Quick Look

Deadly pill

WCB FERNANDO - Puttalam group corr

A two-year child died of suffocation when a medicinal pill got stuck in his throat

Chilaw hospital Judicial Medical Officer who held the inquest recorded a verdict of death due to suffocation caused by a pill getting stuck in the child’s throat.

The victim was identified as Bingusara Jayasinghe

Church's 150th Anniversary

Holy Emmanuel Church, Moratuwa will celebrate its 150th Anniversary from December 26 to January 2.

Archbishop of Perth and Metropolitan of West Australia Most Revd Roger Herft will be the Chief Guest.

The main events are anniversary service on December 27 at 8 am where the celebrant will be the Colombo Bishop and the Preacher Archbishop of Perth; public meeting at 3.30 pm when the first day cover and postage stamp depicting the 150 year old Church will be issued; an extension to the Parish Hall which is a two storey block built at a cost of Rs 26 million will be opened by the Archbishop of Perth on December 28 at 4 pm and a service on January 2, 2011 at 7.30 am.

Philip Neri's Christmas program

Christmas program at St Philip Neri's Church, Pettah. Christmas Carols on December 24 starting at 11.00 pm followed by Mid-Night Mass.

Christmas Day Masses will be at 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 am and 12.10, 5.15 and 6.30 pm. All Masses will be in English.

New Year program

The New Year program at St Philip Neri's Church, Pettah. Thanksgiving Prayer Service on December 31 commencing at 11 pm followed by Mid-Night Mass. The Day Masses will be at 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 am and 12.10, 5.15 and 6.30 pm. All masses will be in English.

Program on Prof Paranavitana

A program to mark the 114th birth anniversary of Prof Senarat Paranavitana will be broadcast over the National Service of the SLBC on December 26 from noon to 12.30 pm.

All lyrics are written by Siri Saman Wijetunga. The vocalists are Dr Dayaratne Ranatunge, Amara Ranatunge, Rohana Bogoda, D W Madangoda and several others.

Annual concert

The annual concert of Vaishakha English Society and the distribution of exercise books will be held on December 24 at 2.30 pm at Kahatapitiya, Horana.

Children's performances, issuing the fourth volume of a magazine and special lectures are some of the main events.

Drama cancelled

The staging of the drama Deshapaluwa scheduled for December 24 at the John de Silva Memorial Hall has been cancelled due to unavoidable reasons, the Institute of Sinhala Culture said in a press release yesterday.

UGC to introduce new courses

Dinesh DE ALWIS

University Grant Commission (UGC) will introduce two new courses for the 2010/2011 academic year. A Tourism Development course will be conducted at Rajarata University while a Hospitality Management course will be conducted at the Sabaragamuwa University.

The UGC as an initial step will admit hundred students for the two courses and expect to introduce them to other universities as well in future. The objective is to introduce job-oriented courses for university students.

Missing

S R Somasuntharam of Kotahena has complained to the Kotahena Police that his son Somasuntharam Mahendirakumara had been missing since April 8, 2009.

He had been living at Vanni in Mullaitivu District's Pudumatalam area.

Any information about him could be given to the nearest Police Station on 0777-342506 or 0112-436131 or 20/1/3 Kotahena Street, Colombo 13.

 

Rain hits Batticaloa

Jawfer Khan- Batticaloa Group Corr

Batticaloa district received 39.6 mm of rain during the last 24 hours ending 6 am yesterday. District Meteorological Department Officer-in-Charge K. Suriyakumar said. Several roads were inundated in Batticaloa, Wellaveli, Sittandy and Kalawanchkudi obstructing the movement of traffic. Work at several Government departments was also disrupted due to this situation.

Pinkama to mark SLBFE anniversary

A Pinkama to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) will be held at the SLBFE Badulla District Office on December 29 and 30. It includes an all night Pirith ceremony on December 29 and a Sanghika Dana to 250 Bhikkhus on December 30.

This will be followed by a distribution of educational equipment to 300 schools in the area, a job market organized with the assistance of Foreign Employment Agencies, a workshop for youth seeking employment and a felicitation ceremony and musical show on December 31.

Felicitation ceremony

The Kelaniya University will organize a felicitation ceremony to appreciate the services of the university academic and non-academic staff.

The ceremony will be held at the Sri Dharmaloka Graduation Hall on January 3 at 9 am under the patronage of Vice Chancellor Prof Sarath Amunugama.

