Sep 23 (NW) SL Customs will officially launch its first paperless customs declaration system on Oct 1, as part of efforts to digitalise customs procedures and improve services for the trading community. Under the new system, customs declarations and supporting documents will be submitted and processed electronically, reducing the use of physical documents and manual handling. SL Customs said the system is expected to speed up processing, improve transparency and document traceability, and more..

Sep 23 (NW) Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has welcomed Fitch Ratings’ upgrade of SL’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating from ‘CCC+’ to ‘B-’, with a Stable Outlook, describing it as recognition of progress made in restoring macroeconomic stability. Chamber said the upgrade follows years of economic adjustment involving fiscal consolidation, revenue mobilisation, debt restructuring and structural reforms. It said the improved rating also signals greater more..

Sep 23 (NW) Parliament today approved Supplementary Estimate No. 05 of 2026, providing Rs. 17.213 billion in financial assistance to offer relief to the public in relation to electricity bills. Supplementary Estimate relating to the Ministry of Energy was approved following a debate in the House. Rs. 17,213 million required for the measure will be sourced from funds originally allocated to line ministries for 2026 that have subsequently more..

Sep 23 (DM) Bar Association of SL (BASL) has called upon all the political parties in Parliament to allow the MPs to speak and vote on the 22nd amendment according to their conscience. The BASL said the responsibility now lies with MPs, when called upon to vote, to take a principled position according to their conscience giving due consideration to their constitutional responsibility, their representative capacity and most importantly their duty to the sovereign People of SL. more..

Sep 23 (DM) Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection has approved the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution and the Judicature (Amendment) Bills, which are scheduled for debate in Parliament on September 24 and 25. The committee approved the Bills following consideration at a meeting held yesterday under the chairmanship of MP Najith Indika. Attorney General, President’s Counsel Parinda Ranasinghe, officials from more..

Sep 23 (NW) Catholic Church has welcomed the court verdict against those convicted in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, but says the judgment should not be considered the end of efforts to uncover the full circumstances behind the bombings. Director of Mass Communications for the Archdiocese of Colombo, Rev. Fr. Jude Krishantha Fernando, said the Church was satisfied that a verdict had been delivered after victims more..

Sep 23 (DM) A 47-year-old man and his 45-year-old wife have been arrested in Padavi Parakramapura in connection with a money laundering investigation, while assets worth more than Rs. 47.5 million have been placed under a 14-day freezing order. The arrests were made by the Illegal Assets Investigation Division following a complaint received by the CID alleging that the man had accumulated significant assets through illegal drug trafficking. Acting on the instructions of the IGP, more..

Sep 23 (AD) The US should consider adopting a more flexible approach to certain tariff measures imposed on SL, Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Thero, Chief Prelate of the Malwathu Chapter, told newly appointed US Ambassador to SL Eric S. Meyer. Chief Prelate made the remarks when Ambassador Meyer visited Kandy and paid a courtesy call on the Chief at the Malwathu Maha Viharaya. During the meeting, Chief Prelate also expressed his appreciation to the Amb more..

Sep 23 (NW) Former Maldives Prez Mohamed Nasheed has pledged his full support for efforts to save the life of Sri Lankan Anojan Sivarasa, who has reportedly been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a social media post. Faiszer Musthapha, PC and Upul Kumarapperuma, PC met Nasheed in the Maldives on Wednesday as an initial step in their diplomatic mission on behalf of Sivarasa. Nasheed acknowledged the seriousness of Sivarasa’s remarks to the Muslim community but said more..

Sep 23 (DM) Court of Appeal reduced the 7-year prison sentences imposed on a husband and wife convicted of trafficking and procuring a Russian national for prostitution in SL to four years, taking into special consideration the circumstances of their children. A Court of Appeal two-judge-bench comprising Justices P. Kumararatnam and Pradeep Hettiarachchi delivered this judgment in an appeal filed by two accused, husband and wife against their convictions by the Colombo High Court. more..

