The Department for Registration of Persons has warned of a financial scam carried out using its name. The department stated that fraudsters are using hotline number 011 52 26 126 and similar numbers to obtain personal information. The Department noted that fake mobile numbers and a fraudulent website are also being used, along with a mobile app displaying the state emblem. The department stated it does not conduct registration for digital or e-National Identity Cards. The public has been urged not to share personal information via unsolicited calls or suspicious platforms.

Public warned of scam using ID Department name

Water levels in the Castlereagh and Maussakelle reservoirs have dropped rapidly due to severe dry conditions in the Central Hills catchment areas, engineers stated. As of 24 April morning, Maussakelle Reservoir was recorded at 50 feet 11 inches below spill level, while Castlereagh stood at 40 feet 10 inches below spill level. Both reservoirs received light rainfall on 23 April, with Maussakelle recording 12 mm and Castlereagh 14 mm. Engineers stated that falling water levels have exposed submerged land and archaeological sites in the reservoirs. The reservoirs supply water to major hydroelectric power stations including Wimalasurendra, Laxapana, New Laxapana, Canyon, and Polpitiya.

Dry weather causes sharp drop in reservoir levels

Conflict, drought and shrinking aid will keep global hunger at critical levels in 2026, with food insecurity expected to worsen in some of the world’s most fragile countries, according to the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises. The 10th edition of the hunger monitor, published by a coalition of development and humanitarian organisations, said that acute hunger had doubled over the past decade with two famines declared last year for the first time in the report’s history - in Gaza and Sudan. In total, 266 million people in 47 countries and territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, while 1.4 million people faced ⁠catastrophic conditions in parts of Haiti, Mali, Gaza, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. In 2025 alone, 35.5 million children worldwide were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Looking at this year, the report said severity levels remained critical, with only Haiti expected to escape from the worst “catastrophic” band thanks to a slight improvement in security and increased humanitarian aid. “We are no longer seeing just temporary shocks, but persistent shocks over time,” said Alvaro Lario, head of the U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development, which helps draw up the annual report. “The main message is that food insecurity is not an isolated issue anymore, but is putting pressure on global stability,” he told Reuters. WAR ON IRAN LIKELY TO WORSEN FOOD CRISES The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has ⁠added to the alarm, Lario said, warning that prolonged disruption to energy and fertilizer trade could spill over into global food markets and worsen hunger in import-dependent countries already in crisis. “Even if the conflict in the Middle East were to end right now, we know that a lot of the food price shocks and inflation will happen in the next six months,” he said. Even before the added stress ⁠of this latest war, West Africa and the Sahel looked likely to remain under heavy pressure this year from conflict and persistent inflation, particularly in Nigeria, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Nigeria alone is projected to see one of the largest increases in food insecurity in 2026, ⁠with 4.1 million more people expected to face acute hunger. In East Africa, failed rains across much of the Horn of Africa are expected to deepen suffering in Somalia and Kenya, where drought, insecurity, high food prices and reduced humanitarian aid are ⁠likely to drive worsening conditions. The report also warned that humanitarian and development financing for food sectors in crisis fell sharply in 2025 and is projected to decline further. Humanitarian food-sector funding is estimated to have dropped by some 39% last year from 2024 levels, while development assistance contracted by at least 15%. &nbsp;Source: Reuters

War, drought, aid shortfall to fuel hunger in 2026, global report says

Railways General Manager Ravindra Pathmapriya stated that track repairs following the ‘Sagarika’ train derailment are expected to take two days. The train derailed near Wadduwa Railway Station on April 24 while operating from Beliatta to Maradana, damaging a track on the coastal line. Train services are currently limited up to Panadura, with Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses deployed between Panadura and South Kalutara. Rail services will resume from South Kalutara towards Matara and Beliatta, the Department of Railways noted. Re-railing operations have commenced, and steps are being taken to restore at least one track, he stated.

Sagarika train derailment: Track repairs expected to take 2 days

Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) have stated that registration of ‘Dansal’ for Vesak has commenced islandwide. PHIU President K.P. Boralessa noted that organisers must inform the relevant PHI and register their ‘Dansal’, providing details on location and type. He stated that PHIs will conduct inspections and awareness programmes to ensure health and safety standards. Boralessa warned that legal action will be taken against those who conduct unregistered or unsafe ‘Dansal’ events.

