Humanitarian agencies in Sri Lanka are preparing for the fallout as increasing food prices and shortages put vulnerable populations at risk of malnutrition and leave many families no longer able to afford essentials such as medicalcare and school tuition. The global food crisis, referred to by World Food Programme (WFP) officials as "the silent tsunami" during a summit in London on April 22, is hitting home.

The number of people affected by floods and landslides over the past few days has topped the 65,000 mark with 26,797 affected in Gampaha alone, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said yesterday. According to the DMC 67,498 people have been affected by the floods and landslides as of yesterday with 17,180 affected in Ratnapura, 2,969 affected in Kalutara, 26,797 in Gampaha, 15,664 in Colombo, 255 in Puttalam, 4,425 in Kegalle and 208 in Nuwar Eliya. There have been eight deaths reported so far and one person missing while 1,350 people have been housed in IDP camps.

The Colombo Magistrate fined some polythene dealers for stocking and selling polythene that were not in conformity with the Government standards. Central Environmental Authority yesterday produced four traders for stocking and selling non standard polythene to the customers before the Colombo Additional Magistrate Majula Thilakaratne and were fined Rs 3000 each.

The wards and the OPD of the district hospital, Matale are full of patients who are victims of the viral flu which is fast spreading in the Matale district. Among the patients are victims of rat fever, chikungunya, dengue, diarrhoea and infections like the viral flu. The patients are from the villages coming under the Municipal Council, Matale who are members of the same family, pregnant women, government servants and children under the age of 12 years.

More than 12,000 people in the Ratnapura district have been affected by a virus fever that reached epidemic proportions. Deputy Provincial Director Health Services, Dr. Athula Dangalla told at a meeting yesterday that a patient who was down with the viral fever and under treatment at Eheliyagoda died the previous day.

The farmers who depended on paddy cultivation in more than 75 acres of paddy fields irrigated by Wadakahaara canal lost their livelihood after the breakdown of the anicut.

Health authorities have taken prompt action to stall the spread of Chikungunya in Eheliyagoda on the instructions of Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, a ministry spokesman said. The attention of the Minister had been drawn to the sharp increase of the new cases of Chikungunya reported from the Ratnapura district in the last few days, he said. Blood tests carried out by a medical team sent to Ratnapura on Monday have detected 75 new Chikungunya cases and measures were taken to provide the patients immediate hospital treatment.

The Customs Department has introduced a special training programme for investigators attached to its Bio Diversity Unit, to upgrade their knowledge of genetic smuggling. The intention is to curb such crimes in the future. This programme was introduced after a local higher academic recently attempted to smuggle plant genes out of the country. The attempt was foiled when it was detected by the airport authorities.

A discussion is currently underway at the Ministry of water resources and water management to review the earlier decision taken to impose a 15 percent VAT on water bills.

Fresh attempts on religious grounds to oppose the Sethusamudram project evoked sharp reactions from the Indian Supreme Court, which expressed its displeasure for calling