News
Prez AKD unlocks 11,000 acres of land for farmers
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake issued directives on Thursday to allocate 11,000 acres of land owned by the Kantale Sugar Company to farmers for short-term crop cultivation. This initiative is set to provide much-needed opportunities for farmers struggling with limited access to arable land, the President’s Media Division said.
During a meeting with officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Lands, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries, and Aquatic Resources at the Presidential Secretariat, President Dissanayake emphasized the importance of establishing a structured mechanism for the allocation process. Each farmer will receive a plot not exceeding five acres, allowing them to cultivate various short-term crops and contribute to the country’s food security.
The meeting, attended by senior officials such as M.P.N.M. Wickramasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, and Hemasiri Liyanage, Director General of the Land Commission, also involved a review of the performance and progress of the relevant ministries, the PMD said.
The President’s directive comes at a time when the Kantale Sugar Factory, once a significant contributor to the nation’s sugar production, has fallen silent. Established with aid from the Czechoslovakian government during the tenure of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the factory was not only a site of industrial activity but also a vibrant community, boasting a housing scheme, shopping complex, recreational facilities, and a dispensary for its employees.
However, years of inefficient management and worker grievances led to its eventual closure, with the factory’s last reported annual production capacity being 16,320 tonnes of sugar. As of June 2023, the government acknowledged that the factory was unlikely to produce sugarcane or sugar again, prompting a reconsideration of the factory’s extensive land use.
Spanning 21,223 acres, the Kantale Sugar Company’s land is so vast that it can be divided into 11 distinct areas, resembling an entire industrial town rather than just a factory. Of this, 164 hectares were originally allocated for the factory and housing complex, while 23 hectares were dedicated to farming. Additionally, 2,650 hectares are classified as forest, with 810 hectares reserved for canals and roads. Other areas have been set aside for various purposes, including an Army camp and the Youth Corps.
Foreign News
One dead in US after being struck by taking off Frontier Airlines plane
A person has died after jumping an airport perimeter fence in the US state of Colorado and being struck by a Frontier Airlines plane, according to authorities.
Denver International Airport said the unusual incident occurred late Friday, after the unidentified individual gained access to the tarmac.
It said the “pedestrian jumped the perimeter fence and was hit just two minutes later while crossing the runway”.
A brief engine fire followed the collision, which was put out by emergency responders, according to the airport.
It said that 12 of the 231 people on board suffered minor injuries, with five hospitalised.
The airport said investigators had examined the fence line where the individual entered and “found it to be intact”.
It added that the struck individual “is not believed to be an employee of the airport”.
“We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,” the airport said.
Both local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were investigating the incident.
Airport safety in the US came under renewed scrutiny earlier this year amid a prolonged shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which temporarily left both Transportation Security Agents (TSA) and air traffic controllers working without pay.
While instances of people being killed on airport tarmacs are rare, Friday’s incident came a day after a Delta employee was killed after an airport vehicle struck an airbridge at Orlando International Airport.
In March, two pilots were killed after an Air Canada Express plane crashed into a fire-rescue vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
About 225,000 people travel through Denver International Airport a day.
[Aljazeera]
Latest News
Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern, Uva, North-western and Northern provinces and in Anuradhapura district.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 10 MAY 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 10 May 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
The low-level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka is likely to develop into a low-pressure area around 11th of May. Therefore, the prevailing showery conditions over the island are expected to continue during the next few days.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at most places over the island, and cloudy skies are expected over the island. Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern, Uva, North-western and Northern provinces and in Anuradhapura district.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
News
Lanka Port City officials to meet investors in Dubai
ECONOMYNEXT –Colombo Port City (CPC) officials will head to Dubai to meet with investors on June 11, as Sri Lanka’s most ambitious economic zone looks for further foreign investments.
“We are meeting people in Dubai and the Middle East in order to demonstrate that Colombo Port City can be a supplementary zone of investment,” Harsha Amarasekara, Chairman, Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC), told Economynext.
The meeting will be organised by CPCEC, China Harbour Engineering Company, Consulate General of Sri Lanka – Dubai, and the Embassy of Sri Lanka – Abu Dhabi.
Foreign investor meetings have been a consistent factor in marketing CPC, and identifying potential markets has been a priority for CHEC and CPCEC.
“We have shortlisted and identified primary markets and we have combed the globe in that to say have a rationale behind why you would want to do certain things, a road show in a particular country,” Thulci Aluwihare, Deputy Managing Director, CHEC Port City Colombo, told Echelon Media.
“Once we kind of shortlist on that, then we aggressively go and market Port City, first Sri Lanka I should say, then Port City.”
“Sri Lanka is known in the world as a tourist destination, not essentially for a doing business capital. That is the narrative that we are trying to change,” he added.
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