Sri Lanka’s health authorities are on the alert for the recent spread of Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), but no patients have been confirmed from the island so far, Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. Speaking in Parliament yesterday (Jan. 09), he said that there was a suspected patient but tests were negative. “We are keeping watch on…
The Bill for the Appropriation Act to allocate funds for the 2025 fiscal year is scheduled to be presented in Parliament today for its first reading. According to the Parliament’s Department of Communication, the second reading of the Bill, also known as the Budget Speech for this year, is scheduled for the 17th of February….
Underwriting profitability for Sri Lankan non-life insurers will gradually improve as they enhance practices and shift focus to more profitable non-motor segments, Fitch Ratings says in a new report. This shift includes adjusting policy pricing, particularly for motor and medical insurance, to better cope with inflation and rising claim costs. Motor insurance profitability faces challenges…
The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government has announced that the amended Provincial Councils Elections Bill will be presented to Parliament next week. Minister Professor Chandana Abeyrathna stated that the bill has already been gazetted. He mentioned that after the bill is presented to Parliament, it will be passed by this month,…
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) reached a historic 2.41 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in throughput, marking its highest-ever performance. The Port of Colombo, including terminals like South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) and Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), recorded a total of 7.78 million TEUs. Ongoing infrastructure developments, including the partial operation of the…
Sri Lanka Police have launched the e-Traffic mobile application, a cutting-edge tool aimed at reducing traffic violations and improving road safety in line with the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative. The app was officially launched yesterday (January 01) by Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Attorney-at-Law Priyantha Weerasuriya, at a ceremony held at the Police Headquarters….
As Sri Lankans, we step into 2025 with the dawn of a new era, a time when the dreams of prosperity that our nation and its people have long cherished begin to materialize. The parliamentary elections of 2024 enabled us to establish a government with a strong majority, earning the trust of people across the…
Downtown Colombo and especially its upmarket commercial areas sparkled, and will continue to do so, in the night this Christmas season until the grand finale on New Year’s Eve. There is little indication that this city of night lights had experienced dire economic collapse just three years ago. The long lines of vehicles that once…
Chairman of the Lanka Sathosa Ltd Dr. Samitha Perera said that 300 metric tons of rice are being released daily to the market through Sathosa outlets. The rice will be sold at government-controlled prices. He also emphasized challenges in formulating an emergency response plan for rice imports while protecting local farmers.
The number of tourists who visited Sri Lanka this year surpassed 2 million as of today. Today, 53-year-old Prasan Inokanunt, a journalist from Thailand, and his wife arrived in Sri Lanka, marking the milestone of the 2 millionth tourist this year. A special ceremony was held at Bandaranaike International Airport Katunayake to welcome the couple….