PHIs call for Vesak ‘Dansal’ registration

Away from the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extension, the EU’s foreign policy chief says threats from Iran could become "more dangerous" if nuclear experts are not involved in peace talks. Speaking at a meeting of EU leaders in Cyprus, Kaja Kallas says there is a danger that any agreement could be weaker than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-33521655" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Iran nuclear deal agreed in 2015</a>&nbsp;during the Obama administration which President Trump withdrew from in his first term. Under that accord Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors to the country in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. "If the talks are only about the nuclear (programme) and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was," Kallas says. "And (if) the problems in the region, missile programmes, their support to proxies, also hybrid and cyber activities in Europe are not addressed, we will end up with a more dangerous Iran," she adds. Source : BBC

EU calls for nuclear experts in Iran peace talks

Iran's foreign minister has discussed the conflict with senior Pakistani officials, as Pakistan stays prepared to host further peace talks between the US and Iran. Abbas Araghchi says in a statement on Telegram that he has held talks with Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. He says they spoke about "regional developments and issues related to the ceasefire". Araghchi does not specify whether he's talking about the US-Iran ceasefire,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0mjev4kn9jt?post=asset%3Afa9fce83-483a-4df9-ac4a-9110bfc7d3a6#post" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire</a>, or both. Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, is being kept in a state of readiness amid the possibility of further meetings therebetween the US and Iran. Source : BBC

Iran and Pakistan discuss 'issues related to the ceasefire'

