A coalition of five leading supermarket chains announced the launching of a campaign to completely deter the use of plastic shopping bags by their customers from August 1, 2008 with the support of Central Environmental Authority (CEA).

Commenting on the initiative, Udaya Gammanpila, Chairman, CEA said, "One of the objectives of the National Policy on Solid Waste Management in Sri Lanka is to ensure the environmental accountability and social responsibility of all waste generators, waste managers and service providers.'

The World Bank said yesterday that it approved a credit of US$ 98 million from its concessionary lending arm, International Development Association (IDA) in additional finance to support the Sri Lankan government's efforts to improve its national highways, designed to lower transportation costs and travel times.

The additional finance will be mostly used to cover cost-overruns mainly due to the unprecedented oil price increase in the world market that has led to the escalation of prices in oil-based materials, a press release from WB said.

The Government of Japan has donated 5,685 tonnes of rice and 110 tonnes of canned fish for the distribution among the internally displaced people (IDP) returnees and economically affected people in the most insecure and marginalized areas of Sri Lanka. The food items worth 500 million Yen (approximately 500 million rupees) have arrived in Colombo and will be distributed shortly through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)..

Twenty baby anacondas were born at the Dehiwela Zoological Garden in Sri Lanka on Friday, reporting the first such case from Sri Lanka, an official said. A spokesman for the Zoo said that those babies are under constant observation and they would be kept under quarantine conditions for some time. "Each of these baby anacondas is some one and half feet long,' the official said.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has joined hands with the international relief organization AmeriCares to fund a project to provide clean water to people in Eastern Sri Lanka. USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday with AmeriCares to fund the completion of a Water Distribution Network for the Ulla community in Ampara District, a statement issued by USAID said. The completed project will serve an estimated 2,400 inhabitants in the Arugam Bay area by distributing clean and safe drinking water directly to the people.

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama after a recent official visit to Thailand said that Thailand government has agreed to provide 50,000 MT of rice to Sri Lanka. The decision was taken following a discussion Minister Bogollagama held with Thailand's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

: Sri Lanka Tourism in its efforts to promote ecotourism in the country yesterday joined hands with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources releasing 8 baby elephants to the wild. The baby elephants who were orphans and brought up at the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe was released to Udawalawe National Park which is estimated to have 400 wild elephants.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday strongly urged the world leaders to seriously consider setting up of a Global Food Crisis Fund, in order to meet future food crisis. "I strongly commend to the world leaders gathered here to seriously consider the setting up of a Global Food Crisis Fund that will have contributions from all countries and from large business organizations that transcend geographical boundaries, and from financial institutions, arms manufacturers and philanthropists of the world, among others,' the President said addressing the UN Food Summit in Rome.

At least 16 people were killed and about 200,000 were displaced in Sri Lanka due to torrential rains that has been lashing the country since last week. The National Disaster Management Centre said that the death toll had gone up to 16 with the deaths of four people in the same family including an infant and an 11-year-old girl due to a landslide. The Meteorology Department warned the public of continuing rainfall in the next few days with the start of the southwestern monsoon. Heavy rains struck Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Ratnapura districts.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has left the country for Rome to attend a high-level conference on world food security. President Rajapaksa is to participate in the High-Level Conference on World Food Security and the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy to be held in Rome, Italy from June 3-5, 2008 on an invitation from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The High-Level Conference, open only to the invited participants will address food security and poverty reduction in the face of climate change and energy security.