H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Asia
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Image Source: Prabin Ranabhat/AFP/Getty Images
Nepal was rocked by massive protests after the government blocked access to major social media platforms. The ban, introduced at the start of September, cut off popular sites like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and X. Officials said the move was meant to regulate online platforms that failed to register under new rules, but many saw it as an attempt to silence criticism and limit free expression.
The restrictions quickly fueled anger across the country, especially among younger people. For many, the ban was the final straw in a long list of frustrations over corruption, nepotism, and lack of opportunities. Social media had become a tool to highlight the privilege of political families while ordinary citizens struggled with poor services and limited jobs.
On September 8, tens of thousands of mostly young protesters poured into the streets of Kathmandu and other cities. Demonstrators clashed with security forces, stormed government buildings, and set fire to offices and residences linked to political leaders. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and live fire. By the end of the day, at least 19 people had been killed and many more were wounded.
The scale of the unrest shook the government. The home minister resigned, admitting moral responsibility for the crisis. Soon after, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli also stepped down along with several other officials. The government lifted the social media ban and promised free medical treatment and compensation for victims’ families. A panel was formed to investigate what led to the deadly escalation.
Despite these concessions, protests have not completely stopped. Curfews and bans on public gatherings remain in place in several districts. The army has been deployed to maintain order.
Analysts say the demonstrations mark a turning point for Nepal’s younger generation. The protests were not only about social media but also about years of frustration with corruption, inequality, and lack of accountability. Many believe the Gen Z movement has signaled a new phase in Nepal’s political struggle, one where young voices can no longer be ignored.
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter and sub-editor covering science and geopolitics.
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Revolutionary enabling technologies are paving the way to NASA's dreams for missions that send scientific data from distances as far away as Mars at incredible speeds that make possible receipt of huge volumes of data and even near-real-time data analysis.
For the LLCD ground terminal, Lincoln Laboratory used a novel four-telescope receive array plus a four-telescope transmit array. Credit: (Lincoln/NASA)
On October 17, 2013, a team of NASA scientists and researchers from Lincoln Laboratory made history by transmitting video data from a satellite orbiting the Moon to a ground station in New Mexico at a rate of 622 megabits per second (Mbps). This data transfer reaching down 239,000 miles realized a data rate six times higher than any transmission achieved by any previous radio system flown to the Moon. Then, the team uploaded data from the New Mexico ground terminal to the space terminal at a rate of 20 Mbps — 5,000 times faster than any earlier radio system's transmission to the Moon!
Not only did this system of terminals achieve incredible rates of data transmission, it also demonstrated error-free optical communications through the Earth's atmosphere during daylight hours, under turbulent wind and weather conditions, and through thin clouds.
These groundbreaking up- and downlinks were realized by a system that used invisible, eye-safe infrared lasers to send digital data through free space. The system, developed by Lincoln Laboratory for NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), consisted of a small space terminal and a ground terminal. The space terminal's three small modules - the optical module or telescope, the modem, and the controller - made up a compact, lightweight, power-efficient unit that was integrated onto a small spacecraft and have the potential to provide similar services to future spacecraft.
The ground terminal was designed to demonstrate that multiple small receive and transmit telescopes could be configured to provide the same performance as one large, more expensive telescope. It also was designed to allow operations through the turbulent atmosphere in a cost-effective way. The downlink receiver was based on a technology that was newly developed jointly at Lincoln Laboratory and MIT: superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. These devices are sensitive enough to efficiently detect and individually count the few photons that actually reach the Earth-bound telescopes, but at a timing resolution high enough to interpret the extremely high transmitted data rates. Since LLCD, a number of commercial companies have sprung up to build similar detectors. Because these detectors require large, complex cryo-refrigerators, they will likely not see space-borne uses for some years, but they are already known to be the best detectors for optical communications from NASA's future deep space missions.
For the 2013 demonstration, the space terminal rode aboard NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft that was on a science mission to measure dust particles and molecules of hydrocarbons in the very thin lunar atmosphere. Although LADEE had not planned to depend on the laser communications (lasercom), the demonstration showed that the LLCD system could provide a reliable high-rate link from LADEE to Earth. LADEE ended up using this capability a number of times to downlink the entire spacecraft data buffer in minutes.
The system demonstrated on LLCD is capable of sending any kind of digital data at very high rates: scientific information, such as images or sensor outputs; satellite health and status information; high-definition video; and computer data transfers down from the spacecraft to Earth. Similarly, the system can send data up to a satellite, where the data can be used for controlling the spacecraft, running robotic science experiments, or, someday, enabling two-way videos, conversations, or internet interactions with astronauts.
Of course, NASA has used radio systems quite successfully for decades. Optical systems, though, can either deliver the same performance with much smaller space terminals or can provide orders of magnitude higher performance with similar (or smaller) terminals. Because it is extremely expensive to launch large and heavy satellites, scientists and engineers are always looking for ways to perform the same or better functions with smaller systems. LLCD has now shown that it is possible to do exactly that.
This artist's depiction of NASA's Orion spacecraft shows the crew capsule at right. Image: NASA/Sierra Nevada Corp.
