INSEE becomes first cement company in SL to achieve EcoLabel certification

INSEE Cement (Siam City Cement (Lanka) Ltd.,) has become the first cement company in Sri Lanka to achieve the prestigious ‘EcoLabel’ certification from the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC), Sri Lanka.

This accomplishment is a historic milestone for the country’s construction industry, highlighting INSEE’s steadfast commitment to sustainability, innovation, and environmental responsibility.

The EcoLabel certification is a globally recognised standard focusing on products and organisations meeting the highest benchmarks in environmental performance. As the official Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) member in Sri Lanka, the NCPC ensures the certification meets ISO 14024 Type I standards, a reliable, multi-criteria, and third-party verified recognition for products and services. Securing the recognition, INSEE Cement has set a new precedent in Sri Lanka’s building materials sector, reinforcing its leadership in driving sustainable construction practices.

INSEE Cement is also the only organisation in the country to hold Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification, further strengthening its position as a pioneer in eco-friendly manufacturing.

Together, these certifications showcase INSEE’s holistic approach to reducing environmental impact, delivering high-quality, reliable cement solutions to the market.

INSEE Cement Chief Operating Officer Thusith Gunawarnasuriya said: ‘The achievement is a proud moment for INSEE and for Sri Lanka. Being the first cement company in the country to earn the EcoLabel certification demonstrates INSEE’s leadership in sustainability and responsibility to future generations. We are committed to building stronger structures, and a greener nation.’

NCPC CEO Eng. Samantha Kumarasena said: ‘INSEE Cement’s EcoLabel certification is a landmark for the industry. It shows how Sri Lankan companies can lead by example, adopting sustainable practices aligning with global standards. The milestone will inspire others in the sector to follow suit.’

With this recognition, INSEE Cement continues to pave the way for a more sustainable construction industry in Sri Lanka, proving environmental stewardship and industrial growth go hand in hand.

Kerner Norland Deepens Australian Presence with Majority Acquisition of 4impact Holdings

Kerner Norland, a subsidiary of ShoreTree Holdings, has acquired a majority stake in 4impact Holdings, the parent company of 4impact and Sida4 – two of Queensland’s most respected digital transformation and software engineering firms.

For Kerner Norland, a subsidiary of ShoreTree Holdings, the transaction reflects a disciplined approach to regional expansion – building capability through alignment rather than scale for its own sake.

The addition of 4impact Holdings forms part of a broader strategy to connect specialist technology firms within ShoreTree’s global ecosystem, linking on-ground delivery teams in Australia with resources across Asia and the Middle East. ‘4impact Holdings brings credibility built on execution. Their combined strength through 4impact and Sida4 strengthens our ability to serve complex clients across sectors, while our international reach gives their teams new markets to grow into.’ ‘Our vision for ShoreTree has always been about creating meaningful regional connections. The addition of 4impact Holdings supports that vision – combining local expertise with global execution capability.’ ‘Our focus has always been on quality and outcomes. This new chapter lets us scale responsibly, supported by the infrastructure and relationships that Kerner Norland and the wider ShoreTree network provide.’

‘From a financial perspective, this acquisition reinforces the strategic coherence of ShoreTree’s portfolio, building long-term value through operational alignment and disciplined growth.’

The transaction was advised by Plus94 Fund and aligns with ShoreTree Holdings’ continuing focus on scalable, sustainable, and globally connected enterprise solutions.

Bairaha Farms declares Rs. 5 interim dividend, proposes 1-for-5 share split

Bairaha Farms PLC said its Board of Directors has approved the payment of an interim dividend of Rs. 5 per share for the financial year ending 31 March 2026 valued at Rs. 88 million in total.

The dividend will not be subject to withholding tax and does not require shareholder approval under Article 122(1) of the company’s Articles of Association.

The ex-dividend date has been set for 3 November 2025, the record date for 4 November, and cheques will be dispatched on 21 November to shareholders who have not provided dividend disposal instructions.

Those who have provided accurate instructions will receive direct bank credits within three market days from the record date. The transfer books will remain open.

The company added that the dividend payment is conditional on the auditors’ solvency certification being filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange before dispatch.

Earlier, the Board also resolved to recommend a 1-for-5 share split, increasing its issued ordinary shares from 17.6 million to 88 million while maintaining the stated capital at Rs. 536.3 million. The sub-division is subject to CSE concurrence and shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting.

Bairaha shares shot up to a new high at Rs. 458.25 yesterday, up from Rs. 384.75 the previous close. The previous 52-week highest was Rs. 399.

In the first half of FY 26 the Company has reported a 16% increase in revenue to Rs. 7.68 billion and pre-tax profit of Rs. 459.6 million higher by 423% from a year ago.

Govt. to deploy AI-based threat detection for State cloud services

The Government has decided to implement an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered threat detection system to strengthen the security of State cloud services, Digital Economy Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne said in Parliament yesterday.

Weeraratne said the initiative will enable authorities to identify and respond to emerging cyber threats more effectively. He assured that all necessary measures are being taken to protect institutions operating under cloud infrastructure and to ensure the safety of public data.

