Connect with us

News

Leprosy cases in SL increase in 2023

Published

on

Sri Lankan health officials have observed a significant increase in leprosy cases in 2023.

Officials said that a total of 864 patients were detected during the first seven months of the year, and 161 of these patients were from Colombo.

The Anti Leprosy Campaign at Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry said that 47 leprosy patients were recorded from the Egodawela MOH zone alone.

In a media briefing held last month, the Health Promotion Bureau stated that the highest number of Leprosy patients recorded this year were found from the Moratuwa area in Colombo District.

Speaking at the media briefing, Moratuwa MoH Manjula Thillakaratne had said that 51 Leprosy patients were recorded from Moratuwa and 08 of them were children under the age of 14 years.

Dr. Prasad Ranaweera from the Anti Leprosy Campaign said an awareness campaign will commence in the Western Province next week.

Although Sri Lanka eliminated leprosy in 1995, after having achieved the elimination target of less than one case of leprosy per 10,000 of the population, recent statistics point to a rising trend in leprosy incidence, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2023.

Sri Lanka has been recognized by WHO as one of 23 “global priority countries” for Leprosy, emphasizing the need for targeted efforts to sustain elimination status and a final push towards ending Leprosy in the country.

News

03 Lankans featured in 2025 Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list

Published

on

By

03 young Sri Lankans have been featured in the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2025.

They are :
Nikin Matharaarachchi, in 2021, founded Sri Lanka-based Synapse AI Labs is the company behind Kommon Poll, an AI-powered social listening tool. Kommon Poll provides businesses marketing insights by analyzing keyword performance across multiple online platforms, including news sites, blogs and social media.

Charith N Silva, known for videos showing him preparing dishes in outdoor settings, launched the YouTube channel ‘Wild Cookbook’ in 2020 during the pandemic. With over 600 videos, ‘Wild Cookbook’ is now Sri Lanka’s largest YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers, and Silva has over 2.3 million Instagram followers. In November 2024, he opened a restaurant in Colombo called Wildish.

Yanika Amarasekera-Siyaguna, a UC Berkeley and Imperial College London alumna, founded Silver Aisle, Sri Lanka’s first online wedding registry, in 2019. The e-commerce platform has since expanded beyond wedding gifts to include presents for all occasions as well as dining ,vacation packages and lessons in horse riding, golf and pottery, among others. In 2023, Amarasekera-Siyaguna was appointed an independent director of LB Finance, one of Sri Lanka’s largest finance firms.

Continue Reading

News

SL & India sign USD 930.8 Mn. debt restructuring deal

Published

on

By

Sri Lanka and India have signed a USD 930.8 million debt restructuring deal recently on Sri Lanka’s present External Debt Restructuring Process. 

The signing of Bilateral Amendatory Agreements between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of India took place on March 25, 2025 and April 03, 2025, respectively. 

The deal concerns 07 Line of Credit and 04 Buyer’s Credit Facility agreements with the Government of India.

Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Mr. K.M. Mahinda Siriwardana, signed the agreements on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government.

General Manager of the EXIM Bank of India, Mr.Nirmit Ved, signed the Line of Credits, and Deputy General Manager of the EXIM Bank of India, Mr. Amith Kumar, signed the Buyer’s Credit Agreements.

Issuing a statement, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development stated that the signing of these bilateral amendatory agreements marks a significant milestone in Sri Lanka’s ongoing External Debt Restructuring Process.

Continue Reading

News

965 lives lost in road accidents during last 05 months

Published

on

By

A total of 965 people have died between January 01 – May 13 due to various road accidents across Sri Lanka.

During this period,1,842 accidents including 902 fatal accidents were recorded, according to police reports.

The main causes cited for these accidents include negligence, reckless driving and improper vehicle maintenance.

To address the rising number of accidents, police have planned a special island-wide program focused on reducing traffic incidents, including driver awareness initiatives.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Sri Lanka Mirror. All Rights Reserved