UNICEF terminates official in Sri Lanka after drug offense

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today terminated the service of Lisa Woods, a communication consultant, who was fined by the local courts for being in possession of 80 mg of heroin.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the UNICEF country office has informed it of the termination. Ms. Woods left the country today.

Ms. Woods, a United States national, had arrived in Sri Lanka on March 5 this year to work with UNICEF on a 4-month assignment to assist in updating the UNICEF website and to write donor reports.

Ms. Wood was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital in Colombo on March 12 after being found unconscious in her hotel. She was placed under arrest by the police for the possession of heroin and produced before the Colombo Magistrate on March 25.

“The Government appreciates the cooperation extended by UNICEF to the law enforcement authorities and for the immediate administrative measures taken against the officer,” the Foreign Ministry said.

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Sri Lanka scraps bid for $400m terminal at Colombo port

Sri Lanka, aiming to increase cargo capacity at Colombo port by half, scrapped bids for a $400 million terminal, a ministry official said.

New terms will be added and fresh bids will be called in three months, Tilak Collure, a ports ministry secretary, said in a phone interview from capital Colombo. He declined to elaborate.

Hutchison Port Holdings and PSA International, which were among five companies that bid for the 2.4 million-containers-a-year facility at Colombo's south harbour, will have to resubmit their offers, Collure said.

The companies are known to be the world's biggest port operators.

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