Sep 23 (NW) A SL delegation led by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, PM Harini Amarasuriya or, at minimum, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath should engage with Saudi Arabian authorities in an effort to save SL national Anojan Sivarasa from the death sentence, Opposition MP Mujibur Rahman said today. MP Rahman said the matter was too serious to be handled by a delegation led by Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, as announced by govt, more..

Sep 23 (NW) Two companies involved in the wholesale distribution of imported baby diapers have been fined a total of Rs. 110,000 after pleading guilty to distributing products without legally required importer information, Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) said. The fines were imposed by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today following legal action instituted by the CAA against establishments operating in Dehiwala and Dematagoda. Global Commodity Solution (Pvt) Ltd, more..

Sep 23 (NW) Dept of Prisons has launched a special investigation into a clash between alleged organised crime figures Nadun Chinthaka, alias Harak Kata, and Mandinu Padmasiri, alias Kehelbaddara Padme, at the Welisara Prison. According to reports, the Department of Prisons said an Assistant Superintendent of Prisons has been appointed to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit findings on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation. more..

Sep 23 (TM) SL sprinter Fathima Shafiya Yamick who won gold medals for her country at the South Asian Athletics Championships in Ranchi, India last year had reportedly berated athletics officials for having sidelined her for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Yamick, 27, who clinched gold in the Women’s 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events in 2025 had been left out of the 156-member SL contingent which more..

Sep 23 (DM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake today appointed three new High Court Judges, with their letters of appointment formally handed over at the Presidential Secretariat. New appointments were made from among Special Grade officers of the Judicial Service. Appointees are Perumal Sivakumar, currently serving as the District Judge of Jaffna; Anandi Kanagaratnam, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission; and Gnanesha Kannangara, currently serving as more..

Sep 23 (AD) SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa, who is in remand custody over alleged involvement in the Airbus deal, has been further remanded until Sept 30 by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. The court had been scheduled to deliver its order today on Namal Rajapaksa’s bail application. However, the Magistrate directed the CID to clarify several matters relating to the bail application and instructed the department to present the relevant information to court on Sept 30. more..

Sep 23 (DN) Govt plans to bring the newly constructed oil tank complex at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Kolonnawa Terminal into operation by Sept 2027, Minister Anura Karunathilaka said. Minister made the remarks during an inspection visit to the CPC Kolonnawa Terminal, where he reviewed the progress of the ongoing construction of six new oil storage tanks. Officials briefed the Minister at a progress review meeting that around 40–45% of more..

Sep 23 (NW) Govt will seek to absorb part of the impact of rising global fuel prices without passing the entire burden on to consumers when fuel prices are reviewed at the end of this month, Minister Anura Karunathilake said. Speaking in Parliament today, Minister said fuel prices in the global market have increased once again, placing pressure on domestic fuel prices. However, he said the Govt does not intend to pass the full impact of the global price increase on to fuel consumers in Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 23 (DN) Minister Vijitha Herath confirmed in Parliament that the govt is taking extensive legal and diplomatic measures to secure the release of Sivarasa Anojan, a SL migrant worker sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia. Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake will make a formal diplomatic appeal which will be made directly to the King of Saudi Arabia to seek a pardon. “We have also been proposed to send more..

Sep 23 (DM) The route permits of buses found to be operating on kerosene instead of diesel will be temporarily suspended, authorities said. The decision was taken following a special night-time inspection conducted by the Vehicle Emission Testing Programme in collaboration with the National Transport Commission (NTC) at the Bastian Mawatha Bus Stand in Colombo. During the inspection, buses were checked for roadworthiness and vehicle emissions. more..

Sep 23 (NW) Business leaders from Sri Lanka’s retail, banking, telecommunications, hospitality and public sectors joined representatives from the UK’s digital sector at a forum in Colombo to discuss how businesses can harness digital technology to drive growth, improve customer engagement and increase operational efficiency. The event, titled Turning Digital Assets into Growth Engines, was hosted by British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick at Westminster House, more..

