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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Mere rise in temperature will reduce S. Asian crop yield, warns envoy
A mere rise in two to three degrees Celsius temperature would reduce 30 to 40 per cent of the crop yield in the South Asian region, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Dr. Peter Hayes warned recently. Dr Hayes, scientist turned diplomat addressing participants at the concluding event of 'Climate Positive Action' project explained the hazards of climate change due to the global warming and his country's commitment in the fight against the emissions of Green House Gases(GHG) which is said to be the root cause of global warming.
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China seeks to boost farm output amid soaring food costs
China on Thursday announced new duties on fertiliser exports in a bid to boost farming output, after Premier Wen Jiaobao said greater efforts were needed to tackle soaring food prices. Wen said more must be done to help the nation's agriculture sector after data was released on Wednesday showing food prices in China surged 21.0 per cent in the first quarter, driving inflation to 8.0 per cent. "The most prominent problem in the domestic economy is that prices are still running at high levels,' Wen said in comments published in various Chinese media outlets on Thursday.
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Food crisis is serious and it's global - Rice
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressing the media at her office here on Thursday, said the food scarcity and high prices which have hit the developing and poor countries hardest is a global crisis and the U.S. has taken steps to alleviate the suffering.
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Ethanol to drive Lankan cars
Chairman Pelwatte Sugar Industries Ltd (IPSL) Ariyaseela Wickramanayake has submitted a proposal where the country's full requirement of fuel can be produced by cultivating 65,000 hectares of sugarcane while fulfilling the total requirement of sugar for the country and producing more than 150 megawatts of electricity. The total investment for this plan would be only 150 million US dollars which is the cost of only one third of upper Kotmale project.
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Global rice prices doubled over last three months
The collapse of Australia's rice production is one of several factors contributing to a doubling of rice prices in the last three months - increases that have led the world's largest exporters to restrict exports severely, spurred panicked hoarding in Hong Kong and the Philippines, and set off protests in countries including Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Yemen, the New York Times reported yesterday.
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Lankans to participate in earthquake parley via Net
The US National Earthquake Conference will be held in Seattle from April 22 - 26. Earthquake experts from around the nation will convene to discuss the latest research on earthquakes and the generation of tsunamis. The conference will also focus on tsunami hazards, offering attendees and the media an opportunity to hear, via webcast, from experts from Sumatra, Sri Lanka and Phuket, Thailand, that were catastrophically impacted by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December, 2004.
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Plea to Minister: Let there be electricity need of villagers
Eighty families living in Galapalleyaya village in the Ibbagamuwa DS division in a memorandum to Salinda Dissanayake, Kurunegala district MP and Minister of Coconut Development has requested him to take action to provide them with electricity under the Keppetiya-Yakadagolla-Galapalleyaya rural electrification scheme which was opened on April 24, 2007.
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Malaria control campaign to distribute 500,000 mosquito nets
The Health Ministry has provided mosquito nets to residents in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts where Chikungunya, Malaria and Dengue are prevalent. Health sector sources state that the mosquito population is on the increase due to global warming and monsoon rains. A number of people affected by Chikungunya and Malaria have been reported from these areas. Over 15,463 dengue patients were reported in 2004 with 88 deaths reported while 28 deaths were reported in 2005.
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Food crisis moves up global agenda at IMF, World Bank meets
Rising food prices and their threat to political stability and development gains captured the attention of world economic leaders meeting here, with a call to arms launched by the World Bank. The issue steadily gained prominence during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings over the weekend that mainly were focused on the unfolding global financial turmoil and deteriorating economic growth prospects.
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Govt's aim to develop backward rural areas - Minister T.B. Ekanayake
The objective of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his administration is to develop the backward rural areas to the level of the urban areas, said Minister of Highways T.B. Ekanayake at Panduwasnuwara. Four concreted roads costing Rs. 7 million were opened by the Minister T.B. Ekanayake on this occasion. He said a large number of undeveloped rural roads have been constructed in the Kurunegala district.