The Deputy Minister also noted that no Government service had been disrupted by the recent system failures and that operations across institutions continue without interruption.

Cyprus Department of Meteorology – Forecast for the Sea Area of Cyprus (?)

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (B)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 1200 24/10/2025 UNTIL 1200 25/10/2025

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1014hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is starting to affect the area. The weather will be mainly fine, with locally increased cloud at times. Risk an isolated shower, over the east, in the afternoon.

Visibility: Good, but moderate in showers

Sea surface temperature: 25°C

Warnings: NIL

Surge in flights, passengers expected ahead of peak season

Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL) said that passenger volumes and flight operations are expected to increase significantly during the upcoming tourism season, supported by new airline schedules and expanded routes.

Sri Lanka’s peak travel period begins in November and continues through February. The AASL said both the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake and the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota will handle new flight operations during this period.

Kuwait Airways will resume services to BIA on 27 October, operating four flights a week, while Belarus’s national carrier Belavia Airlines will begin scheduled charter operations to MRIA on 28 October.

On the same day, Russia’s Red Wings Airlines will launch five weekly flights to Hambantota, and Edelweiss, a subsidiary of SWISS International Air Lines, will commence its winter operations to BIA.

Additionally, Enter Air of Poland is set to operate regular charter flights between Warsaw and Colombo from 30 October 2025, with services every 10 days on Thursdays and Sundays until mid-April 2026.

To accommodate the rise in passenger traffic, AASL said 12 new check-in counters will be opened at BIA from 1 November 2025 as a short-term measure for the winter season, following requests from international carriers to add more flights and deploy wide-body aircraft.

Beijing Capital Airlines is also scheduled to launch flights from Beijing Daxing International Airport to Colombo in January 2026, operating twice weekly. Meanwhile, Jetstar, part of Australia’s Qantas Group, is exploring the possibility of starting scheduled services to Colombo next year.

The tourism industry reached a key milestone surpassing 1.8 million tourist arrivals for the year as of mid-October 2025, signalling continued recovery and growing global confidence in the destination.

The Government’s revised 2025 target of 2.6 million arrivals still requires attracting over 800,000 visitors in the last quarter, a task that industry experts describe as ‘ambitious but attainable’, depending on winter season performance and global travel conditions.

First focus session of CBC with payment service providers on the digital euro

The Central Bank of Cyprus held Friday its first focus session on the digital euro with payment service providers, namely banks, payment institutions, and electronic money institutions.

In a press release, CBC notes that the welcoming speech on behalf of the Governor, Christodoulos Patsalides, was delivered by the Executive Director, George Karatzias, who stated that the session takes place at a momentous juncture, heralded on one hand by the preparations for the digital euro only five days before the Governing Council of the ECB decides on the project’s next steps, and on the other hand amidst intense legislative negotiations in Brussels for the ‘Single Currency Package’.

The Governor’s key message focused on the need to strengthen Europe’s resilience, and in specific on reducing the full dependency of consumers and businesses in Cyprus on non-European payment service providers. The Governor encouraged payment service providers to become well-versed with the ‘Digital Euro Rulebook’ and to assess how it impacts the broader context of their digitalisation, innovation, and business models. Another equally important call from the Governor related to the wider participation of the Cypriot market in the second round of experimentation activities on the European Central Bank’s innovation platform.

The Director General of the Directorate General Payments, Stelios Georgakis, together with the Head of Policy and Oversight of Payment Systems Section, Stella Ioannidou, jointly presented the project status update and the forthcoming decisions, as well as key provisions of the ‘Single Currency Package,’ which are of interest for payment service providers as future distributors and acquirers of the digital euro. According to the press release, among the main messages that were conveyed was the use of the digital euro infrastructure rails to ensure that any private payment solutions considered by the Cypriot market gain a pan-European rather than solely national scope.

A keynote presentation was made by the representative of the European Central Bank, Patrick Papsdorf, Rulebook Development Manager, with respect to the establishment of a unified set of standards, procedures, and rules for digital euro payments across the euro area, in line with the provisions of the legislation currently under negotiation in Brussels. Papsdorf highlighted general aspects of the ongoing work of the Rulebook Development Group (RDG) and informed payment service providers about their participation in the digital euro scheme.

In particular, reference was made to the eligibility criteria, the onboarding process, the resulting obligations, the terms and conditions for termination or suspension of participation, as well as the procedures that are activated in the case of breaches. While a new version of the draft rulebook was delivered to the RDG it was clarified that it is sufficiently flexible to accommodate for changes arising from the legislative discussions on the draft digital euro regulation.

According to CBC, an important area of the presentation related to the rulebook structure and coverage of digital euro services, these being the management of access, liquidity, and transactions in digital euro. Highlighted were also the draft minimum user experience, illustrative user journeys and end to end flows. Papsdorf emphasised to the Cypriot market that adherence to the rulebook would ensure a standardised, secure, and high-quality user experience for all parties involved, while fostering innovation and competition across the euro area.

