Sri Lanka will be among 18 countries around the Indian Ocean Rim which will participate in an ocean-wide tsunami exercise on October 14 to coincide with World Disaster Reduction Day.

Health authorities have warned that the dengue mosquito is raising its ugly head again in the Matale district.

Director of Health Services, Matale Dr. W.G.A. Dissanayake said the prevailing inclement weather had resulted this state.

The Geological Survey and Mines Bureau yesterday said the displacement of plates which had resulted in the recent earthquakes in Indonesia had created a possibility of tsunamis.

Geological Survey and Mines Bureau Deputy Director Geology S. M. A. T. B. Mudunkotuwa told the Daily Mirror that the movement of displaced plates could trigger a tsunami.

The government has decided to triple the health budget for 2010, despite the many difficulties it faced and the global economic meltdown, as the government was committed to providing a quality health service to the people, said Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva yesterday.

Cabinet granted approval to a Memorandum submitted by the Minister of Agriculture Development & Agrarian Services Maithreepala Sirisena to set up a Seed Testing Laboratory under the SAARC project. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Sri Lanka will be done to this effect.

The Sri Lanka Red Cross in its latest report has stated that a total of 11,000 businesses were destroyed due to tsunami that hit the island in 2004. This was revealed by the SLRC at the recent launch of the book titled

As part of Government

A week of climate talks comes to a head in the upcoming G20 summit in Pittsburgh, where emerging powers will press rich nations for major funding to combat global warming and its impact.

Negotiations ahead of the UN climate showdown in Copenhagen in December are at a critical stage and observers are looking desperately to the US gatherings to provide momentum.

Sri Lanka and India will sign a bilateral trade and construction agreement on Sampur coal power plant next week, the Ministry of Power and Energy sources said.

A Ministry Spokesman said the Indian delegation will arrive next week in Sri Lanka to sign this bilateral trade and construction agreement.

Large scale gem mining in the Weddahena area at an elevation of about 3500ft in the Knuckles range was prohibited under a decision of the Matale District Coordinating Committee. The residents of the area including the Lekakadhikari of the Laggala Sasanarakshaka Balamandala Ven.