Fire destroys 35 acres of forest land
Around 35 acres of forest was destroyed on Saturday in a fire that erupted in the protected areas of the Castlereagh reservoir and Devon Falls. Police suspect that the fire has been deliberately caused
Daily News (Sri Lanka)
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Lanka, Korea MoU for solid waste management project
Lanka, Korea MoU for solid waste management project The Environment and Natural Resources Ministry signed an MoU with the Republic of Korea for the implementation of a joint solid waste management project in four local Government areas in the Colombo District under the Ministry's Pilisara project.
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Dengue Control Week aims to combat killer disease
Dengue Control Week aims to combat killer disease A Dengue Control Week will be implemented throughout the country from April 28 to May 3 jointly by the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry and the National Dengue Control Unit.
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Chickungunya control drive in Ratnapura
Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry has taken steps to control Chickungunya now spreading in Kuruwita, Kiriella and Eheliyagoda DS divisions in the Ratnapura district, Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said. He said the Ministry has implemented an action plan under the direction of Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva and deployed a special team of doctors to the affected areas. Over 75 blood samples were collected from the suspected patients. The Ministry has already supplied required drugs to the Eheliyagoda hospital.
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UNICEF's tsunami school rebuilding nears completion
UNICEF's post-tsunami three-year Re-Building with Children Recovery Plan, is fast nearing completion. Responding to a request of the Education Ministry, UNICEF committed to building 21 schools islandwide, to replace facilities damaged or destroyed by the tsunami.
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Rat fever on the rise
Leptospirosis, widely known as rat fever, is once again on the increase; with 41 deaths being reported this year up to the third week of April. Only 34 deaths were reported islandwide for the whole of 2007, Dr Nihal Abeysingha, chief epidemiologist of the Ministry of Health and Nutrition, said yesterday. The deadly disease has been reported from many paddy farming districts. A significant number of new cases have been reported from Colombo, Gampaha, Matara, Kegalle and Kalutara, he said.
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Energy on agenda for Ahmadinejad India visit
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will stop in New Delhi next week on a brief "working visit" to be topped by talks on two multi-billion dollar energy deals, an official said Monday. Ahmadinejad will arrive here on April 29 after a two-day state visit to India's southern neighbour Sri Lanka, and leave later that day, the foreign ministry official said. During his stay, Ahmadinejad's first to India, he will meet his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the official said.
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Bold reform needed to tackle high food prices: IMF Chief
Bold reform is needed to deal with the long-term problem of rising food prices, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in an comment piece published yesterday. He wrote in the Financial Times that high food prices were "a serious humanitarian concern" and that more aid would be needed to help feed the poor, but added that "we must be bolder in tackling the long-term challenges of food supply."
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Water projects for Batticaloa
A water supply programme to provide fresh drinking water for residents in Batticaloa district has been expedited. Under this programme, the Unnichchai drinking water programme has been given priority, Water Supply and Drainage Board, Batticaloa Engineer D.A. Pragash said. This programme is implemented under the patronage of the Asian Development Bank.
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Mangrove project to withstand tsunami
A regional forum under the Mangroves For the Future (MFF) project implemented in six countries in the tsunami aftermath will begin at Hotel Heritance, Ahungalle today. According to the country office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the five-day forum will present and discuss outcomes of the preliminary programmes carried out in India, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It will develop a framework for the actions. The IUCN sponsored forum will be attended by representatives from the six countries and resource persons.
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India to help build 150-bed hospital in Sri Lanka
India will help construct a 150-bed hospital in Sri Lanka and provide vocational training to the people in rural areas of the island nation under the two agreements signed here between the neighbouring countries. The Sri Lankan government has provided three acres of land for construction of the district general hospital at Dickoya in Hatton in the Central Province. The Rs (Sri Lankan) 918 million project will be implemented by the state-owned HSCC (India) Ltd, a company providing consultancy services in healthcare and other social sectors.