The Norwegian Embassy in Colombo yesterday said that a meeting between Norwegian Child Welfare Service and Tamil organizations would be held next week to discuss the matters pertaining to child welfare cases involving families in Norway of Tamil origin.

"We categorically dismiss suggestions that children are removed from parents because they are being fed by hand or sleep in the same bed as their parents. Likewise, no child is removed from its parents because of hugging and kissing," a media release issued by the Embassy said.

Deputy Minister of Disaster Management Duleep Wijesekara figured in a drama on the Southern Expressway on Wednesday evening when his vehicle was stopped at the Kottawa exit point as his driver had been speeding.

The Japanese government said yesterday that the military presence in the North should not be judged at the moment since it was a moving process and noted that the presence of the security forces was decreasing.

“The military presence was decreasing in the north; however it is too early to judge it because it’s a moving process,” Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Nabuhito Hobo told Daily Mirror yesterday. He made this remark after the signing of a grant contract, in Colombo yesterday, to provide Rs. 11.7 million in agricultural assistance to the Vavuniya District.

Western Province Minister of Health, Udaya Gammanpila says that one cannot wait for world powers to take the first step in reducing global warming.

He made this comment while addressing an international conference on the environmental revolution.

Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department says that the prevailing dry weather conditions have caused the salinity of rivers including the Mahaweli to increase due to an increased inflow of sea water.
The Director General of the Department of Irrigation, Bhadra Kamaladasa said that sea water had reached about sven kilometres inland, through the Mahaweli river.
She added that the gates of the Verugal Aru anicut had been opened and fresh water is being released into the Mahaweli River.

~ newsfirst.lk ~