<span style="color: #222222;">Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today handed over a proposal seeking to declare the Theravada Tripitaka, the sacred ure of Buddhists, as a UNESCO World Heritage. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The proposal was officially handed over during a national ceremony held in Kandy to the UN resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Theravada Tripitaka was declared a National heritage of Sri Lanka by President in January this year.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Buddha's teachings were initially propagated through word of mouth for generations till the Tripitaka was finally written down in Sri Lanka about 100 years BC. The teachings are contained in three volumes titled 'Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma'. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">They were first compiled and written on palm leaves with more than 1000 monks involved in the task in Aluvihare near Matale. Mozambique: Death toll from cyclone Idai rises to 417</span><br />'' <b><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In Mozambique, the death toll from devastating cyclone Idai has further risen. Speaking to reporters, Mozambique Lands and Environment Minister Celso Correia put the number of dead in the country at 417.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Nearly 90,000 Mozambicans have been moved into shelters, while thousands of others are still stranded in floodwaters.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The government estimates that around one million people have been affected by the storm.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Cyclone Idai smashed into the coast of central Mozambique on Friday last week, unleashing hurricane-force winds and rains that flooded the hinterland and drenched eastern Zimbabwe.</span><br />