The number of deaths caused by dengue has sharply dropped in the North Western Province due to the high quality health service offered to patients, Provincial Director of Health R M S K Ratnayake said.

Addressing a press briefing yesterday, he said health authorities cannot destroy all dengue breeding places and needs public support for it.

Ratnayake said there is a possibility of an increase in dengue patients with the prevailing weather conditions.

The villagers in Kaluarachchiyagama in the Nachchaduwa Divisional Secretariat Division who have been suffering from an acute shortage of drinking water will now be provided water under the Thuruwila water supply project.

Parliamentarian Shehan Semasinghe and Provincial Cooperative Minister H. B. Semasinghe have initiated the implementation of the water supply project where construction work inaugurated recently.

Pipes will be laid in around 20 kilometres from the Thuruwila water project. The estimated expenditure for the project is Rs. 10 million.

An alarming increase in Non Communicable Diseases viz. high blood pressure, arthritis and cholesterol, has been detected among school children, an expert warned.

CMC Ayurveda Department Chief Medical Officer Dr.Padma Shanthi revealed that over 80 percent of schoolchildren treated at 20 dispensaries in the city have Non Communicable Diseases, which she attributed to amongst others, environmental pollution, stress and consumption of fast foods.

The Central Environment Authority (CEA) will function as the regional centre for emission inventories.

“CEA as the regional centre for emission of inventories will be the lead centre in South Asia in the field of emission inventory and retain and enhance scientific capacity on emission inventories,” CEA chairman Charitha Herath said

participating in the inauguration of the training workshop on Emission Inventory Under Male Declaration at Hotel Renuka Hotel yesterday.

The Transport Ministry in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has commenced a technical cooperation project to conduct a comprehensive study and formulate an urban transport master plan for the Colombo metropolitan region.

Asia’s first mechanical air cleaning hoarding, a billboard that actually filters certain harmful contents from the surrounding air, purifies the air and releases the purified air back into the environment, was unveiled in Polhengoda yesterday.

The innovative concept is the brainchild of BBDO Lanka, a part of BBDO World Wide. Speaking at the launch, BBDO Lanka Managing Director Santosh Menon said the concept can be introduced as Sri Lanka’s export to the world.

A US aid program aimed at helping foreign countries battle the AIDS epidemic saved 740,000 lives from 2004-2008, according to a US study published Tuesday.

The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, was started by former president George W. Bush in 2003 with a five-year, $15 billion investment in global AIDS in 15 countries.

The analysis by scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine in California examined health and survival information for 1.5 million adults in 27 African countries.

Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa granted approval to declare 17 jungles in seven districts as national forest reserves through a gazette notification as per the provisions of the Wildlife Act No 3.

Those declared as national forest reserves are in Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura and Colombo districts.

Dengue has claimed 55 lives. Nearly 1,500 dengue cases had been reported from all parts of the country during the past five months. The public should be vigilant about dengue mosquito breeding sites common in certain areas, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

According to the spokesman, a majority of mosquito breeding spots in the Colombo district are located in discarded receptacles.

"The most affected area is the Kalutara district is Walalawita where thousands of acres of godapara trees are located. Dengue mosquitoes breed in the leaves once they fall on to the ground.

A soaring demand for ivory in China and the Far East is putting Africa's elephant population under strain and could see the creatures wiped out altogether by poachers in some countries, conservationists have warned.

Trade in ivory was made illegal worldwide in 1989 but the ban was lifted in 2008 to allow Southern African countries to sell stockpiled ivory to China and Japan. Campaigners say this has also fuelled the demand for illegal ivory.