Winning the peace may be as great a challenge as winning the war, made worse by the seeming absence of international goodwill, quite a contrast to the goodwill that existed after the December ’04 tsunami when there was a gush of international aid to the island.

And in the absence of international goodwill, a broke Government of Sri Lanka (G.o.S.L.) will be hard pressed to find the necessary funds to ensure that the day to day needs of the internally displaced persons (I.D.Ps), leave alone their resettlement, are met, with several tens of thousands, if not a couple of hundred thousands I.D.Ps, virtually all Tamilians, rooted out from their homes, now living in I.D.P. centres mainly in the Wanni as refugees.

G.o.S.L. now has the onerous task of trying to settle them quickly back in their homes, or, otherwise in alternate areas, followed by restoring their livelihoods, to make them once more economically independent, and also to relieve the burden on the exchequer, where the little resources it has may then be put to more productive use such as for the building of highways and roads.

And, naturally in the interim, and until they get back on their feet, to provide them with the bare necessities of life, namely food, shelter and clothing.

In this regard G.o.S.L. has said that one of their biggest constraints in re-settling I.D.Ps is mines. It’s therefore imperative that G.o.S.L. gets the help of friendly countries to speed up on the mine clearing process.

G.o.S.L. has promised that they will re-settle 80% of the I.D.Ps by December, a tall order considering the enormous costs involved in such an exercise, compounded by the fact that G.o.S.L. is broke.

S.L. therefore is badly in need of that "post tsunami" international goodwill once again in relation to finding a solution to the I.D.P. question if it’s to survive through this difficult period.

In the midst of this unfolding humanitarian crisis, unconfirmed reports say that the I.M.F. has put aside Sri Lanka’s (S.L’s) request for the US$ 1.9 billion standby arrangement (S.B.A.) till July as a result of G.o.S.L’s diplomatic blunderings in relation to the West in regard to the L.T.T.E. question.

Meanwhile, G.o.S.L. has had allegedly met two of the three I.M.F. criteria for this facility, namely allowing for the free float of the local currency vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar-a boon to exporters who have had lost export orders to competitor countries such as Thailand and India which devalued their currencies sometime ago, while G.o.S.L. and Central Bank of Sri Lanka (C.B.S.L.) were hell bent in protecting the rupee at various levels until recently.

International customers lost cannot be regained, and awful are the economic implications as a result.

The second I.M.F. condition was allegedly reining in monetary profligacy as a result of which C.B.S.L. has now put a stop or "lessened the intensity" of giving credit to G.o.S.L./Treasury.

However, allegedly, the third I.M.F. condition which G.o.S.L has failed to fulfil is reaching a consensus in regard to the L.T.T.E. question.

The I.M.F. vote is largely controlled by the U.S.A. and by the rest of the countries in the Western world which don’t see eye to eye with Sri Lanka in relation to this problem.

Some industry sources said that a little more diplomacy exercised by G.o.S.L. in dealing with the West on this issue would have had by now won this facility to S.L.

As it’s, cashed strapped G.o.S.L. is finding it difficult to meet its domestic commitments vis-à-vis the I.D.Ps, and the temporary stability of the rupee is because of the "war win" sentiment and not on fundamentals.

Sooner or later this bubble may burst.

Nevertheless conventional fighting against the L.T.T.E. has now ended.

They may now resort to guerilla warfare which they conducted successfully prior to the July ’83 riots. But to conduct guerilla warfare too they need to have a chain of command and a command centre in operation.

However, with the destruction of their Wanni headquarters, resorting to guerilla warfare, with no one to give orders to them, may also not work.

This was confirmed to this newspaper by Senior D.I.G. Wanni Nimal Lewke recently, when he said that though the terrorists still have their safe-houses in Colombo, complete with arms and ammunition, but the disruption to their command centre in the Wanni due to the current military operation have rendered them impotent.

Therefore, in the worst case scenario one may expect isolated incidents of terrorism resorted to by "local area" commanders, or by "headless" cadres, operating on their own, till they too are probably snuffed out with time by the military.

But this may be only the beginning of the end to the L.T.T.E. problem, the crisis now at hand is the welfare of the I.D.Ps and their subsequent resettlement. G.o.S.L. should use all of its resources and diplomacy in trying to resolve this problem in full, for which vast amounts of money and other resources are needed, and for which G.o.S.L. alone is ill-equipped to handle.

