The Health Care and Nutrition Ministry will formulate a disaster management scheme to protect the hospital system as part of the World Health Day program on April 7.

Health Care and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva disclosed this at the seminar held in connection with the forthcoming World Health Day celebrations recently.

Bangladesh celebrates the World Health Day today with the slogan 'Save lives: Make hospitals safe in emergencies' along with the other United Nations member countries.

President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in separate statements wished successes of the week-long programmes taken by the government.

At twilight on Monday, seven wooden coffins lay on the ground under a gnarled tree in Onna, a tiny village eight miles from here. A woman was slumped in grief over one, while people comforted her. After a few moments, five men strained to lift four coffins into a funeral van.

Rescuers searched through the night for survivors of an earthquake that killed more than 130 people in central Italy early on Monday and left thousands of homeless huddled in tent camps and rough shelters.

A research team at Taiwan's top university has rolled out a tiny low-budget device that can sense earthquakes within 30 seconds, enough time to issue crucial disaster warnings, the lead inventor said on Monday.

Seeking to cater to areas hit by natural or man-made disasters, the government would soon come out with the first ever mobile hospitals in the country, which can be set up at any calamity stricken region within a short span of six hours.

30,000 people affected in Wu Xi city

K.V. Prasad

WU XI CITY: By the end of this month, some 30,000 people would once again start rebuilding their lives in a permanent structure that promises to withstand an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, a degree more secure than the tremor changed their lives for ever.

In the recent past, we have witnessed several devastating earthquakes in different parts of the world, including a few developing countries as well as some developed countries.

According to the year 2000 statistics there have been only 21 widows hit this amount has now increased more than ten folds, said Suneeka Perera addressing the journalists in Hambantota district at Chandrika Hotel Tissamaharama.

It was organised by the Hambantota branch of CARE International.

She said that the ten year period from 1975-1985 has been declared the World Women's decade.