Pope blesses pilgrims

Pope Benedict XVI made a special mention of reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka from the 2004 tsunami in remarks this month at the end of one of his traditional Sunday noon blessing in St. Peter’s Square. The pontiff addressed thousands of pilgrims below his window, and greeted government officials from Sri Lanka gathered among them as well as gave them a prayer and blessing.

Overstaying expensive

Foreigners overstaying in Sri Lanka will be blacklisted and deported and will be denied visas in future, Immigration and Emigration Controller P.B. Abeykoon said.“We will put a red stamp on the passport which will prevent their chances of returning to Sri Lanka and it will clearly have an impact on them when getting visas to other countries as well”, he said. Fines ranging from C$28 to C$109 will be imposed from March 1. “Last year we deported nearly 600 foreigners though there were times when we found around 10,000 overstaying”, he said.

Citadel declared sacred

The historical Yapahuwa Raja Maha Viharaya was declared a scared area on the “Navam” full-moon day of (Feb 1). Yapahuwa was the fourth citadel of ancient Sri Lanka presently frequented by tourists. The rock cave enshrining the sacred tooth relic of Buddha is a marvellous creation in the eyes of tourists all over the world, local officials said recently.

Health care fiasco

The Morning Leader reports that nearly 300 files pertaining to information on disciplinary action to be taken against those employed in the government healthcare sector were found at the Ministry of Health. These files had been sitting untouched for nearly three years. Among these files are cases of medical officers engaging in private practice during their work hours.

16,000 seek refuge

Over 16,000 Sri Lankans have fled the country’s violence  and sought refuge in India during the last one year. For the month of January 2007 alone 253 Sri Lankans have made their way to India seeking safety. Most of these people are from Trincomalee, Muttur, Jaffna and Batticaloa. The refugees make their way to India using trawlers and boats.