News in brief

Cheaper nuts at new outlet

The Coconut Cultivation Board has set up a sales outlet at Battaramulla to sell coconuts at less than Rs. 20 per nut.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Plantation Industries said that steps have been taken to arrest the blight affecting coconut cultivation in the Southern Province.

Ranil under fire

Several Media Associations have expressed concern over UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe pulling up a Parliament Reporter of an English daily over the telephone. It was reported that the journalist was pulled up for not giving publicity to a media release of the UNP. In a joint statement five leading media Associations pointed out that the editors of the newspapers retain the right to publish or not any news story.

Snr LTTE leader pleads not guilty

An alleged senior LTTE terrorist leader in the UK pleaded not guilty to five terrorism charges at London's Central Criminal Court. Arunachalam Krishanthakumar, widely known as Shanthan and Gordon Lambert were arrested by Britain's anti-terror authorities earlier this year.

Lanka scores on gender

Sri Lanka continues to score over many developed countries in the Gender Ranking, an index measuring gender disparities, according to the World Economic Forum. (WEF). The latest survey done by the WEF places Sri Lanka in 15th place, well ahead of many European nations.

Sugar deals with India

Sri Lanka is firming deals to buy sugar from India taking advantage of its glut due to high production this year.

Indian sugar which fetches around $290 a tonne from Sri Lankan importers could face hard bargaining as countries such as Thailand have emerged as major competitors.

Fatigue, less sleep cause for 30% accidents

Fatigue and sleep deprivation is the cause of more than 30% of road accidents, which result in approximately 2,500 deaths an year, according to a joint study by the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation.

Program to collect applications for overseas jobs

A program to expedite collecting applications from North -East citizens who are interested in finding overseas employment opportunities will be initiated by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) shortly.

"Since there is a delay in receiving applications from citizens in Northern and Eastern districts for overseas jobs, we were compelled to initiate this program as a response to numerous requests," Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the Sunday Observer.

According to the program, the Bureau is expected to seek the assistance from all Divisional Secretariats, Government Agents, private sector foreign job recruiting agencies and other public sector institutions in the Northern and Eastern provinces .

(AK)

SAARC Women's charity bazaar on Nov. 17

The SAARC Women's Association will hold a charity bazaar on November 17 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Shalika Hall, Narahenpita in aid of the Leukaemia Association.

The Chief guest will be the Cultural Affairs Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene and Mrs Abeywardene while the guests of honour would be the diplomatic corps of the SAARC countries accompanied by their spouses and the directors of the SAARC Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

President Sutami Ratnavale said that there will be several stalls selling clothes,jewellery and accessories from the South Asian region well below those of fashion boutiques in the city. The food stall will serve exotic delicacies.

Overhead branches in Pothupitiya a grave danger

Residents of Pothupitiya, a Circular Road, leading to Pelawatte and the Pushparama Temple connecting Katuwangoda Road in the Wadduwa area, walk in fear of being electrocuted, especially during heavy rains.

Officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Panadura, despite numerous complaints have turned a blind eye to the over-head branches of tall trees which graze the three-phase and high tension transmission lines. This not only poses a danger to human lives but also results in frequent power failures.

On several occasions after gale force winds, disconnected power lines lying along or across the roads are a common sight.

This has not been attended to for the past few years.

(S.A.)