ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee was quoted at 309.70/80 to the US dollar Friday morning weaker from 309.65/75 in the spot market Friday while bond yields fell, dealers said despite a spike in bill yields at the last auction. Bill yields corrected upwards last week, after a higher volume than maturing bills was announced. RELATED : Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields rise, 12-month up 16bp Sri Lanka has announced sweeping relief payments for cyclone Ditwah victims, to be paid in cash. A bond maturing on 15.03.2028 was quoted around 9.06/11 percent down from 9.10/18 percent. A bond maturing on 15.09.2029…
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Showers are expected in several districts today, with fairly heavy falls above 50 mm likely at some places, according to the Department of Meteorology. A few showers may occur in the Northern, Eastern and Uva provinces and in the Polonnaruwa, Matale and Nuwara Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the Sabaragamuwa province and in the Galle, Matara and Kaluthara districts after 2.00 pm, while fairly heavy falls above 50 mm are likely at some places. Fairly strong winds of about 40 kmph can be expected at times over Eastern slopes of the central hills, Northern…
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals reached 154,609 by December 21, 2025 up from 150,563 last year, despite a slowdown in the first two weeks after Cyclone Ditwah, data from the tourist promotion office showed. Coastal resorts were mostly fully booked Sri Lanka Tourist Hotels Association Chief Asoka Hettigoda told EconomyNext before Christmas. The hill country was also getting more tourists and returning to normal, he said. Sri Lanka was getting around 10 to 15 percent more tourists each month in 2025, compared to 2024 when Cyclone Ditwah hit. RELATED : Sri Lanka Cyclone output shock likely to be offset…
A three-year-old girl was killed in a road accident on the Mathugama–Aluthgama road, police said. The accident occurred on Dec. 25 near the 5 Kanuwa junction when a motorcycle traveling from Aluthgama toward Mathugama collided head-on with a Bolero cab coming from the opposite direction. Police said the motorcyclist, a female pillion rider and the three-year-old girl were injured in the collision and were admitted to the Darga Town Hospital, where the child later died. The two injured adults were subsequently transferred to the Nagoda Hospital for further treatment. The driver of the Bolero cab has been arrested by the…
The Hakgala National Botanical Garden, which was closed due to the Ditwah cyclone, has been reopened for tourists from today, the Ministry of Environment said.
The Officer-in-Charge of the Criminal Division of the Gampaha Headquarters Police has been arrested on allegations of bribery, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said. According to CIABOC, the arrest followed a complaint made by a businessman from the Dandugama area in Ja-Ela. The suspect is accused of demanding a bribe of Rs. 300,000 and three-quarter gold sovereigns in exchange for refraining from taking legal action and failing to produce the complainant before court in connection with allegedly stolen gold jewellery. Investigators said the police officer had already accepted Rs. 250,000 as part of the alleged…
The Government has taken further steps to strengthen a child-friendly transport system by translating key policy commitments into action, Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savitri Paulraj said.
ECONOMYNEXT – The first flight of Vision Air from the Kishinev, the capital of Moldova will arrive iSri Lanka on December 27, Udayanga Weeratunga, an ex-ambassador who has helped bring tourists from former Soviet Republics said. This winter season, six Vision Air flights will haul around 1,500 tourists, he said in a statement, brining estimated revenues of 2.25 million US dollars. The tourists are sent by the Join Up, travel agency and the tourists are facilitated in Sri Lanka by Delux Holidays. Sky Up airlines is also due to fly from Moldova’s capital Kishinev to Sri Lanka. The flights will…
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) urged people to observe a two-minutes silence tomorrow (26) from 9:25 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. in memory of the people who lost their lives in the tsunami and other disasters.
The government has declared five villages in the Pamunupura area bordering Hasalaka town in the Kandy district as no-man’s-land zones with immediate effect following severe landslides triggered by Cyclone “Ditwah”.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake paid his last respects to the remains of veteran actor and Kala Suri Satishchandra Edirisinghe. The President visited the late actor’s residence in Kelaniya this morning (25), where his body is lying in state, and paid his final respects. He also expressed his deepest condolences to the family members. Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa was among those present on the occasion. (Newswire) The post President pays last respects to late Kala Suri Satishchandra Edirisinghe appeared first on Newswire.
People are up in arms over the postponement of the Ne-Yo live in Sri Lanka concert organised by the Brown Boy, alleging that the organisers had already collected the ticket monies and now there was no talk of refunding the cash back.
few showers are expected in the Uva Province and in the Ampara, Batticaloa, Matale and Nuwara-Eliya districts, the Meteorology Department said.
Sri Lanka has recorded the highest number of elephant deaths in South Asia and is often cited by conservationists as having the world’s highest elephant mortality rate caused by human–elephant conflict, despite having a much smaller elephant population than India, wildlife officials said.
Prison authorities have made special arrangements to allow visitors to bring food and sweets for inmates in celebration of Christmas Day today (25).
A Sri Lankan national was arrested on Monday, 22nd December, after pressing a utility knife to his neck outside a Yoshinoya restaurant near Shinagawa Station in Minato-ku, Tokyo. The man sustained bleeding injuries to his hand and neck but remained conscious. Police quickly cordoned off the area, engaged him in dialogue and persuaded him to drop the blade. No bystanders were hurt.
The Archeology sites damaged and destroyed all over the island due to the recent cyclone and flash floods are set for an estimated early repair next year , Director General of Archeology, Thusitha Ranasinghe, told the Daily Mirror.
The public has also been cautioned not to overload extension cords and to use only SLS-certified electrical products of proper standards, as authorities warn of an increased risk of electrocution during the Christmas and New Year festive season.
Health officials have warned that road accidents are likely to increase during the ongoing festive season and urged the public to exercise greater caution while travelling.
Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman, MP Harsha de Silva, has appealed to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, seeking to resolve the serious matter of Sri Lanka operating without the constitutionally mandated head of the National Audit Office. In a 06-point letter to the President, MP de Silva said an Auditor General must be appointed urgently in the backdrop of the current disaster situation in Sri Lanka. “Given the large number of transactions taking place now with Cyclone Ditwah reconstruction and the yet to be legally established Rebuilding SriLanka Fund, an Auditor General must be appointed urgently,” he pointed out in…