The LLCD capabilities are already opening up the possibilities for space explorations. Planners are in the process of devising new measurements that can be done, for example, at planetary distances, but whose large volumes of measurement data had precluded their adoption before now.
Small, very high-rate systems in space and on the ground are useful not only for scientific expeditions to the planets but also for investigations of space nearer to the Earth. NASA will be flying its Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) in the next few years. It is a geosynchronous-orbit system based on an LLCD-like Lincoln Laboratory design that is being built by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Once the LCRD is placed in orbit via a commercial satellite, terminals on the ground in California and Hawaii, as well as a Lincoln Laboratory–built space terminal on the International Space Station, will test links to and from LCRD. Researchers will study the transmission processes and will also begin to understand how interconnected space networks can be coordinated and controlled in the future.
NASA’s upcoming manned missions to the Moon, called Orion, also plan to use lasercom. The Laboratory is designing the lasercom system and is building the first of the terminals, which is similar to LLCD. This new system is planned to connect the astronauts to the Earth at much higher data speeds than possible with radio systems. It will be used for two-way high-definition videos as well as the more standard, but high–rate, data connections.
With the influx of communication satellites crowding the RF spectra, several commercial near-Earth satellite providers have announced that they plan to employ lasercom as a solution to bypassing this congested environment. According to Space Angels, a firm that funds startups in the space industry, the small size, low cost, speed, and data capacity of optical communication systems make them attractive alternatives to RF systems.
Scientists had long known that optical communications had the potential to provide long-distance, high-rate data transmission. Thanks to LLCD, though, more and more upcoming space systems have newfound confidence that they can base new high-performance systems on optical technologies.
J. Singh is a Jadetimes news reporter covering the USA
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Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa
Stripping a war-time leader of entitlements may save reserves on paper — but at what national cost?
If Sri Lanka’s civil war had dragged into 2025, the cost for the government to sustain it would have been catastrophic — tens of thousands more lives lost and billions drained from the national reserves. Yet today, the government justifies removing Mahinda Rajapaksa’s residence, security, and facilities in the name of saving money. The question is unavoidable: if he had not stopped the war in 2009, would this nation even have reserves left to protect? Can the rate of war’s destruction ever be compared to the relatively small entitlements of the leader who ended it? By cutting these benefits, is the government truly being practical — or is it diminishing the sacrifice that secured Sri Lanka’s survival?
Colombo, September 11, 2025 — Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has vacated his official residence at Wijerama Road, Colombo 07, following the passing of the Presidents’ Entitlements (Repeal) Act in Parliament yesterday. The Act, endorsed by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, abolishes state-provided residences, pensions, secretarial allowances, transport, and other privileges once granted to ex-presidents and their families.
Rajapaksa, accompanied by his wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa, left the residence around 1:15 p.m. today, as large crowds of supporters gathered outside to bid farewell. Diplomats and politicians were also present earlier in the morning, signaling the weight of this moment in Sri Lanka’s political history. According to party officials, Rajapaksa will now relocate to his private residence, Carlton House in Hambantota, where a welcoming ceremony has been organized by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
A Leader Who Ended a War
AFP / Getty
Mahinda Rajapaksa is remembered for his decisive role in ending Sri Lanka’s nearly three-decade-long civil war. In May 2009, under his leadership, the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), one of the world’s deadliest terrorist organizations. This victory restored peace, safeguarded national sovereignty, and paved the way for development.
Analysts caution that if a conflict of that scale were to resurface in 2025, the country could face over 100,000 casualties and lose billions from its national reserves, plunging Sri Lanka into economic ruin. For many, Rajapaksa’s leadership remains a cornerstone of the nation’s survival — and his safety is therefore seen as a matter of national interest.
Security Concerns Amid Political Decisions
Critics argue that removing state-provided housing and protection for Rajapaksa is not reform, but political retaliation. Despite finishing the war and driving Sri Lanka into a new era of development, highways, and expanded national reserves, Rajapaksa continues to face security threats even today.
Jadetimes obtained exclusive footage of Rajapaksa leaving his residence, surrounded by loyal supporters chanting his name. The scene highlights not just his enduring popularity, but also the public unease created by the government’s decision. Many now ask: who will be responsible if something happens to the former President, whose safety remains a matter of national importance?
Could This Lead to Fresh Protests?
Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images
This decision comes at a fragile time for Sri Lanka, where protests in recent years toppled governments and fueled social unrest. Observers warn that controversial moves such as stripping Rajapaksa of entitlements could ignite another wave of demonstrations, especially among his large support base in the south. For a nation still recovering from economic and political turmoil, critics believe the government’s approach is shortsighted. Instead of prioritizing security for a leader who defeated terrorism and elevated Sri Lanka’s development, they accuse the government of playing politics with national stability.
The Presidents’ Entitlements Act may be hailed by some as a cost-cutting reform. Yet, the sight of Mahinda Rajapaksa — the man who ended a war in 2009 — leaving his official residence under public scrutiny raises troubling questions. Will this decision undermine Sri Lanka’s fragile stability? Could it trigger fresh unrest? And most importantly, who bears responsibility if the safety of a war-time leader is compromised? As the debate unfolds, one truth is clear: stripping former presidents of protections may come at a higher price than the government is prepared to pay.
