In brief

NGO secretariat

A Bill for the creation of a national secretariat to coordinate NGO activities is expected to be tabled in Parliament after the Sri Lankan Cabinet approved Social Services minister AHM FowsieÆs proposal on 5 June.

Tourists

Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka for the first four months of 1996 fell by 33% for the same period last year. Between January and April 1996, 107,325 tourists visited the island.

Floods

Torrential rains and floods killed 12 people in mid-June and left 15,000 people homeless particularly in Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura and Badulla.

Power

Colombo residents are increasingly irritable as electricity power cuts continue. After rains in mid-June the power cut was reduced to 5.5 hours a day from 8 hours. The government says further relaxation is possible only if there is heavy rain to boost hydro power.

Released

A south Indian court ordered the release of nine LTTE cadre detained since January 1993, after Tiger leader Kittu blew himself up with an arms ship when intercepted by the Indian Navy. The court said there is no evidence that the ship posed a threat to India.

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