News
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent arrive in Sri Lanka
(Tatler) Prince Michael of Kent, 81, the Queen’s first cousin has arrived in Colombo with his wife Princess Michael of Kent. The pair were decorated upon arrival at Sri Lanka’s tourism bureau with garlands of flowers. They follow hot on the heels of Princess Anne, who made the first official royal visit of the year as she toured Sri Lanka for three days earlier this month.
Princess Anne has become known for her no-nonsense, hardworking approach to royal life. In fact, she has become regarded as a kind of quiet engine to the royal family; a vital source of energy as well as intimate counsel for the King. She has, nevertheless, managed to find time still to pull off some show-stoppingly glamorous appearances, such as at the royal banquet in November, which saw a visit from South Korea hosted at Buckingham Palace.
The Princess Royal’s straight-talking attitude to her royal duties was very much on display as she flew commercial to Sri Lanka, choosing Sri Lanka Airlines, which thanked her with an exuberant Instagram post. The Princess also carried her own luggage and made a clearly discernible effort to re-wear old items of clothing, championing sustainability, re-use and upcycling. During her time in the crisis-stricken South Asian nation, the Princess, along with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, visited Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna. She also met with president Ranil Wickremesinghe who succeeded Gotabaya Rajapaksa after the latter fled the country in 2022 during mass protests.
As for Prince Michael, it is not clear whether he is in Sri Lanka on holiday or on business. He has visited Sri Lanka before, in 2008, at which time he opened a villa. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent are not part of the working royal family – though they remain part of the wider family contingent, and were in attendance at King Charles’s customary Christmas lunch last year.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to appoint Ms. P. M. Jayadeera (Engineer) in the Special Grade of Sri Lanka Engineering Service serving at present as the Additional Secretary (Water Resources Development) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to the post of Director General which will be vacant from 06.10.2026.
Approval has been granted at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 08.06.2026 to prepare a draft bill for restructuring Sri Lanka Cricket.
Accordingly, the Legal Draftsman has formulated Sri Lanka draft bill providing legal provisions for the administration of Sri
Lanka Cricket, control, regulation, promotion, establishment of Sri Lanka Cricket for the development and administration, through the concepts of better governance, integrity, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and providing equal opportunities for the betterment of the cricket sport, establishment of Sri Lanka Cricket for securing the wellbeing of all participants and securing cricket from corruption and other mal practices.
Clearance of the Attorney General has been received for the said draft bill. Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers has been received for the resolution furnished by the Minister of
Youth Affairs and Sports to publish the said draft bill in the government gazette notification and thereby forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
The Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation performs vitally important functions such as minimizing the risk of inundation in urban and lowland areas, maintaining drainage systems efficiently, carrying out urgent operations during inundation events, and maintaining canals.
The need to strengthen the capacity of the corporation’s internal
operations has been identified by the corporation to perform the aforementioned functions efficiently and expeditiously.
The corporation has planned to purchase small -scale machinery that can be used to clean small canals, which significantly contribute to urban inundation.
The General Treasury has agreed to grant 625 million rupees as an equity contribution for purchasing the relevant machinery.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution submitted by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to purchase the relevant machinery by the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, following formal procurement procedures at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,233
million, utilizing the aforementioned amount granted by the General Treasury and the funds of the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation.
Ms. P. M. Jayadeera (Engineer) appointed Director General of Irrigation
Sri Lanka Cricket Draft Bill to be gazetted
Cabinet approves purchase of machinery for the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation
Cabinet approval for Project to Build Secure, Skilled, and Empowered Community for families resettled at the at Kalinga Mawatha, housing scheme
Appointment of Cabinet Sub-Committee for the Organization of 79th Independence Day Commemoration
Establishment of New Management Framework for the Dr. Nevil Fernando Hospital
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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