Remembering Earth Day

School children plant trees during celebrations to mark Earth Day in the outskirts of Lima yesterday. About two thousand school children participated in the planting of three thousand trees during an activity organised by local authorities to promote environmental awareness.  REUTERS

Sent to counterfeit heaven

Customs officers use a roller to destroy counterfeit MP3 players and watches at the airport in the southern German city of Munich. The goods seized had a worth of 100,000 Euro according to the customs officials. AFP PHOTO

Gone with the wind

Over 50 houses were damaged when gale force winds lashed the Moratuwa area on Wednesday night. No casualties were reported. Seen here, a  resident cleaning the  house damaged by the winds. Pic by Pradeep Dilrukshana

Down but not out

UNP Member of Parliament Palitha Range Bandara, who was severely injured in an attack just prior to the recent General Elections, is seen here in Parliament today bandaged. The MP was brought to Parliament in a wheel chair. Pic by Pradeep K. Pathirana

Taking no chances

A tight security cordon was put in place around the City this morning as well as roads leading to Parliament as the new Parliament convened for the first time today. Picture shows security personnel manning the streets of Colombo. Pic by Waruna Wanniarachi

Rumbling on

Glacial runoff cascades down from the caldera of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano April 21, 2010. The Icelandic volcano which grounded air traffic over Europe is still erupting, but it is spewing less ash, the meteorological office and experts said on Wednesday. Close monitoring of the neighbouring and potentially more dangerous Katla volcano was also taking place, but there have been no signs it has re-awakened, they added. REUTERS

Taking over the reins

Mr D.M Jayarathna embraces his predesessor Ratnasiri Wickremanayake at his swearing in ceremony held earlier today. Jayarathna was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the new UPFA government, before President Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier today. Pics by Chandana Perera

Midwives take to the streets

Family health nurses attached to the Government Midwifery Service Association staged a picketing campaign in front of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry today to protest to what they called to the ‘pruning down of their service minutes’ by Health authorities. Pix by Indaratna Balasuriya

The preferred candidate

As the re-poll in Nawalapitiya came to an end people took to the streets to extend support to their preferred candidates amidst tight security which was in place even during the election. Picture shows a group surrounding one of their candidates. Pic by Waruna Wanniarachi

Bollywood's best in Colombo!

Bollywood icon, Amitab Bachchan and former Miss Sri Lanka Jacqueline Fernandez are greeted by traditional Sri Lankan dancers at the Cinnamon Grand hotel. Bachchan arrived in the country today to formally announce that the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards will be held in Sri Lanka, from June 3- 5. Pics. By Manoj Rathnayake

Voting..again

The re-poll of the General Elections in Kumburupitiya and Nawalapitiya is now underway. Picture shows a line of voters exercising their franchise in Kumburupitiya amidst police protection. Pic by Amadoru Amarageeva

Nawalapitiya's security blanket

Security was beefed up today in Nawalapitiya ahead of the re-poll in the Nawalapitiya and Kumburupitiya electorates. Voting will begin at 7.00 a.m. tomorrow morning and end at 4.00 p.m afterwhich ballot boxes will be transported to six counting centers in Nawalpitiya. Pics by Varuna Wanniarachchi

Jewel of Muscat

The Jewel of Muscat, a reconstructed replica of a ninth century Omani trading ship, made a stop at the Galle Harbor today. The ship is re-enacting the journey through old trade routes used by Arab traders, with its final port of call being Singapore. The ship was built according to the traditional design without nails and sewn together with coconut fibers. Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana

Set for the polls

Final preparations for the re-poll of the General Election in Nawalpitiya and Trincomalee scheduled for tomorrow are now underway with ballot boxes and ballot papers being distributed to the respective polling centers. Picture shows a ballot box being transported by an election official. Pix by Amadoru Amarageeva

Remembrance Day

An illuminated Israeli flag decorates the Azrieli Tower in the coastal city of Tel Aviv in Aprilas the Jewish state marks Remembrance Day, ahead of the 62nd anniversary of its creation. Israel was founded on May 14, 1948, but independence is celebrated from sundown on April 19 to the following evening in accordance with the Hebrew lunar calendar after remembering the fallen soldiers.  AFP