The trade deficit contracted for the third consecutive month in March 2009 as imports continued to decelerate faster than exports, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (C.B.S.L.) said.

It narrowed by 17.6% in March 2009, year-on-year (YoY), to record US$ 383 million. The cumulative trade deficit decreased by 54% to US$ 645 million in first quarter (1Q) 2009, from US$ 1,401 million in the corresponding period in 2008.

Private remittances which recorded the highest ever value of US$ 278 million in March 2009 led remittances to reach US$ 774 million during 1Q, compared to US$ 787 million in the corresponding period of 2008. As a result, remittances during 1Q were US$ 129 million (about 20%) in excess of the trade deficit.

Export earnings decreased by 7.8% in March 2009 to US$ 627 million YoY led by industrial exports. Cumulative export earnings declined by 12.6% during the first quarter from US dollars 1,878 million in 2008 to US dollars 1,642 million in 2009.

Despite the adverse impact of the global economic crisis, textiles and garments exports which accounted for about 50% of Sri Lanka’s exports, recorded an increase for the third consecutive month.

Textiles and garments exports grew by 6% in March 2009 to US$ 310 million, largely due to the measures taken by the government and the industry to adapt to global economic circumstances.

While textiles and garments exports to the European Union grew by 18.4% in March 2009, those to the U.S.A. declined by 4.5%. Food, beverages and tobacco exports also increased, while other subcategories, including rubber based products, depicted YoY declines during this time.

Agricultural exports which declined continuously over the past four months, grew marginally to record YoY earnings of US$ 154 million in March 2009, led by tea and coconut exports.

Tea, rubber and coconut export volumes however increased in March 2009 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, and tea prices increased in March from the previous month. Colombo tea auction prices continued to hold its position as the highest among the major auction centres of the world.

Import expenditure declined by a comparatively higher rate of 11.8% to US$ 1,009 million in March 2009 in view of the reduced demand for imports of consumer and intermediate goods. Consumer goods declined by 24.3% to US$ 209 million in March 2009.

Among the major food commodity imports, expenditure on rice, wheat and milk decreased in March 2009, while sugar imports expenditure increased during this period, reflecting the 22.4% increase in the average import price. International prices of sugar has increased in recent times in view of the tightening worldwide sugar supplies amid lower production in some major sugar producing countries.

Amongst the non-food consumer goods imports, motor vehicle expenditure declined by 65% and electrical household equipment spending also declined in March 2009. Intermediate goods expenditure declined by 23.8% in March 2009 to US$ 475 million led by petroleum imports which accounted for nearly 40% of this, as crude oil prices continued to hover around US dollars 47 per barrel.

Fertilizer import expenditure declined significantly by 62.9% to US$ 9 million as prices have declined by 31.8% and the fertilizer requirement for the yala (minor) season has already been imported. Investment goods expenditure on the other hand increased by 29.5% in March 2009 to US$ 312 million in March 2009 owing to the significant increases in expenditure on transport equipment and building materials. The substantial increase in imports of investment goods is an early indicator of the faster recovery in economic growth in the near future. Cumulative import expenditure decreased by 30.3% to US$ 2,287 million by end March 2009.

Gross official reserves, with and without Asian Clearing Union (ACU) funds recorded US$ 1,373 million and US$ 1,272 million respectively, by end March 2009. These include deposits of US$ 200 million placed with two domestic banks which were intended to facilitate payments of petroleum bills without exerting undue pressure in the foreign exchange (forex) market. Based on the previous 12 month average imports (US$ 1,085 million per month), these reserve values are equivalent to finance 1.3 and 1.2 months of imports respectively. However, in view of the current and expected low imports resulting from the sharp reduction in the oil and petroleum product import bills, the actual equivalent number of months of imports would be much higher.

Recent rupee appreciation in the forex market, without any intervention by C.B.S.L.confirms higher forex inflows. These forex inflows are expected to continue into the future in view of the positive outlook brought about by the end to the three decades of conflict. C.B.S.L. is now in a better position to build up its official reserves to a more comfortable level.

Four Carson Cumberbatch companies, namely Indo Malay Plc, Shalimar (Malay) Plc, Good Hope Plc and Selinsing Plc have declared dividends of Rs. 1, Rs. 39, Rs. 3.25 and Rs. 3 respectively. Shareholders’ meetings, excluding dividend (XD) dates and payment dates for all of these companies are June 5, 2009; June 8 and June 16, 2009 respectively.

