The United Nations today (11) launched its Humanitarian Priorities Plan, aiming to raise USD 35 million over the next four months, to support efforts to restore the lives of Sri Lankans affected by Cyclone Ditwah. The plan aims to reach 658,000 of the most vulnerable people between December 2025 and April 2026, following a formal request for international assistance from the Government of Sri Lanka. The plan follows the Government’s request for international assistance and complements and supports ongoing national efforts by directing assistance to the people and areas most severely impacted by the cyclone. The HPP’s support spans immediate…
The Sri Lankan Report
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka cabinet has approved the award of contracts to develop 50 MegaWatt wind power plants in Mannar, after calling international competitive tenders. Consortium of Vidullanka Plc and David Pieris Motor Company (Lanka) Limited will get one 50MW plant and Windfoce Plc will get the second plant, a post-cabinet statement said. ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka utility gets 3.77 US cents bid for wind power from Vidullanka, 3.96 from Windforce The two plants in Mullikulam, Mannar have brought the lowest tariffs so far. The requests for proposal drew 7 responses. (Colombo/Dec11/2025)
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved the transfer of a land and constructions meant for a Kinniya University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) in Trincomalee, to the Ministry of Tourism, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. The Kinniya education institution was to be built on a 12-acre land belonging to the Land Reform Commission in the Uparu Grama Niladhari Division of the Kinniya Divisional Secretariat in the Trincomalee District. So far, 25.45 million rupees has been spent on the construction work for the college. “Due to the circumstances that have arisen subsequently, the University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) has decided that there…
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is offering an Urban Development Authority land at Perahera Mawatha, Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, on a 99-year lease basis for a mixed development project, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. The cabinet approved a proposal to look for investors for the land measuring 2 roods, 23.1 perches, to implement a mixed development project, including residential development. “The cabinet has approved inviting investment proposals for the use of the relevant land for hotel or commercial purposes, subject to the condition that 50% of the land be used for residential purposes.” A previously chosen investor had failed to meet the required…
The Ditwah Cyclone ranks second only to the December 2004 Tsunami in terms of damage to housing in Sri Lanka’s recent history. According to the government’s Disaster Management Centre, as of 9th December 2025, 86,488 houses were partially or fully damaged due to Ditwah. This is only slightly fewer than the nearly 100,000 houses affected by the 2004 Tsunami. The government has announced a redevelopment programme to assist affected families in rebuilding their homes in safer locations. It has many similarities to the 2005 post-Tsunami housing programme and holds important insights as outlined in the Post-Disaster Housing: Lessons Learnt from…
Photo courtesy of DW The devastation left by Cyclone Ditwah across Sri Lanka was immediate and immense, affecting over a million lives and triggering widespread landslides. Amidst the chaos of rising waters and tragic loss, a parallel crisis emerged – one of information. As official systems struggled to cope, the internet became a sea of decentralised, desperate posts: scattered WhatsApp screenshots, untraceable images and pleas for missing relatives. It was in this moment of digital disarray that one tech founder, driven by a singular, immediate purpose, decided to build the solution himself. The result, launched in less than two hours,…
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has sold 43 billion rupees of Treasury bills at an auction, data from the Ministry of Finance’s Public Debt Management Office showed. The 3-month yield was unchanged at 7.51 percent, with 10 billion rupees of bills offered at the auction on Wednesday, and 10.63 billion sold. The 6-month yield was unchanged at 7.91 percent, with 20 billion rupees offered and 32.89 billion sold. The 12-month yield was unchanged at 8.03 percent, with1820 billion rupees offered and 4.47 billion sold. A total of 104,982 million bids were received. (Colombo/Dec11/2025)
Photo courtesy of AFP When calamity strikes, the immediate imperative is saving lives, restoring essential services and delivering relief to those who have lost everything. But once the dust settles – literally and metaphorically – a far more enduring task begins: rebuilding communities, infrastructure and livelihoods. For a nation like Sri Lanka, where successive disasters have exposed institutional vulnerabilities, how that reconstruction is conducted will matter for generations. In this context, rebuilding must be more than returning to the pre-disaster status quo. It must be underpinned by accountability, transparency and sustainability. Crucially, these are not just moral imperatives; they are…
It all started one day in June 2007, with a sudden fever and severe vomiting, said David Hancock. He should have gone to hospital, immediately. But he didn’t — he thought: If this is a common infection, I’ll get over it. Then he realized it wasn’t a common infection. But it still took 10 days for doctors to make a reliable diagnosis. During these 10 days the then 49-year-old fell into a coma and suffered heart failure — multiple times. His lungs filled with fluid, and his brain became inflamed. “I was on the other side, with one foot in…