Volcanic ash

Farmer Bjarni Thorvaldsson works to clean off volcanic ash that accumulated on a barn roof from an erupting volcano near Eyjafjallajokull April 18, 2010.  REUTERS

Thandikulam to Omanthai

The Northern railway line construction from Thandikulam has been extended till Omanthai. Workers can be seen here in the process of constructing the railway lines between Thandikulam and Omanthai. Pix by Romesh Madushanka  

Avurudu in Colombo

An Avurudu festival in light of the Sinhala Tamil New Year was organized by the residents of Rajagiriya today, participants of the bicycle race can be seen here cycling through Rajagiriya this afternoon. Pix by Warun Vanniarachi.

Gateway to Yalpanam

“Gateway to Yalpanam” a trade fair held at the Jaffna Central College, was opened by the Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha this morning. The Indian High Commissioner can be seen here visiting one of the trade stalls at the event. Pix by N. Parameshwaran

A new king

A king of of Ivory Coast wears ceremonial attire as he attends the crowning ceremony of Ugandan King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV in Fort Portal, Uganda in April. The young king had officially succeeded to the throne at the age of three when his father died of a heart attack in 1995, but coronation takes place only upon reaching adulthood. Despite Oyo’s apparent ambivalence regarding his official duties and the anachronism of a Jay

Flying low

Sebastien Loeb of France and Daniel Elena of Monaco compete in their Citroen C4 Total  during the first leg of the WRC Rally of Turkey on April 17, 2010 near Istanbul.  AFP

Remembrance

Photo taken on April 17, 2010 shows the photos of the victims of the Polish presidential plance crash on the Pilsudski square in Warsaw. President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and scores of other top Polish political and military officials died on April 10 when their plane crashed near the western Russian city of Smolensk. AFP

Celebrating Avurudu in Jaffna

Sinhala and Tamil New Year was celebrated with a host of activities for children and adults at the Maradanamadam grounds in Jaffna. Chief guest at the event was Major General Mahinda Hatturusingha. Pics by Waruna Wanniarachi

Practice run

McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain is pushed back into the garage during the second free practice session of Formula One's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai in April. Britain's Lewis Hamilton clocked the fastest time in opening practice.  AFP

Clouded sky

People stand in front of an information board in the departure hall of Sofia airport today as flights were cancelled due to ash from a volcano eruption in Iceland. Sofia airport cancelled most of its scheduled flights Friday due to a cloud of ash spreading from an Icelandic volcano, airport chief Plamen Stantchev said. Out of a total 91 incoming flights, nine aircraft from Bucharest, Moscow, Munich, Rome, Tel Aviv and Vienna had landed during the

Prawn dilemma

A damaged motorbike is seen here at the site of a clash last night between two groups over prawns. Several people were injured and three houses were damaged in the clash. Pix by Jude Samantha

In deep thought

Anoma Fonseka, wife of former Sri Lankan army chief and detained presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, looks on during a meeting with reporters in Colombo today. Fonseka, who won a seat in parliament while in custody on charges of dabbling in politics and corrupt procurement when he was army commander, should be allowed to address the assembly when it opens Thursday, the party said. AFP

Earthquake Victims

A view is seen of a provisional camp made by earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince April 15, 2010. Haiti's government and foreign aid agencies started an operation on Saturday to move thousands of earthquake survivors to a safer refuge to avoid the risk of mudslides and flooding during the rainy season. REUTERS

Avurudu fun by the beach

Families and large groups of youngsters are seen on the Wellawatte beach today enjoying the long Avurudu holidays. Pics by Kithsiri De Mel

Oil anointment ceremony

The elephant at the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple in Colombo is seen here being anointed with the traditional herbal oil this morning as part of the Sinhala New Year ceremonies which continued today. Pic by Pradeep K. Pathirana