In the case of the first two companies, dividend declared is their first and final dividends and in the case of the latter two, dividend declared is final.

Ceylinco Insurance Plc has declared a Rs. 2 final dividend for the financial year (fy) ended December 31, 2008 for both voting and non voting shares. AGM May 28. 2009; XD date: May 29, 2009 and payment date: June 8, 2009.

Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc has declared a Rs. 2.50 interim dividend for the fy ending December 31, 2009. XD date: May 7, 2009 and payment date: May 15, 2009.

Nestle Lanka plc has announced a final dividend of Rs. 10 per share for the fy 2008. AGM June 12, 2009; XD date: June 15 and payment: June 23, 2009.

Hayleys Plc has declared a Rs. 1.50 interim dividend (not liable to 10% dividend tax) for the fy ended 2008/09.

Lanka Ventures Plc informed the Colombo Stock Exchange recently that the legal case pertaining to the company’s tax for the years of assessment 1994/95 to 2001/02 has been settled at the Supreme Court.

Accordingly, the tax in respect of the above years of assessment has been fixed at Rs. 137,411,564 and not Rs. 235,548,863 which sum included penalties aggregating to Rs. 79,768,400.

As such the total tax charge that will be recognized for the year ended March 31, 2009 is Rs. 137,411,564. The contingent liability of Rs. 105,301,796 appearing on the financial statements will be removed.

Balangoda Plantations Plc has declared a first and final dividend of 75 cents a share for the fy 2008. AGM: June 26, 2009; XD: June 29 and payment date: July 8, 2009.

Environmental Resources Investments Plc has declared a rights issue in the proportion of "three for one" subject to approval. The issue also covers 2010 and 2011 warrants on the basis of one warrant for one right at a price of Rs. 22 in the case of the former and one warrant for one right at a price of Rs. 24 in the case of the latter.

Aitken Spence plc has declared a Rs. 3.50 interim, tax free dividend. XD date: May 14, 2009 and payment date: May 21, 2009.

DFCC Bank has declared a first and final dividend of Rs.5 per share for the fy 2008/09. AGM June 30, 2009; XD date: July 1, 2009 and payment date: July 10, 2009.

Watapota Investments Plc has announced a first and final dividend of Rs. 17.50 per share for the fy 2008/09. AGM June 10, 2009; XD June 11 and payment June 19, 2009.

Dipped Products Plc has announced a first and final tax free dividend of Rs. 3 per share. Shareholders’ meeting: June 26, 2009; XD June 29 and payment July 3, 2009.

Haycarb Plc has announced a first and final tax free dividend of Rs. 2.75 per share for the fy 2008/09. Shareholders’ meeting: June 25, 2009; XD June 26 and payment July 2, 2009.

Hayleys-MGT Knitting Mills Plc has announced a first and final tax free dividend of Rs. 2 per share for the fy 2008/09. AGM: June 24, 2009; XD June 25 and payment July 1, 2009.

Capital Development & Investment Company Plc has announced a first and final tax free dividend of Rs. 3.13 per share for the fy 2008. AGM: June 26, 2009; XD June 29 and payment July 7, 2009.

Lanka Walltile Plc has declared an interim dividend of Rs. 1 per share for the fy 2008/09. XD: May 27, 2009 and payment, June 4, 2009.

Hayleys Plc has announced a final tax free dividend of Rs. 1.50 per share. AGM: June 29, 2009; XD June 30 and payment July 7, 2009.

Chemanex Plc has announced a final dividend of Rs. 4 per share. AGM: June 30, 2009; XD July 1 and payment July 10, 2009.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (Com Bank) received the Gold award in the Employer category at the National Decent Work Awards 2009, in acknowledgement of its outstanding contribution to the advancement of the national goal of "Social Dialogue on Decent Work for All."

This award stems from the commitment made by the Government, workers and employers’ representatives of Sri Lanka at the 13th Asian Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) constituents in 2001 to develop a National Policy and a National Action Plan for Decent Work.

The award which recognizes Com Bank’s commitment towards creating a decent work environment while sustaining high performance in a competitive market was presented to the Bank’s Chief Operations Officer Ravi Dias by President Mahinda Rejapaksa at an awards ceremony organized by the Labour Relations and Manpower Ministry together with the ILO office in Sri Lanka.

