MALE - Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen on Thursday lifted the state of emergency after a period of 45 days, stating the situation in the island country has now returned to normal, the President's Office said in a statement."Upon the advice of the Security Services and in an effort to promote normalcy, the President has decided to lift the State of Emergency," President Yameen's office said.The president's international spokesperson Ibrahim Shihab told Xinhua that the president had issued the order to lift the state of emergency on Thursday morning and all departments had been notified.The state of emergency was declared by Yameen on Feb 5 for a period of 15 days due to a threat to the national security following the Supreme Court's ruling on Feb 1 ordering the release of detained opposition leaders including self-exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed.The Maldivian parliament on Feb 20 approved extending the state of emergency in the island by a further 30 days following a request by the president as the threat to the national security had not diminished following the Supreme Court's ruling.During the 45-day state of emergency, the government said day-to-day activities of the citizens had not been affected and tourists could continue to visit the island nation. rubber band braceletsprinted wristbandsmiscarriage awareness silicone braceletscolored rubber bands for braceletsplain black silicone wristbands24 hour silicone wristbandscheapest place to buy silicone wristbandssilicone wristband usb flash drive
BEIJING -- Chinese researchers have found evidence of the shift from wild rice to rice cultivation.Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) collected the samples of phytoliths, a microscopic structure of silicon dioxide, from an archaeological profile at the Hehuashan site, located in the upper Qiantang River region in east China's Zhejiang Province.They found and analyzed the fan-shaped phytoliths which were contained in rice leaves.A change in the amount and forms of the fan-shaped phytoliths found at the Early Neolithic site indicated a change from wild rice to cultivated rice at the time of human occupation, which provides evidence of possible manipulation of wild rice during Shangshan Culture period about 10,000 years ago.Rice cultivation has a long evolutionary process. "Ancient humans recognized wild rice could satisfy their hunger," said Wu Yan, associate professor from CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. "Then they learnt to collect and preserve wild rice and began rice cultivation."The phytoliths were resistant to corrosion and well preserved. They are expected to be a key finding for the research into the origins of rice, said Wu.
