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.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing a $70 million road rehabilitation loan to support Sri Lanka

Vegetable farmers who cultivated cucumber for the Yala season this year were facing hardship for want of a remunerative market for their produce. They said there was an increasing demand for cucumber during the Maha harvest last year that they expected a better income this year.

A public awareness programme on the proposed garbage management project in Dompe was held at the Central Environmental Authority under the chairmanship of Minister Patalee Champika Ranawaka. Several parliamentarians and the Maha Sangha of the area attended the programme. The garbage recycling project funded by the Korean government will be located in a six hectare area.

Residents living in Maussakelle, Kitulgala, Yatiyantota and Avisawella were yesterday warned of a possibility of a flood after the three sluice gates of the Maussakelle reservoir were opened to release excess water.

The residents of several areas in the Palagala Divisional Secretaries Division were facing hardship for want of irrigation facilities to cultivate their paddy fields and arable land. The farmers in Kalugala, Kosgahainna and Ussana villages are the worst affected.

The Western Provincial Council (WPC) is planning to use wind power to illuminate Colombo city in association with Concurrent (India) Infrastructure Ltd an Indian based private company, while there is another plan in the pipeline to use wind power for the streetlamps islandwide.

Agriculture Development Minister Hemakumara Nanayakkara said that what the farmers needed were not subsidies but assistance to improve their crops and develop agriculture in the country.

Mr. Nanayakkara was speaking at the "Agriculture Extension Conference 2009" held at the Plant Genetic Resources Centre (PGIA), Gannoruwa.

National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA) is conducting a survey on the lobster population in the Sri Lankan coastal belt. Head of the Aquatic Life Division of the NARA Dr. Sisira Saputhanthri said this was the first ever research programme on the lobster population in the Sri Lankan seas.

While world environmental risk analysts have expressed fears over extreme climate changes in South Asian nations including Sri Lanka, U.N. climate panel chairman said the world could still cap global warming at far lower levels than widely expected if nations