Sri Lanka will focus on stronger recovery this year after the island nation posted real GDP growth of 5% in 2024, the highest in seven years, its central bank chief said on Wednesday, hoping to accelerate a rebound from its worst financial crisis in decades.

A meeting held today (January 8) between private bus unions in Sri Lanka and Acting Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya was described as successful by union representatives.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), chaired a meeting on the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative with senior Ministry officials and heads of institutions under the Ministry’s purview, including the tri-force chiefs, at the Ministry auditorium on the evening of January 7, 2025.

A female teacher who leaked the Grade 6 and 7 Term Test questions for government schools in the North Central Province has been immediately suspended, according to Sirimewan Dharmasena, the Education Secretary of the North Central Province.

The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) has stated that a final decision regarding the planned bus strike, initiated as a protest against police-conducted bus inspections, will be made today (January 8).

The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government has announced that Sri Lanka’s 77th Independence Day celebrations will be held with reduced costs, fewer guests, and scaled-down activities, while maintaining their dignity.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held an extensive discussion with officials from the Ministry of Finance today (January 7) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Sri Lanka later this year, the Indian High Commission in Colombo announced on Tuesday (January 7). However, the exact dates are yet to be finalized by both sides.

Defence Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), extended his heartfelt congratulations to Midshipman T.M.I. Vimukthi Tennakoon of the Sri Lanka Navy for receiving the prestigious Sword of Honour.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Sri Lanka has approved compensation for 17 patients who developed complications after undergoing cataract surgery at the Nuwara Eliya District General Hospital.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Mahinda Siriwardena, has issued directives to all state institutions, including provincial councils and local government bodies in Sri Lanka, to auction high-capacity vehicles, particularly those with V8 engines, by March 1, 2025.

The Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka reports a nationwide shortage of nearly 30,000 teachers.

Two people were killed in a shooting at Watarappala Road, Mount Lavinia, early this morning (January 7), police reported.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held a discussion with the Attorney General and officials from the Attorney General’s Department at the Presidential Secretariat today (January 6).

A statement issued by M. Jayalath Perera, Director of Legislative Services and Acting Director of Communication at the Parliament of Sri Lanka, addressed a newspaper report titled ‘The Actual Costs of the Tea Party Post-Ceremonial Opening of Parliament,’ published in Irida Lankadeepa on December 29, 2024.

Two suspects, including a former member of the Western Provincial Council, Salochana Gamage, who were arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe, have been further remanded until January 17, 2025, by Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali.