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Weekend crowds targeted :
Airconditioned trains to Kandy from tomorrow
The Railway Department will tomorrow launch its
first train service with airconditioned compartments for passengers
travelling between Kandy and Colombo, after its first run from Kandy
to Colombo, General Manager of the Railways B.A.P. Ariyaratne told
the Sunday Observer. “We are launching this airconditioned train
service targeting the crowds visiting Kandy during the weekends”,
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‘People didn’t fall prey to politically-motivated strike’
Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister
W.D.J. Seneviratne said that the token strike organised by the main
Opposition UNP and the JVP led coalition on May 21 was an absolute
flop. Almost 95 percent of public servants had reported to work. In
certain institutions, the number of employees who reported to work
was more than average.
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Sri Lanka and India mull visa on arrival
Sri Lanka and India have agreed to a bilateral
consular dialogue to discuss the visa on arrival that would lead to
a visa-free regime between the two countries. India’s High
Commissioner in Colombo Ashok K. Kantha said that Sri Lanka and
India must work towards a visa-free regime since a two-way flow of
tourists reinforces friendly ties between the two countries.
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Vesak on grand scale in Mullaitivu
Vesak is being celebrated on a grand scale in
the Mullaitivu district, the last theatre of battle to eradicate
terrorism, Government Agent M. Vedanayagan told the Sunday Observer.
Pandals have been erected in the Mullaitivu and Oddusuddan towns
which were viewed by a large number of people on Friday and many
thronged the dansalas,
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Calling all past award winners
The Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year
contest, sponsored by SLT Mobitel for the sixth successive year,
will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year. The Sunday Observer,
Sri Lanka’s flagship English newspaper with the largest circulation,
which launched the event at a time,
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President Maithripala Sirisena is in Thailand making a three-day official visit and attending the second Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit. The Dialogue Summit that brings together 34 nations in the Asian region takes place from October 8 -10 in Bangkok under the theme "One Asia, Diverse Strength".
Official level discussions have commenced between Sri Lanka and Iran on reviving trade agreements that were signed between the two countries and will be put into operation soon after ironing out technicalities, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen said. 
Pakistan on Friday (September 30) officially postponed the 19th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad on November 9 and 10. A new set of dates for holding the Summit will be announced soon through the Chair of SAARC (Nepal), reports said. 
Due to the prevailing drought, water levels of the main reservoirs have dropped to half its capacity, with authorities warning that drastic measures may need to be taken if water is to be continuously released from the reservoirs for power generation. 
To avert a possible dengue outbreak in the next three months, when the number of mosquito breeding sites are likely to surge with the monsoon rains, the Dengue Control Unit of the Health Ministry will launch an island-wide Dengue Control Week starting on Tuesday, September 27 to Monday, October 3.
Sir Richard Jolly, former Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF, and Special Adviser to the Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (1996 to 2000), and Principal Coordinator of the widely-acclaimed Human Development Report will deliver a lecture on, “Development: Can Sri Lanka be a model for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs)?” on September 28 at 5 pm at the BMICH Committee Room D, on the invitation of the Gamani Corea Foundation. 
Richmondite Charith Asalanka joined the elite band of school cricketers by winning the coveted Schoolboy Cricketer Of The Year 2016 title for the second year in succession emulating the feats of former Sri Lankan greats Arjuna Ranatunga, 1980/82' ( Ananda) Roshan Mahanama, 1983/84'(Nalanda) Thilan Samaraweera 1994/95' ( Ananda) 'Lahiru Peiris 2004/2005 (St.Peter's) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa 2010'2011 (Royal) who had also won the award twice .
Cricketing legend and former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene will grace the occasion at the 38th Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year awards night scheduled to take place at the Galadari Hotel on September 20. 
Stern action will be taken against traders who sell sugar above the controlled price of Rs. 95. Instructions have been given to the relevant authorities to launch island-wide search operations, a press communique from the Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake said. 
Refuting speculations, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said, no decision has been taken to impose power cuts on account of the current dry spell in the country. 
