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Weekend crowds targeted :
Airconditioned trains to Kandy from tomorrow
The Railway Department will tomorrow launch its
first train service with airconditioned compartments for passengers
travelling between Kandy and Colombo, after its first run from Kandy
to Colombo, General Manager of the Railways B.A.P. Ariyaratne told
the Sunday Observer. “We are launching this airconditioned train
service targeting the crowds visiting Kandy during the weekends”,
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‘People didn’t fall prey to politically-motivated strike’
Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister
W.D.J. Seneviratne said that the token strike organised by the main
Opposition UNP and the JVP led coalition on May 21 was an absolute
flop. Almost 95 percent of public servants had reported to work. In
certain institutions, the number of employees who reported to work
was more than average.
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Sri Lanka and India mull visa on arrival
Sri Lanka and India have agreed to a bilateral
consular dialogue to discuss the visa on arrival that would lead to
a visa-free regime between the two countries. India’s High
Commissioner in Colombo Ashok K. Kantha said that Sri Lanka and
India must work towards a visa-free regime since a two-way flow of
tourists reinforces friendly ties between the two countries.
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Vesak on grand scale in Mullaitivu
Vesak is being celebrated on a grand scale in
the Mullaitivu district, the last theatre of battle to eradicate
terrorism, Government Agent M. Vedanayagan told the Sunday Observer.
Pandals have been erected in the Mullaitivu and Oddusuddan towns
which were viewed by a large number of people on Friday and many
thronged the dansalas,
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Calling all past award winners
The Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year
contest, sponsored by SLT Mobitel for the sixth successive year,
will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year. The Sunday Observer,
Sri Lanka’s flagship English newspaper with the largest circulation,
which launched the event at a time,
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The condition of the self-immolated monk near the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy is known to be critical, hospital sources said.Director National Hospital Colombo Dr. Anil Jasinghe said the monk is currently being treated at the Intensive Care Unit and his condition is very serious.
At least 24 persons sustained minor injuries when an elephant went on rampage at Mutiyangala Raja Maha Vihara Perahera in Badulla last night. Among the injured 14 females, nine males and one child were admitted to Badulla Hospital. 
Adults and nine children were hospitalised due to food poisoning in Thirukkovil this morning, the police said. The group was part of the devotees who attended a religious festival at Manikka Pillair temple who had reportedly consumed a meal of gram distributed at the event. 
A Buddhist monk received severe burn injuries when he set himself on fire outside Dalada Maligawa in Kandy this morning in protest over cattle slaughter, police said. Eye witnesses told the police the monk poured petrol over his body and then lit himself.
A 60-year-old unidentified woman died when she was reportedly hit by a train in Navinna last evening, the police said. 
Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Prasanna Ranaweera has been hospitalised after he was reportedly assaulted by another party member in a brawl this morning, police said. 
Police Spokesman SSP P M H B Siriwardena said today that there is no intention to arrest any UNP parliamentarians regarding the on going inquiry into the activities of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Sri Lanka. 
Emergency workers in the US are continuing to search for survivors of the gigantic tornado that tore through a suburb of Oklahoma City today. Rescuers worked through the night and into the morning in the rubble in Moore, the worst-hit area. Entire neighbourhoods were flattened by winds of up to 200mph (320km/h). 
