings.
Spain leave it late to book semifinal date with France
Showers will occur in the Sabaragamuwa, Western and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
US$ 2.5 mn cyber heist exposes system failures
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
AG informs SC of e-visa agreement review
Navy, Coast Guard seize smuggled pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in Puttalam
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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