A panel discussion followed, in which representatives from the Central Banks of Greece, Estonia, Austria, and Cyprus took part. In particular, Sissy Papagiannidou, Rainer Olt, Asen Naydenov, and Stelios Georgakis examined a series of issues related to costs, network effects, where the value and usefulness of a payment system increase as more users get on board, perceived risks, resilience, and the path towards market readiness for the adoption of the digital euro. “These topics are important not only from a technical perspective but also hold strategic significance for Europe’s future”, CBC notes.

Nicosia Court imposes five year prison sentence in case of usurpation of G/c properties in occupied areas

The Nicosia Assize Court ruled on Friday that property developer Simon Aykut, a person of Israeli, Portuguese and Turkish citizenship, must serve an immediate five-year prison sentence, for offenses related to the usurpation of real estate of Greek Cypriot refugee-owners in the Turkish occupied territories of Cyprus.

On October 24, 2025, the Assize Court of Nicosia imposed an immediate five-year prison sentence, to be served concurrently, for each of the 40 counts of fraudulent transaction in which the person was found guilty following an admission of guilt during an intermediate hearing, for offenses related to the usurpation of real estate of Greek Cypriot refugee-owners in the occupied territories.

The convicted has actively participated in the ‘Afik’ group that operated in the Turkish-occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus between 2014 and 2024, constructing and offering for sale residential units in six tourist complexes, on plots of land belonging to Greek Cypriot refugees, without direct or indirect consent for the use and exploitation of the land by the legal owners.

In total, 40 plots of land, worth approximately pound 38.9 million and with a total area of 394,969 sq m, were used illegally.

The Law Office of the Republic says in a press release that the crime of fraudulent transactions in real estate, of which the defendant was found guilty, upon his own admission, is a very serious one, since it contains the element of deceiving other persons, in order to serve selfish purposes, undermining financial transactions.

The Court, citing the rich case law of the Courts of the Republic and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, ruled among others that the defendant’s actions constituted a serious violation of the rights of the legal owners and reinforce illegal acts committed in the Turkish-occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus. Such crimes are showing an alarming increase and require deterrent sentences, the Court stressed.

The Court’s long decision was read out by President of the three-member Court, Christiana Parpotta, who said that based on article 117 of Chapter 155, the sentences are valid from 19.06.2024.

She noted that the accused was also facing a number of other charges, which, however, after his admission to the charges mentioned above, were suspended by the Attorney General.

Parpotta also referred to the risk of creating further illegal faits accomplis on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, in relation to the property rights of displaced persons.

She pointed out that offences of this nature, against properties belonging to Cypriots, displaced persons, have unfortunately taken on worrying proportions in recent years. She noted that the Courts, which are the guardians of legality, must deal with the perpetrators by imposing strict, deterrent sentences.

The Courts, she said, must, with the penalties they impose, assist the state in its efforts to stop such actions, with the aim of protecting the property rights of citizens.

She noted that the increase of such offenses, but especially offenses involving fraudulent transactions in relation to real estate belonging to another person, and which is located in areas not controlled by the Republic, is an additional reason, which, combined with their seriousness, requires them to be dealt with with deterrent penalties, she stressed.

The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2024, is divided following the Turkish invasion of 1974.

Sectoral Oversight Committee reviews 2025 Budget progress of key ministries

The Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Resource Sustainability has reviewed the financial and physical progress of the 2025 Budget proposals of several ministries, including Agriculture, Trade, Plantations, and Environment.

The Parliament Secretariat said yesterday that the discussions took place during a committee meeting held on 21 October, chaired by Member of Parliament Hector Appuhami. The review also assessed the expected progress of each ministry’s budgetary commitments up to 31 December 2025.

The ministries under review were the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation; the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development; the Ministry of Plantations and Community Infrastructure; and the Ministry of Environment.

Committee Chairman Hector Appuhami emphasised the need for a detailed report to be presented to Parliament based on the findings, outlining how funds allocated under the 2025 Budget have been utilised and the progress achieved by each ministry. He said the Committee will continue to evaluate the performance of all ministries within its purview.

The Committee examined the allocations and expenditure progress of each ministry and recommended that reports on fund utilisation and the advancement of key projects be submitted to the Committee for further review.

Lebanese Cabinet approves maritime demarcation with Cyprus, ‘very positive development’ says Energy Ministry

The Council of Ministers of Lebanon, during its session on Thursday 23 October under President Joseph Aoun and attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, approved the demarcation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and Cyprus, according to a statement published on the official website of the Lebanese Presidency.

As noted, responding to reporters at the end of the session about the next steps with Cyprus after the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders, given that these borders overlap with those of other countries, Lebanese Energy Minister Joe Sadegh said that they received a report that the Minister of Information will discuss.

‘But the next step will be to address the demarcation of the maritime border with Syria, which must be done”, he added.

Invited to comment on this, sources from the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry spoke to CNA of a “very positive development.”

They added that more details will be announced during the visit of the Lebanese Energy Minister of to Cyprus on November 10.