The disappearances and deaths of at least 10 people tied to sensitive US research have drawn scrutiny from online sleuths and now federal investigators. But for grieving relatives, all the wild speculation is "disgusting". Carl Grillmair "would laugh" at the conspiracy theories about his killing, says his widow. "I think it's absolute nonsense," says Louise Grillmair. "I mean, there's the facts, and they're out there." Her 67-year-old husband was gunned down at their Llano, California, home in February. Grillmair's alleged killer, a 29-year-old local man, Freddy Snyder, has been charged with murder and burglary and is due in court next week for his arraignment. Despite the arrest, Grillmair figures prominently in conspiracy theories about the deaths and disappearances of about 10 people with connections to top-secret labs or scientific work. They are often lumped together as "missing scientists", but the list includes an administrative assistant, an Air Force general, an engineer and a custodian, and spans several fields, from researching exoplanets to pharmaceuticals. Online sleuths have suggested the cases may be connected, even prompting the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee and the FBI to announce investigations - despite other established explanations and family members' attempts to quell the hysteria. Grillmair's wife believes her husband was targeted in a misguided revenge plot. Months before the killing, a man had "wandered on [their property] with a rifle", claiming to be coyote hunting. She says her husband directed the suspect to a nearby ridge. The man had also been causing mischief at other homes nearby, she says, and one resident called 911. Grillmair hadn't placed the call, but his wife believes the man blamed her husband for it as his behaviour was "escalating". The man came back with a baseball bat two weeks before Grillmair was killed, but left without causing anymore trouble that day, she said. Then he returned on 16 February and allegedly fatally shot Grillmair, a renowned astronomer at the California Institute of Technology's IPAC science and data centre for astronomy and planetary science. "We believe [he] came for revenge, thinking Carl was the one that called 911," says Louise. She says her late husband was "probably the nicest guy that walked the face of the Earth". Sceptics have poured cold water on the wild theories surrounding the deaths. "The US Top Secret-cleared aerospace and nuclear workforce is ~700,000 people," science writer, investigator and pseudoscience debunker Mick West wrote on 16 April on his Substack. "Ordinary mortality over 22 months predicts ~4,000 deaths, ~70 homicides, and ~180 suicides. The list has 10 … The deaths are real. The families' grief is real. The pattern is not." Louise Grillmair, similarly, says that - while her husband "would laugh" at speculation that the deaths might be connected - he would also "probably talk statistically" to squelch conspiracies. The wife of retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland - the highest-ranking and highest-profile of the missing - took to Facebook the week after his 27 February disappearance from their New Mexico home to "dispel some of the misinformation circulating". Even in her 911 call, three hours after she returned home from a doctor's appointment to find her husband gone, Susan McCasland Wilkerson said she had "some indication that he must have planned not to be found". She told the dispatcher that he'd turned off his phone and left it behind, but took his gun, though he "doesn't generally" carry a weapon. She also noted that her husband had recently been suffering from anxiety, short-term memory loss and lack of sleep - and he'd been "saying if his brain and body keep deteriorating, he doesn't want to live like that". On Facebook one week later, she wrote that, while McCasland had access during his Air Force career to "some highly classified programs and information", he had retired "almost 13 years ago and has had only very commonly held clearances since. It seems quite unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets from him." She also acknowledged that McCasland had acted as an unpaid consultant for Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge's To The Stars organisation as it sought to investigate UFOs and other matters. But her husband "does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt," Susan wrote. She was referring to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, which UFO lore speculates might be the final resting place of extraterrestrial remains from unusual debris found by a rancher in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Drily addressing the conspiracy theories, Susan wrote: "At this point with absolutely no sign of him, maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership. "However, no sightings of a mothership hovering above the Sandia Mountains have been reported." Eight months before McCasland's disappearance, also in New Mexico but 135 miles (220km) away in Taos, an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory vanished. The family of Melissa Casias also addressed the case on Facebook - again indicating that their loved one left deliberately. Their comments did little to dampen theorists' obsession with her case. "It's been the hardest six weeks of our life with out you," her husband, Mark Casias, wrote on Facebook in August 2025. "Sierra and I are starting to worry more every day about you, we believe you are ok but can't understand why you haven't reached out. Other cases, like Grillmair's, had cut-and-dried explanations. MIT physicist Nuno Loureiro was murdered by a former classmate who was also arrested for additional killings at Brown University - and the suspect confessed on video recordings later discovered by authorities. Another researcher vanished from his home the month after losing both parents within hours of each other, his father suffering a fatal heart in his arms right after his mother's death. His body was later found in a lake, and his wife told US media how bereft her husband - an only child - had been following his parents' death. Another scientist died of "arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease" at the age of 59, according to a 2023 coroner's report. Louise Grillmair says the explanations appeared to be no deterrent for conspiracy theorists - she's even "been contacted by many of them" asking her opinion. "I said, 'Well, I can do better than an opinion,'" she says. "I have the facts." The speculation, she says, is "denigrating to their memories". Other loved ones reached by the BBC called the speculation "terrible" and "disgusting," compounding families' grief - but chose not to speak on the record because they didn't want to give the stories any more airtime. For Louise Grillmair, who met her husband in an astrophysics class, she would prefer that the world know not just about his groundbreaking scientific work, but also his kind and generous character. "He helped everyone that needed help," she says. "For example, he got into two quite serious car accidents… and he didn't believe in suing. I mean, it was the other guys' fault, and he just wouldn't sue." His obituary remembered Grillmair as "an avid pilot, flying small aircraft and gliders that he owned and maintained at his home; he would cheerfully accept requests to fly with him". "Friends and associates recall that he loved the outdoors, driving tractors, and doing repairs and other construction work on his house, where he also kept a small observatory with several telescopes." His wife adds that he "had a very high standard of morals … he walked the talk". Source : BBC

Relatives of 10 scientists who died or vanished grapple with impact of wild speculation