ILO’s ‘The Decent Work Agenda’ is based on the principles and rights of workers at work, complying with international labour standards, employment and income opportunities, social protection, security and social dialogue, all directed at creating jobs of acceptable quality.

Commenting on this latest accolade, Com Bank’s Chief Human Resources (H.R.) Officer Chitral Amarasiri said: "The bank has demonstrated its commitment to comply with national and international labour standards as well as to promote the decent work concept by creating quality employment opportunities with fair compensation packages and gender equality. As a responsible employer we recognize employee aspirations, promote and foster the fundamental elements of social dialogue and the importance of having a conducive work environment, while the employee organizations operating in the Bank strive to achieve improved productivity through positive influence on their membership."

The Bank has complied with ILO standards by ensuring freedom of association and right to collective agreements by practicing world class human resources strategies to ensure rights at work, by providing necessary facilities to ensure employee occupational safety and health and by introducing terminal benefit and insurance schemes in addition to traditional schemes, he said.

"This was a team effort of all "employee organizations," Director Board, Corporate & Senior Management, the Bank’s H.R. team and the Employers Federation of Ceylon (E.F.C), as well as each and every individual in the company, contributing towards achieving this level of excellence," Amarasiri said. "I would like to extend my gratitude to E.F.C. for its constant advice and professional guidance towards achieving this accolade."

Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (C.B.S.L.’s) Monetary Board has decided to invite fresh proposals once again from all five selected prospective strategic investors to buy a one third stake in Seylan Bank plc, C.B.S.L. in a statement said.

They are John Keells Holdings Plc, Lanka ORIX Leasing Company Plc, National Development Bank Plc, Sampath Bank plc and V. V. Karunaratne & Company.

This is because the Committee for Evaluation of Bids on Seylan Bank, after having had completed its evaluation of the bids submitted by the two short listed prospective investors, has found that the bids received were not fully compliant with the requirements of the bid conditions.

At the same time, the Monetary Board was also of the view that it would be useful to review some of the criteria as set out in the original bid document.

On that basis, an addendum to the original bid document has been issued to the aforesaid five institutions, with an invitation to make fresh bids, C.B.S.L. further said.

Such institutions have been given time till June 5, 2009 to submit their fresh bids. The Monetary Board is expected to make the final decision by June 16, 2009 and notify the successful bidder immediately thereafter.

Lowe LDB, the Sri Lanka office of Lowe Worldwide, moved over to its new office at Green Path Colombo recently.

CEO Lilamani Dias Benson looking back over a decade and a half of being at the helm of the brand building Agency, renowned for its strategic thinking and creative power that attained market dominance for its clients told The Sunday Leader, "We have insight, blazing passion and foresight for the demands of the future, and take this opportunity to thank all our clients, who believe in us and with whom we have shared many adventures and market experiences over the years. We also welcome our new clients with whom we have recently begun a fruitful partnership and commit to them all, our talents, spirit, hearts, minds and creative energies. We have re-ignited our spirits with a brand new flame that burns with the promise of great things to come."

To carry the Agency forward Lowe LDB has in place a multi talented team who add the full strength of ‘through the line’ marketing communications to enhance traditional brand building advertising.

A celebratory flame lit by Lowe LDB founders Lilamani and Terry Benson was passed to Chalaka Gajabahu, the Agency’s COO, moving brightly from Lowe LDB player to player, flame igniting flame with the hope of a bright future ahead. Everyone carried the light into their new work areas, ignited by the hope of a tomorrow bright with promise.

Two lucky Commercial Bank (Com Bank) cardholders won air tickets to Singapore at the conclusion of the Bank’s third ‘Shop N Win’ promotion which was carried out just before the Avurudu period.

Another 85 lucky winners who won cash prizes totalling Rs.850,000 at this promotion were paid their prize monies soon after the promotion.

To win a cash prize of Rs.10,000, Com Bank cardholders had to spend a minimum of Rs.5,000 of their ComBank Credit, Debit or Shopping cards per day. The Bank disbursed Rs.50,000 to five winners each day and these cash prizes were credited to the respective accounts of the winners. All participants were automatically entered to a grand draw at which two air tickets to Singapore were on offer.

Com Bank issues Visa as well as MasterCard branded Credit and Debit Cards. Last year the Bank began issuing ‘instant’ ATM cum Debit cards at the point of opening savings or current accounts.

Nations Trust Bank PLC (N.T.B.) announced the increase in the rate of the Bank’s monthly interest long term fixed deposits with the objective of offering a greater benefit to their customers.

