Category: Environment

Jan 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka labour minsitry and the internatonal labour organisaton is to look for ways to create more ‘green jobs’ and provide skills for workers in environmentally friendly enterprises. “Moving the Sri Lankan economy onto an environmentally sustainable and low carbon development path will change the socio-economic structures of the country […]

BATTICALOA, January 14, 2011 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan military and aid agencies struggled Thursday to bring relief to a million people displaced by floods that have claimed nearly 30 lives and devastated the island’s rice bowl. Even as torrential rains eased overnight to bring some temporary respite, the number of people seeking protection in […]

Jan 13, 2011 (LBO) – A combination of a cloudy sky and a cold stream from Himalayas pushed temperature at Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo to a two year low of 18. 8 degrees on the Celsius scale on Thursday, the meteorological office said. “The average temperature for Colombo in the past 30 years has been […]

January 13, 2011 (AFP) – Flooding in Sri Lanka has forced more than one million people out of their homes, the government said Thursday as it began distributing emergency food, clothing and bedding. At least 23 people have died during a week of monsoon floods, with the centre and east of the island worst hit […]

January 12, 2011 (AFP) – At least 18 people have died and nearly one million have been made homeless by flooding in Sri Lanka after days of heavy rains, officials said Wednesday. Central and eastern regions of the island have been worst hit by the monsoon rains, with frequent mudslides and rising water levels. Continuing […]

January 10, 2011 (AFP) – Heavy rains lashed Sri Lanka’s central and eastern regions Monday with the death toll from mudslides rising to 12 and 900,000 people driven out of their flooded homes, officials said. The island’s two main monsoon seasons run from May to September and December to February. Military helicopters were deployed to […]

DETROIT, January 10, 2011 (AFP) – Toyota unveiled new siblings for its popular Prius hybrid Monday, introducing a brand new midsized wagon, a plug-in, and a compact Prius at the Detroit auto show. The family was launched as Toyota struggles to rebuild its once-stellar reputation after it was rocked by a series of mass recalls […]

January 9, 2011 (AFP) – At least seven people, including two children, were killed in mudslides in Sri Lanka where more than 750,000 people have been driven out of their homes by floods, officials said Sunday. The island’s two main monsoon seasons run from May to September and December to February. A six-year-old boy and […]

January 9, 2011 (AFP) – Two children were buried alive in mudslides on Sunday in Sri Lanka where more than 600,000 people have been driven out of their homes by floods, officials said. A six-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl were killed in separate incidents in the district of Badulla. Heavy rains have caused flooding […]

Dec 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea firm Eswaran Brothers Exports has got ‘Carbon Neutral’ certification by reducing emissions and buying carbon offsets from a biomass renewable energy project on a tea estate, a statement said. “It’s among the initial steps we have taken in our drive to become a truly ethical and sustainable […]

CANCUN, December 11, 2010 (AFP) – Global talks on climate change on Saturday set up a new fund to manage billions of dollars in aid to poor nations in a hard-fought package urging deep cuts in industrial emissions. After two weeks of talks in Mexico and two virtually sleepless final days, more than 190 countries […]

Sri Lanka turns former Tiger hideout into wildlife sanctuary November 30, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is to turn a vast jungle area that was a base for the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels into a wildlife sanctuary, 18 months after the end of island’s bloody civil war, the government said Tuesday. The jungles of Mullaittivu, […]