Sri Lanka has entered into a partnership agreement with a private enterprise to launch its first ever communication satellite.

SupremeSAT (Pvt) Ltd. has signed an investment agreement with the Sri Lanka Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday to the tune of US$ 20 million which will be increased to US$ 320 million in the long term.

The company plans to launch the country's first ever communication satellite utilizing the Planned Orbital Slot of Sri Lanka which is located at 50 degrees East.

The World Bank has agreed to provide US$ 314 million (approximately 37 billion rupees) for Sri Lanka to develop education and urban development sectors in order to meet new challenges of the 21st century, the Ministry of Financial and Planning said.

The government has requested the World Bank for funds to expedite development programs which have already been formulated in the education and urban development sectors with foreign assistance.

The Sri Lankan government is to provide the fertilizer subsidy currently granted to paddy cultivation to supplementary crop cultivations as well.

Wild Life and Agrarian Services Minister S.M. Chandrasena has said the Rs. 350 fertilizer subsidy granted to paddy cultivations would be granted to supplementary crop cultivations from today (21).

The fertilizer subsidy is to be granted to corn, soya, green gram, cowpea, chili peppers and vegetable cultivations.

Gusting winds that swept through the Welikanda and Dimbulagala Divisional Secretariat areas of Polonnaruwa in North central Sri Lanka Monday evening had damaged 20 houses, the Disaster Management Centre of Polonnaruwa said.

Meanwhile, one person has been killed and two others have been hospitalized due to the lightning in the area, the state-run radio reported.

According to the Head of the DMC Upul Nanayakkara the lightening along with heavy rain has knocked down trees and damaged light poles leaving many people in the area without electricity.

Chairman of Sri Lanka Geological Survey and Mines Bureau Dr. N.P. Wijayananda says that the bureau is inspecting the sand of a newly found sand mine for its suitability for construction industry before it is issued to the market.

The sand deposit has been found in a land belonged to the Irrigation Department in Galoya area in the Polonnaruwa district.

Sand will be mined following tests and it is expected the deposit will help control price of sand in the construction industry market.

The price of sand has gone drastically up in Sri Lanka due to shortage of supply.

The International Finance corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is considering providing a financing package of up to US$ 9 million for a project to convert solid waste to energy in Sri Lanka's Western Province.

The IFC in an Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) released on Saturday (April 28) says that it is considering the financial support to 10MW waste to energy project in the Western Province of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan government is to introduce new regulations to ensure that vehicle horns comply with the permissible noise levels.

The new regulations are to enable the Commissioner-General of Motor Traffic to authorize officers of the Motor Traffic Department to carry out tests to ensure that motor vehicles comply with the permissible noise levels.

Sri Lanka's environmentalists say that the people of certain areas of the island tend to catch the crocodiles and hand over them to the Wildlife Department.

Environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena says that the some incidents of mysterious deaths of crocodiles also had been reported, especially in Nilwala River of Matara district. The environmentalists suspect of poisoning behind the deaths of the crocodiles.

Sri Lanka issuing a statement regretted the Indian media reports linking Sri Lanka's concerns of the safety of nuclear power plants in India to India's vote against Sri Lanka for the UN resolution at the Human Rights Council Session in Geneva last month.

The Chairman of Sri Lanka's Atomic Energy Authority Dr. Ranjith Wijewardena has issued a statement in response to a report in the Times of India said Monday that "Sri Lanka has not brought up the issue of the safety of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant against India's voting at the 19th session of the UNHRC."

Sri Lanka will host the 5th SAARC Regional Health Ministers summit, the Health Ministry has announced.

According to a report in News First, the Health Ministry has said that the decision to hold the summit in Sri Lanka has been taken following a proposal submitted by Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena at the 2012 SAARC Regional Health Ministers held in Maldives on April 12.

Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Waheed inaugurated the 4th meeting of SAARC health ministers' summit.