Moreover the Bank will ensure that the monthly interest earned on the fixed deposit is delivered to the customer’s doorstep either at home or office through the Bank’s unique Bank At Your Doorstep Service. The added benefit customers will also have is the speedy access to these funds which will be delivered to their choice of location through a secure channel.

In keeping with the Bank’s core value of offering simplicity and convenience to their customers, the Bank will offer all persons making the deposit immediate entry to the Inner Circle membership-an integrated relationship package that offers dedicated service and preferential rates and services.

N.T.B. Consumer Banking Chief Manager Irishad Ally said, "At a time when there is volatility and downward pressure on rates, N.T.B. is pleased to offer our customers an assured monthly sum even for periods of up to five years. This is based on a competitive rate of interest for their deposit. As a Bank that has constantly driven the values of innovative and dynamic banking services that are convenient, we are delighted to bring this unique product to our customers who will have the added benefit of their monthly income being delivered to them."

EPSI Computers, authorized distributors for Asus in Sri Lanka said that that Asus has recently designed a series of notebooks to provide a no-frills computing experience to users while on the move.

The Asus K Series Domino Collection boasts of the multimedia muscle to provide cinematic audio and visual enjoyment via a high definition LCD display, SRS Premium Sound and Altec Lansing speakers.

Users can also enjoy longer computing or entertainment hours with the Asus Super Hybrid Engine for unplugged freedom, while a clever Asus IceCool design ensures the temperature at the palm rest area is kept to a minimum, even after long computing hours.

These features can be found on a notebook that is subtly iridescent courtesy of the innovative Asus Infusion technology which provides the Asus K Series Domino Collection with its ‘Domino’ motif, lending a refreshing yet minimalist approach to modern computing design.

EPSI Computers Group Product Manager Sankha Jayaratne said that these models would be ordered on specific requests and could be delivered within 2-3 weeks He added that the Asus K Series sports Altec Lansing speakers with SRS Premium Sound for high definition audio reproduction as well as a high definition LCD panel of up to 17.3" with a 16:9 golden aspect ratio, high contrast rate and colour saturation. It is complemented by graphics solutions from either NVIDIA or AMD for an entertaining visual experience.

The K40IN and K50IN are equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce G102M, which uses 512MB of dedicated graphics memory to accelerate 1080p high definition video playback, photo and video editing, video transcoding, and casual gaming.

The GeForce G102M uses 30% or eight watts less power when running graphically extensive applications compared to other dedicated notebook graphics processors, resulting in longer battery life per charge.

Jayaratne also said that the Asus K Series includes models that feature graphics solutions from AMD. The K40AB, K50AB and K70AB and are equipped with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570, while the K70AB and K51AB sport the ATI Mobility Radeon HD4860 which tackles the latest 3D games with the combined power of 640 stream processors. Users of these models can experience "awe-inspiring" visual entertainment courtesy of the higher data rates delivered by advanced GDDR5 memory technology.

More than 350 professional photographers gathered at Waters Edge Battaramulla to be a part of Sri Lanka’s first professional photography seminar organized jointly by Canon and Metropolitan Office Ltd.

A wide range of photographers from fields such as advertising, media, wild life, portraits, weddings, fashion, participated at this event.

"This is the first, a professional photographers’ workshop that has been organized at an international level, it comes at important time as a boost for the development of this booming industry," participants said.

"We want to support the industry, help professional photographers to improve their skills to globally competitive levels. Canon offered to send two of their top experts and Metropolitan subsidized the cost to allow many to participate," Metropolitan Ltd. Canon cameras Product Manager Suresh Herath said.

The event focused on special interest areas such as wild life, wedding and media photography.

Canon experts Roland Poon and Wrixon Wong who flew in for the workshop shared some of the best kept secrets of Canon cameras and the future technologies that are of benefit to the photographer.

Local specialists included renowned wedding photographer Bandu Gunaratne, acclaimed wild life photographer Luxshmanan Nadaraja and experienced media photographer Sri Lal Gomes.

It is estimated that 15% of diabetes patients suffer from foot ulcers during their lifetime.

Therefore, a person’s footprint can reveal important clues to his or her health, and this fact has prompted Ceylinco Diabetes Centre to offer a new facility in preventive medicine.

The Centre has introduced the use of Footprint Mats (F.Ms), an innovative method that provides a "Foot Pressure Print" of anyone who walks on it.