Film festival

A short film festival themed Sanda Diya Dothak presented by Dimuthu Chinthaka will be held at the Anuradhapura Co-operative Auditorium on December 27 at 6.30 pm.

Houses robbed

Indika POLKOTUWA

Two incidents of house breaking and theft were reported from Pujapitiya and Katugastota Wednesday. Thieves had broken into a house belonging to the wife of a departed war hero at Pujapitiya and robbed jewellery worth Rs 149,000. A building owned by a construction firm in Katugastota had been broken into by unidentified persons and removed a lap top and other office furniture and equipment. Katugastota Police are investigating.

Man falls from lamp post

Richmond Wijesekera- Bentota group corr.

A father of two died when he fell from 12 feet a lamp post while he was engaged in putting up decorations for a ceremony at a temple at Walatara in the Beruwala electorate.

The man, I Hewage (38) was a resident of Kalawilakandagama, Beruwala Police said.

The post mortem examination was carried out at the Beruwala Hospital.

Two drown

A A L Dias, Matale District Group Corr

Two drownings were reported in Galewela Police Division on December 18.

A 58-year-old woman who went for a bath at the Weragala Kalladi Tank, drowned.

The body was found by her son when it was floating. The woman was Abdul Smaidu Sitthi, a resident of the same area.

Another 78-year-old woman drowned in the Meegasyaga Channel when she was bathing. The woman was identified as Namal Arachchige Podimenika, a resident of the same area. Galewela Police are investigating.

Over 5,800 acres of paddy cultivation destroyed

Bandula GUNASEKARE,Dhammika WELEGODA and T K Ariyadasa Malimbada group corrs

Over 5,800 acres of paddy cultivation for Maha Season in the Matara district have been devastated due to heavy rains experienced in the month of November up to mid December, according to Agricultural Department sources. Most of paddy cultivations devastated were in Kumburupitiya, Akuressa and Malimbada Divisional Secretariat areas, the sources said.

Contaminated saline detected

Jaffna special correspondent

Fungus infected saline bottles have been detected at the Jaffna Teaching hospital and action has been taken to stop using several other bottles of the same batch.

The hospital director has initiated inquiries to find out how these saline bottles found their way to the hospital stores.

It is said that a nurse had noticed that a saline bottle was not fit for use and reported the matter to the ward doctor. An order has been made to stop using that batch of saline bottles numbering 400.

One dies of AH1N1

W C B Fernando, Puttalam Group Correspondent

A pregnant mother who was transferred from the Chilaw Hospital to Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Angoda on suspicion of suffering from novel Influenza AH1N1 died while being treated at the IDH Tuesday. Chilaw Hospital sources said though there is a separate ward for novel Influenza AH1N1 in the Hospital it lacks equipment.

Several thefts reported

Jaffna special correspondent

The residents of Manipay Sandilipay and Chunnakam are living in fear of robbers roaming day and night with knives, swords and pistols.

Seven incidents of daylight theft by snatch and run thieves have taken place in Valigamam within two months.

The following incidents of robbery have taken place in Chunnakam police area. At Uduvil Madathaddy robbers had robbed jewellery weighing 25 sovereign in a house after threatening the inmates with deadly weapons.

The same day a robbery had taken place at Manipay Anandan Veethi, Jewellery weighing six sovereigns had been robbed. At Sanguvely the house of a teacher had been burgled and jewellery weighing ten sovereigns were robbed after threatening the inmates with knives and swords.

At Suthumalai Mapian Veethy two men who went on a motor cycle had snatched the gold chain of a passer-by and escaped.

At Chankanai two incidents of major robberies and shooting have created panic in the area.

School gets new building

The Wellawatte Jaycees recently presented a furnished four classroom building costing over Rs two million to Arafath Muslim Maha Vidyalaya, Egodauyana, Moratuwa. This was a tsunami affected school.

The event coincide with 35th anniversary of establishing Sister Chapter Relationship with the Kitakyushu Jaycees of Japan who funded the project.

The Sister Chapter Relationship between the Wellawatte Jaycees and the Kitakyushu Jaycees were signed in November 1975 when a six-member delegation led by then President Ryutaro Fukamachi established the Relationship at Hotel Ceylon Intercontinental under the Presidency of JCI Senator Isfahani Sameen.

The Chief Guest at the event was Senior Minster A H M Fowzie who was the then Colombo Mayor.