The US Embassy in Sri Lanka, together with the Association for Disaster Risk Management Professionals (ADRiMP), will host the GeoAI (Geospatial Artificial Intelligence) for Disaster Resilience Exhibition and Symposium, open to the public on 14 May, at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo. The event will showcase how advanced mapping tools and American-led artificial intelligence innovations can strengthen disaster preparedness and response.

GeoAI combines geographic data—such as maps, satellite imagery, and weather patterns—with artificial intelligence to help authorities better predict, monitor, and respond to natural disasters. Drawing on US purported leadership in AI and geospatial technologies, these tools support faster, more accurate, and data-driven decision-making during emergencies such as floods, storms, and landslides.

The US Embassy in Sri Lanka supported the launch of the GeoAI for Disaster Resilience initiative in December, 2025, following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah. Developed by disaster management experts Dr. Novil Wijesekara and Dr. Aslam Saja, in collaboration with ADRiMP, the project aims to strengthen Sri Lanka’s ability to respond to extreme weather events and build long-term resilience.

The programme has trained 150 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) professionals and university students, equipping them with advanced, AI-enhanced tools to improve disaster risk management. For example, these tools can map flood-prone areas in real time, predict how a storm may impact specific communities, and help emergency responders plan evacuations more effectively—capabilities that will be demonstrated at the exhibition. The exhibition and symposium will feature innovative, locally developed GeoAI solutions, demonstrating how these technologies can be applied to real-world disaster challenges across Sri Lanka.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on 14 May. Registration is required; please visit https://arcg.is/0b9bbL2 to register.

The Health Ministry yesterday (11) said that around 84% of Sri Lankans had expressed willingness to donate their eyes.

The Ministry said the National Eye Bank, established 15 years ago, has so far received around 17,000 corneas, which have been used in approximately 12,000 corneal transplant surgeries.

It further noted that between 4,000 and 5,000 corneas had been donated to other countries, based on international demand and requests.

The Health Ministry also highlighted that the National Eye Bank is an internationally recognised institution, with continued demand for corneas from several countries, including Singapore and South Africa, as well as other Asian nations.

The government has finally been able to prevent some of the country’s most feared underworld prisoners from using mobile phones to run organised crime, while in detention. An exclusive prison has been built within the Welisara Navy base premises for hardcore criminals.

Authoritative sources told The Island that the government decided, late last year, to establish a special high security facility for those who had been able to flout security procedures in other prisons. Among the persons held at Welisara are ‘Wele Suda’, ‘Dematagoda Chaminda’, ‘Loku Patty’, ‘Midigama Ruwan’, ‘Backhoe Saman’, ‘Army Sampath’, and ‘Manna Ramesh’.

Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, on 01 January, 2026, issued an extraordinary gazette notification to establish a prison in Welisara, by virtue of the powers vested in him by Section 2 of the Prisons Ordinance (Chapter 54).

Sources said that the Navy had previously used the facility to hold those who had been absent without leave. Responding to questions, sources said that the government so far moved nine men to Welisara where the Justice and National Integration Ministry run the operation. Some of those detained had been extradited from countries while living freely, though they were fugitives, who had escaped from here.

Sources said that despite stringent security measures in place, some prisoners had been able to smuggle in hand phones with inside help at other prisons, but the Welisara experiment appeared to be successful.

By Shamindra Ferdinando