The Sri Lankan government announced that it plans to construct 7,500 housing units for the urban poor who live in underserved settlements in Colombo and adjoining areas.

Acting on a proposal put forward by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the government has launched a development programme through the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to provide housing facilities to the low income families living

The Sri Lankan government is to introduce an insurance scheme to compensate the people attacked by wild elephants.

Agrarian Services and Wild Life Minister of Sri Lanka S.M.

The Sri Lankan government says it would promote organic farming as a precaution to prevent any threat that could arise from pesticides that may contain arsenic.

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has said agro chemicals containing banned substances would not be allowed to reach the local market.

However, Abeywardena has observed that organic fertilizer was a better option to chemi

The United States has recently provided aid to the dairy farmers in Eastern Sri Lanka in an effort to promote dairy production.

The U.S.

Sri Lanka police environment division director Quintus Raymond says that 441 police environment units are active island wide to fight dengue threat.

He said the police units will inspect the places to discover mosquito breeding grounds and take legal action against the offenders.

Sri Lanka Ministry of Health has declared a National Mosquito Prevention Week from June 20 to 26 and the acting I

Sri Lanka Forest Department is to initiate several programmes to increase the country's forest cover following the completion of a survey conducted last year to determine the current forest cover.

The Forest Department statistics have shown that from the beginning of the last century Sri Lanka's land areas of natural forest cover has declined about 48 percent by 2007.

he World Bank Thursday approved US$38 million in assistance to restore lives devastated by the last year's floods in the north central and eastern regions of Sri Lanka.

A press release issued by the global funding authority said the additional financing was granted to benefit the Community Livelihoods in Conflict-Affected Areas Project (Re-awakening Project) to respond to lives and livelihoods

Cairn Lanka, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn India is to commence drilling for oil in the Mannar basin off Sri Lanka's northwestern coast in August 2011, the Indian company said.

Cairn India, issuing its first quarter financial report Wednesday, said significant preparatory work for the Sri Lanka frontier exploration drilling campaign in the SL 2007-01-001 block has been completed.

The Co

Sri Lanka National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) has decided to relax the controversial ban on use of backhoes for gem mining in Ratnapura district.

Accordingly, the mine owners who have unearthed ore using backhoes can carry on washing them, the NGJA said.

However, ban on Kuruwita-Paradise Land mining area which is pending a court decision will remain unchanged a spokesman of the Autho

Veterinary authorities of Sri Lanka warn that the spreading deaths of birds in certain areas threaten the fauna life in bird sanctuaries of national wildlife parks.

Veterinary scientists say that mass deaths of birds have been reported from Colombo and Kalutara districts.

The bodies of 16 seagulls have been recovered in the Colombo and Puttalam areas, and the carcasses have been sent for exa