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General Amnesty announced for sailors, who have been Absent Without Leave (AWOL), to obtain official discharge starts today (20)
A General Amnesty period from 20th April to 20th May 2024 for Sri Lanka Navy sailors, who have been Absent Without Leave (AWOL), to obtain official discharge has been announced
This General Amnesty is applicable only for sailors (except all Artificers, Professional Medical and Professional Dental sailors) who have been AWOL prior to or as at 31st December 2023. All sailors who have been AWOL must obtain their clearance after reporting to the nearest Naval Base.
Under the above General Amnesty, absentee sailors (except all Artificers, Professional Medical and Professional Dental sailors) who are currently overseas are allowed to obtain official discharge, without reporting back.
Absentees who are currently abroad are required to submit the following documents/information through following e-mail addresses nhqdgp@gmail.com.
A. Name, rate, official number.
B. Date of desertion.
C. Scanned copy of biometric page of the passport.
D. Scanned copy of alterations and observations page.
E. Scanned copies of emigration stamps.
F. Scanned copies of past and present VISAs.
G. Contact details of locally based representative.
In the event of an absentee who is overseas following guidelines need to be followed:
A. Sailors subject to pending disciplinary action (other than AWOL) cannot be discharged by a Power of Attorney while abroad, and they must report to the Navy and complete their disciplinary actions.
B. When an absentee living overseas is cleared to be discharged, when he is eligible for clearance after verification of records held by the Navy. He can submit a registered Power of Attorney who can take discharging procedure in liaison with Director General Personnel.
C. Power of Attorney needs to be legally drafted and to be registered in the Registrar General’s Office (SL)
D. Any pending recovery of the absentee to the Government of Sri Lanka or the Sri Lanka Navy needs to be recovered through his Power of Attorney.
E. Such absentee needs to assure he will delete the reference “Naval Person” (or any other reference to that effect) in his passport at the first instance he will return to Sri Lanka.
F. An absentee whose oversees leave is taken on MOD approval, needs to fulfill requirements of their overseas leave bond.
G. Any clarification regarding Power of Attorney or any other documents, to be got down from Director Naval Legal Services.
Discharge action will be initiated upon verification of above information through respective institutions.
(Navy Media)
United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that talks with Iran are continuing to try to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf, even as the US military announced shooting down an Iranian drone that approached its aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that Washington was negotiating with Iran “right now”, but declined to say where the talks were taking place.
“[The talks] are all over. But they are negotiating. They’d like to do something, and we’ll see if something is going to be done,” he said.
“They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn’t work out. And we did ‘Midnight Hammer’, I don’t think they want that happening again,” he added, referring to the operation last June in which the US Air Force and Navy struck three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump, who has been pushing Teheran to agree to talks over its nuclear programme, has repeatedly threatened to attack the country again over a recent crackdown on antigovernment protests. The US president sent the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Gulf last week, leading to fears of a possible military confrontation.
The carrier strike group, which brought roughly 5,700 additional US troops, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region.
Tensions have been easing in recent days amid a push by regional powers for a resolution.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on Tuesday that he had instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency”, provided that a “suitable environment exists”.
“These negotiations shall be conducted within the framework of our national interests,” Pezeshkian added
[Aljazeera]
Seven million people’s cancer could be prevented each year, according to the first global analysis.
A report by World Health Organization (WHO) scientists estimates 37% of cancers are caused by infections, lifestyle choices and environmental pollutants that could be avoided.
This includes cervical cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infections which vaccination can help prevent, as well as a host of tumours caused by tobacco smoke from cigarettes.
The researchers said their report showed there is a “powerful opportunity” to transform the lives of millions of people.
Some cancers are inevitable – either because of damage we unavoidably build up in our DNA as we age or because we inherit genes that put us at greater risk of the disease.
But researcher Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram said “people are surprised to hear” that nearly four in 10 cancers can be prevented as it is “a substantial number”.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the WHO, analysed 30 preventable factors known to increase the risk of cancer.
These include smoking and ultraviolet (UV) radiation which can directly damage our DNA; obesity and too little physical activity which alter inflammation and hormones in the body to raise cancer risk; and air pollution which can wake up dormant cancer cells.
The agency’s report also looked at nine cancer-causing infections including HPV, hepatitis viruses which lead to liver cancer and the stomach bug H. pylori.
The team used data on cancer cases from 2022 and from the 30 risk factors a decade earlier – across 185 countries – to perform their statistical analysis.
The big three contributors to more than 18 million cancer cases around the world were found to be:
- smoking tobacco which caused 3.3 million cancers
- infections causing 2.3 million cancers
- alcohol use leading to 700,000 cancers
However, the overall figures mask a nuanced picture of cancer risk around the world.
There is a stark sex-divide with 45% of men’s cancers being preventable compared with 30% in women, partly down to higher levels of smoking among men.
In women living in Europe, the top three preventable causes of cancer are smoking, closely followed by infection and then obesity.
While in sub-Saharan Africa, infections dominate and account for nearly 80% of preventable cancers in women.
This means any measures to tackle these cancers would need to be tailored to each region or country.
“This landmark study is a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer worldwide, incorporating for the first time infectious causes of cancer alongside behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks,” said Soerjomataram, the deputy head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit.
“Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden.”
The report, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed lung cancer (linked to smoking and air pollution) stomach cancer (linked to H. pylori infection) and cervical cancer (linked to HPV infection) made up nearly half of all preventable cases of cancer.
Dr Andre Ilbawi, team lead for cancer control at WHO, said the study was “good news” as it showed something could be done and he pointed to the success of countries that have introduced policies to tackle smoking or vaccinate against HPV.
“The percentage of preventable cancers can change over time and our goal is to get it as close to zero as possible,” he said.
[BBC]
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