Sep 23 (DM) SL lost a significant number of foreign employment opportunities due to corrupt practices and poor handling of overseas job opportunities during the previous govt, SLBFE Chairman Kosala Wickramasinghe said. He said SL had received 12,000 agricultural employment opportunities internationally during the previous govt but managed to send only around 2,000 workers for those jobs, resulting in more..

Sep 23 (EN) Sri Lanka needs to implement deeper structural reforms, clear up bureaucratic red tape, and carefully structure tax concessions to unlock meaningful foreign direct investment (FDI), IMF has said. Responding to a question regarding whether the country’s current tax structure is conducive to attracting foreign capital, IMF Mission Chief for SL Evan Papageorgiou pointed out that while ground-level citizens and businesses often feel a lack of large, big-ticket foreign investments, more..

Sep 23 (NW) Police have sought public assistance to identify and arrest a suspect wanted in connection with the alleged abduction and serious sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl at Galle Face Green in Colombo. According to the Police, the alleged incident occurred on Jan 23, 2026. Fort Police launched an investigation following a complaint received regarding the alleged abduction and sexual abuse of the girl. Investigations are currently underway to arrest the suspect more..

Sep 23 (FT) SL’s startup conversation has matured fast over the past decade, but the language around funding hasn’t kept pace. Newspapers routinely carry announcements from venture capital firms, yet very few founders, or even investors, understand what separates a genuine VC fund from a lender, a private equity shop, or an angel network using the same label. That confusion has a real cost: founders approach the wrong capital at the wrong stage, and legitimate risk capital struggles to differentiate more..

Sep 23 (FT) For decades, cybersecurity has been built around a simple objective: keep the attacker out. Build stronger firewalls. Improve passwords. Add multifactor authentication. Monitor networks. Detect intrusions faster. All are necessary. But the digital economy is reaching a point where they are no longer sufficient. A recent case in Europe illustrates why. Financial Times reporting revealed that sensitive customer information held by fintech Revolut was obtained by criminals more..

Sep 23 (Island) The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar yesterday found 15 out of 24 accused in the high profile 2019 Easter Sunday massacres case guilty. Among them was Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer aka Naufer Moulavi, the alleged mastermind of near simultaneous suicide attacks blamed on the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ). The remaining nine accused were acquitted and ordered to be released by the Trial-at-Bar more..

Sep 23 (Island) Speaker Jagath Wickramarate informed Parliament that the Supreme Court had determined that several provisions of the Anti-Corruption Amendment Bill could be passed by a simple majority, while key clauses required a special majority and one provision required approval at a referendum. Speaker said the Court’s determination on the Bill, which had been challenged under Article 121(1) of the Constitution, had been received and formally communicated to the House. more..

Sep 23 (NW) The FCID has arrested a suspect in Kotikawatte for allegedly transferring foreign currency worth Rs. 24.8 billion to overseas bank accounts without importing any goods, police said. According to police, the suspect allegedly used six shell companies to carry out the transactions through telegraphic transfers (TT) between Dece 2024 and Nov 2025. The transfers were reportedly made under the pretext of importing goods, although no goods were imported into the country. more..

Sep 23 (NW) The Central Bank of SL (CBSL) has issued freezing orders against six companies and their directors, preventing them from disposing of, transferring or otherwise dealing with their properties and other assets. CBSL said the orders were made under Section 44 of the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011 and had subsequently been confirmed and extended by the Colombo High Court. more..

Sep 23 (NW) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has forwarded recommendations to the Constitutional Council to appoint High Court Judges Navaratne Marasinghe and Manjula Thilakaratne as judges of the Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, three judicial officers are scheduled to be appointed as High Court Judges on Wednesday, based on recommendations from the Judicial Service Commission. The three officers are Perumal Sivakumar, Anandi Kanagaratnam & Gnanesa Kannangara. more..

Sep 23 (NW) The proposed electric railway project will require a substantial amount of electricity and could become one of Sri Lanka’s largest future power consumers, Minister Bimal Rathnayake told Parliament today. Rathnayake said discussions were under way with the Ministry of Energy on meeting the project’s energy requirements, given the large amount of power that would be needed. He said the electric railway project was among the major projects currently being considered more..