The Western Province Southern Crime Division has arrested five suspects who had planned to commit a murder. Police said the murder plot was organized in Dehiwala itself as an act of revenge for the crime committed on December 06 near a playground on Wanaratana Road, Dehiwala, where a man was shot dead, and another was seriously injured. Accordingly, five suspects were arrested last morning (11) in the Ratmalana area on charges of preparing plans to kill a person, conspiring, aiding and abetting the crime, and acting as members of an unlawful assembly. The suspects, aged between 22 and 36, are…
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee was quoted at 308.95/309/05 to the US dollar in the spot market Thursday, weaker from 308.80/90 the previous day, dealers said, while bond yields dropped significantly. A bond maturing on 15.02.2028 was quoted at 9.05/15 percent, down from 9.15/20 percent. A bond maturing on 15.09.2029 was quoted at 9.50/52 percent. A bond maturing on 01.07.2030 was quoted at 9.55/65 percent. A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 was quoted at 10.20/30 percent, down from 10.25/30 percent. A bond maturing on 15.06.2035 closed at 10.63/70 percent. The telegraphic transfer rates for the American dollar were 305.2500 buying, 312.2500…
Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry and the Inland Revenue Department have held high-level discussions to broaden the tax base, simplify the tax filing process, and reduce bureaucratic barriers, the ministry said in a statement. The meeting, chaired by Deputy Minister of Economic Development Nishantha Jayaweera, was attended by Inland Revenue Commissioner General Rukdevi Fernando and senior officials. The Finance Ministry said officials were directed to take steps to encourage voluntary tax compliance and to accelerate taxpayer awareness initiatives. During the meeting ,the Deputy Minister had instructed that taxpayer inconveniences in filing returns be minimized and that forms be simplified as much…
Colombo Port Police have arrested a clerk suspected of stealing cosmetic products worth Rs. 574,425 from a consignment imported from India. According to Police investigations, a private company had imported two pallets of cosmetics from India on Nov. 7, 2025, the Lankadeepa newspaper reported. The shipment was stored at the Bandaranaike warehouse of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority after paying port and customs duties, pending release. On Nov. 26, a clerk from another company allegedly entered the warehouse and opened four cardboard boxes from the consignment. He is accused of stealing the packaged cosmetic items stored inside. The suspect had…
Opposition MP Mano Ganesan has questioned where the most marginalized plantation community fits into the relief matrix of the government. In a post on ‘X’, MP Ganesan said that he acknowledges the relief allowances announced by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 5 December on the final day of the Budget session. “I chose not to join the opposition walkout, opting instead to hear the President out in good faith. But as the Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader, I still don’t see where the most marginalized plantation community fits into the relief matrix,” he said. MP Ganesan pointed out that Sri Lanka’s…
Section 67 of Sri Lanka’s Anti-Corruption Act represents a significant evolution in the country’s legal response to corruption, introducing a conditional and structured framework for withdrawing indictments before judgment, according to former Minister of Justice Ali Sabry. His remarks come after the Colombo High Court allowed the conditional withdrawal of a bribery case against former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, on the basis of a Rs. 1.84 billion compensation payment to the State. Cabraal was charged over the Central Bank’s controversial investment in Greek sovereign bonds in 2011. The Colombo High Court permitted the withdrawal following a request by…
Sri Lanka Triposha Ltd. has contributed Rs. 100 million in dividends to the Treasury, the Finance Ministry said. The cheque was officially handed over to State Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando by Triposha Chairman Amal Aththanayake and company representatives. Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe also attended occasion. (Newswire) The post Triposha hands over Rs. 100 million dividends to Treasury appeared first on Newswire.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, North-Central, Eastern, Central, and Uva provinces today, while fairly heavy falls of about 50 mm are likely in some places in Northern province. According to the Department of Meteorology, showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Galle and Matara districts after 1.00 pm. The public is requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers. Meanwhile, showers will occur at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam…
ECONOMYNEXT – Vietnam saw Sri Lanka as a potential destination for logistics and warehouse businesses which will also help East Asia businesses reach South Asian and Middle Eastern markets, visiting Vietnamese officials said. Sri Lanka had the largest transshipment port in the region which Vietnam firms can use to reduce trade costs, To Ngoc Son, Deputy Director General, Department of International Market Development of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam said. “This can constitute one of the important pillars in our two countries’ wish to increase the volumes of trade over the next three to five years,” Son…
ECONOMYNEXT – The US Federal Reserve said it was cutting rates by 25 basis points to target 3.5 to 3.75 percent, despite high inflation,citing an economic slowdown and lower job gains in it so-called dual mandate. Inflation was up 3 percent in October, 2025 with monthly inflation rising 0.3 percent. “Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up through September,” the Federal Reserve said. “More recent indicators are consistent with these developments. Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and…
At least 22 people have been killed and a further 16 injured after two buildings collapsed in the Moroccan city of Fez.