The new device will be used to predict areas of the foot that are at risk of developing ulcers and calluses, a common complication affecting diabetics.

"The new method only requires a patient to take a couple of steps on an F.M. which generates pressure point measurements that help to identify the abnormalities in the feet associated with diabetes," said the Centre’s Senior Medical Officer Dr. Charuky Weerasuriya,

She explained that people with diabetes have more problems with their feet than normal persons and therefore it is vital for diabetics to take extra care of their feet. Risk factors include foot ulceration, nerve damage (diabetes neuropathy), poor blood supply, calluses, corns, high planter foot pressure and foot deformities.

She pointed out that international guidelines on the prevention of foot problems recommend that people with diabetes should examine their feet at least once a year for a range of ulcer risk factors.

She said that this new method also enables patients to understand what’s happening in the soles of their own feet.

Sri Lanka trade unions leaders and their counterparts in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, signed cooperation agreements in Colombo recently, aimed at granting Sri Lanka migrant workers "the full panoply of labour rights included in internationally-recognized standards."

According to Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) statistics, there are over 300,000 Sri Lanka workers in Kuwait, over 75,000 in Jordan and 45,000 in Bahrain.

The text of the agreements, which is based on a model developed under the aegis of the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its Bureau for Workers’ Activities, is the first of its kind covering Asian migrant workers active in Arab States.

The four national trade unions in Sri Lanka and their counterparts in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait all belong to the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation, the largest global trade union body.

Ravi Abeysuriya, in regard to the article that appeared on these pages last week under the heading "Ravi quits Amba," says that he has not received an offer from Hayleys Plc nor accepted a post as Strategy Head at Hayleys.

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) president Glynn Lowth will be in Sri Lanka to preside at CIMA’s 90th Anniversary celebrations scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

Arrangements have also been made for Lowth to address two forums, The Bankers Club and FCCISL members on the topics "Leading in a Downturn" and "Strategy under stress; Managing strategy in a downturn" respectively.

Lowth is also billed to meet with many ministerial and high ranking government officials in a bid to discuss and share how CIMA could contribute in developing the public sector in relation to the aspects of financial management.

He is a director of the UK & Ireland SAP User Group, which provides an independent forum for the exchange of experiences amongst companies using SAP software, and Visiting Fellow at Nottingham Business School.

NDB Bank (NDB) recently tied up with AFLAC International as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan for 2009, in order to empower youth across Sri Lanka.

This will entail sponsoring a three-month long English Communications Programme (ECP) for over 200 underprivileged individuals across Sri Lanka. This is a key initiative under NDB’s CSR plan for this year and it comes in support of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s declaration of 2009 as the National Year of English and IT.

Youth from schools, universities and even those employed will benefit from this programme.

NDB believes that improved communication in English is a key ingredient to the development of a globally competitive Sri Lankan labour force. The Bank hopes that ECP will not only improve the market value of these students, but will also bridge income disparities.

In a rapidly evolving situation, at least nine countries officially reported cases of influenza A/H1N1, said the World Health Organization (WHO) and the death rate climbed.

Most of the cases were in Mexico, followed by the U.S.A.

WHO raised the level of influenza pandemic alert to Phase 5, with six being a full pandemic, and advised countries to activate pandemic preparedness plans.

WHO advised no restriction of regular travel or border closures, but advised sick people to delay international travel. Several nations suspended flights to Mexico. Some nations also urged avoidance of travel to the U.S.A., which Atlanta-based Centres for Disease Control (CDC) said was unwarranted.

Many nations initiated quarantine measures at airports for sick travellers and other measures. International Air Transport Association (IATA) asked airlines to review their emergency plans. Air Transport Association of America (ATA) was working with government agencies to track the outbreak and make necessary adjustments to travel procedures.U.S.A. and other airlines allowed customers to change flight plans to Mexico without penalty and airlines were complying with longstanding protocols for identifying and reporting passengers who may have swine flu symptoms.

Dr. (Ms.) Ilmi Hewajulige of the Industrial Technology Institute’s (ITI’s) Food Technology Section recently bagged the SLAAS Postgraduate Research Award 2008 for her research on post harvest treatment of papaya using prawn shell chitosan.

In 2007, Hewajulige who carried out research on usage of prawn shell chitosan to extend the shelf life of papaya for her doctoral degree, won the Best Presenter award at the 18th Annual Congress of the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya. (ITI).