Author: Buzzer Editorial

The Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation has announced that a pilot project enabling card payments on expressways will be launched this week.According to the Ministry, the trial run will initially be implemented at the Kottawa and Kadawatha interchanges. Commuters using these interchanges will be able to make payments via debit and credit cards, as well as through QR code scanning.Following the successful completion of the pilot phase, the Ministry aims to roll out card payment facilities across all expressways in Sri Lanka by May.

The Department of Meteorology says that showers will occur at times in Western and Southern provinces and in Puttalam district.In its latest weather forecast, the Met. Department stated that showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in Sabaragamuwa, Central, and Uva provinces and in Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts during the afternoon or night today (10).Fairly heavy rainfall of above 50 mm are likely at some places in Southern, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Central provinces and in Ampara district.Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces during the morning, it added.Thus, the general public…

President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Apr 8) said the United States will soon announce a “major” tariff on pharmaceutical imports.Speaking at an event at the National Republican Congressional Committee, Trump said the tariff will incentivise drug companies to move their operations to the US. Pharmaceuticals were exempt from sweeping tariffs on US imports announced by Trump last week but he has said they will face separate tariffs.European pharma companies, fearful of the tariff fallout, warned the European Commission at a meeting on Tuesday Trump’s tariffs would expedite the industry’s shift away from Europe and toward the US.Pharma trade lobby EFPIA, whose…

The indices at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) rebounded on Tuesday after three continuous days of decline following market turmoil in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.Accordingly, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) rose by 467.26 points (3.19%) to close at 15,127.71 while the S&P SL20 gained 190.29 points (4.46%) to close at 4,455.13 points. The day’s turnover was recorded as over Rs. 2.89 billion.The announcement of new tariffs by US President Donald Trump has not only sent shockwaves across the globe, it also resulted in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) losing Rs. 430 billion in three days of trading.Trump…

The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to call for open tenders to purchase 15 million polycarbonate cards to issue new electronic National Identity Cards (e-NIC).The e-NIC project is introduced to collect the biodata, biometric data, family information, and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) certified photographs of every Sri Lankan citizen over the age of 15, and issue electronic National Identity Cards with Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) numbers to every registered person.The government has estimated it will require 17 million cards to implement the project.Accordingly, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the Minister of Digital Economy presented the Cabinet…

The proposal to recruit 18,853 graduates and youth to the state service has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.The Cabinet paper in this regard has been submitted following a recommendation issued by a committee headed by the Secretary to the Prime Minister.Accordingly, considering vacancies in the state sector, the recruitment will take place without any political interference, said the Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa. Speaking during the weekly Cabinet media briefing today (08), Minister Jayatissa said considering the rate of unemployment in the country owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent political and economic crises, the President Anura Kumara Dissanayake…

The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to a proposal to increase the monthly minimum wage of private sector employees from Rs. 17,500 to Rs. 27,000 with effect from 01 April 2025.The Cabinet paper in this regard has been presented by the Minister of Labour. According to the Cabinet paper, the daily minimum wage of private sector employees will be increased from Rs. 700 to Rs. 1,080.Furthermore, the Cabinet paper has proposed to increase the monthly minimum wage of private sector employees to Rs. 30,000 from Rs. 27,000 with effect from 1 January 2026.The daily minimum wage of private sector employees…

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has personally written to United States President Donald Trump on ways to mitigate the impact and reduce the tariffs imposed recently, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha Fernando announced in Parliament.Deputy Minister Fernando said the White House has also acknowledged the letter sent by the Head of State. Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha stressed that the new government is focused on reducing the trade deficit with the United States in response to the reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.In response to a question raised by New Democratic Front (NDF) Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake…

Former State Minister Sathasivam Viyalendran, who was arrested and remanded over bribery charges, has been granted bail after he was produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.Accordingly, the Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali ordered Viyalendran to be released on five surety bails of Rs. 1 million each and a cash bail of Rs. 50,000.Meanwhile, the court also imposed an overseas travel ban on the former State Minister.During the trial, the officials of the Bribery Commission informed the court that the investigations pertaining to the case have been completed and subsequently, the Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered the suspect to be released on…

A military contingent from Sri Lanka has arrived in Myanmar to support ongoing emergency response efforts following a recent disaster. The Sri Lankan Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief Team landed at Yangon International Airport on 05 April 2025 and has been deployed to the affected Naypyidaw province, located approximately 450 kilometres north of Yangon.The team’s immediate focus is to assess the situation on the ground, provide essential medical care and support the health infrastructure during this critical period. Comprising skilled professionals and support personnel, the team is currently stationed in Naypyidaw, where emergency relief operations are underway.As part of their mission,…