Warner Bros Discovery shareholders have approved the company’s $111bn (£82bn) takeover by Paramount in a deal which could drastically alter the media landscape. The deal would see Skydance owner Paramount take control of all of Warner Bros’ titles and channels, which include Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and news network CNN. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community,” Warner Bros chair Samuel DiPiazza said. The deal still needs approval from the US Department of Justice and European competition regulators. The shareholders’ backing of the deal follows a dramatic months-long saga, following an earlier takeover bid for Warner Bros by Netflix, which the streaming service later withdrew after Paramount submitted a rival, higher offer. Paramount, which is looking to transform itself into a Hollywood heavyweight, is backed by tech billionaire Larry Ellison and led by his son David. Ellison, chief executive and chairman of Paramount and a major Republican donor, is hosting a dinner with Trump on Thursday at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington DC. Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo is expected to join protesters outside the building to demonstrate against what organisers have described as a “corruption gala”, given the regulatory hurdles still facing the companies. The protesters have also raised concerns about how the Ellisons’ ownership of CNN will impact the news network. Trump has frequently attacked CNN over its reporting of his policies. He said in December that he believed the news network should be sold as part of any Warner Bros takeover. He called CNN’s bosses “corrupt or incompetent” and said they should not be entrusted to run the network.As well as concerns over CNN’s future, a slew of actors, directors and filmmakers have opposed the takeover on the grounds it could further harm an already struggling industry. In April, more than 1,400, including Emma Thompson, Ben Stiller and Javier Bardem, signed a letter warning of its impact. “The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world,” the letter said. Paramount responded by pledging its commitment to talent and “ensuring creators have more avenues for their work, not fewer”. Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren said the deal would be “an anti-trust disaster” and state attorneys general would try to stop it. “The Paramount-Warner Bros merger isn’t a done deal… we need to keep up this fight,” she said after the announcement. But Mike Proulx, of market research firm Forrester, said Washington “is likely to rubber stamp the deal”.“The real regulatory pressure sits overseas, where European authorities will focus on structural market impact. A process that is likely to shape the timing and terms of this deal,” he added. The Warner Bros shareholders on Thursday voted to approve the deal with Paramount, which DiPiazza said will “unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio”. If the deal is approved by regulators, Paramount will fold Warner Bros’ HBO Max streaming customers into its portfolio. It would also take ownership of the Food Network, the Discovery Channel and a range of sports offerings. Paramount’s traditional networks already include brands such as Nickelodeon, CBS and Comedy Central. The company said it expects the takeover to be finalised by September, pending regulatory clearances. Source: BBC

Public warned of scam using ID Department name

Dry weather causes sharp drop in reservoir levels

Dry weather causes sharp drop ...

War, drought, aid shortfall to fuel hunger in 2026, global report says

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Sagarika train derailment: Track repairs expected to take 2 days

Sagarika train derailment: Tra ...

PHIs call for Vesak ‘Dansal’ registration

PHIs call for Vesak ‘Dansal’ r ...

EU calls for nuclear experts in Iran peace talks

EU calls for nuclear experts i ...

Iran and Pakistan discuss 'issues related to the ceasefire'

Iran and Pakistan discuss 'iss ...

Relatives of 10 scientists who died or vanished grapple with impact of ...

Relatives of 10 scientists who ...

Warner Bros shareholders approve Paramount’s $111bn takeover

Warner Bros shareholders appro ...

Dry weather causes sharp drop in reservoir levels

Dry weather causes sharp drop ...

War, drought, aid shortfall to fuel hunger in 2026, global report says

War, drought, aid shortfall to ...

Sagarika train derailment: Track repairs expected to take 2 days

Sagarika train derailment: Tra ...

PHIs call for Vesak ‘Dansal’ registration

PHIs call for Vesak ‘Dansal’ r ...

EU calls for nuclear experts in Iran peace talks

EU calls for nuclear experts i ...

Iran and Pakistan discuss 'issues related to the ceasefire'

Iran and Pakistan discuss 'iss ...

Relatives of 10 scientists who died or vanished grapple with impact of ...

Relatives of 10 scientists who ...

Warner Bros shareholders approve Paramount’s $111bn takeover

Warner Bros shareholders appro ...

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Dry weather causes sharp drop in reservoir levels

Dry weather causes sharp drop ...

War, drought, aid shortfall to fuel hunger in 2026, global report says

War, drought, aid shortfall to ...

Bringing the news paper to your fingertips

Sagarika train derailment: Track repairs expected to take 2 days

Sagarika train derailment: Tra ...

PHIs call for Vesak ‘Dansal’ registration

PHIs call for Vesak ‘Dansal’ r ...

EU calls for nuclear experts in Iran peace talks

EU calls for nuclear experts i ...

Iran and Pakistan discuss 'issues related to the ceasefire'

Iran and Pakistan discuss 'iss ...