Mar 14 (MB) On Saturday (7), three days after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was torpedoed by a U.S Navy submarine close to the southern coast off Galle, fishers and coastal communities noticed a thick oil patch along the coast of Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is one of the most pristine coastal belts in the south of Sri Lanka, frequented by tourists throughout the year with a peak tourism season from December to March. more..

Mar 14 (FT) Internet Media Action (IMA) has expressed its profound concern regarding the arrest of veteran journalist and Lanka e News website Editor Sandaruwan Senadheera on Wednesday at BIA, following nearly 16 years of political asylum in the UK. IMA said Senadheera was compelled to flee SL during the Rajapaksa Govt, having faced death threats, enforced disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, and the arson attack on the Lanka e News media organisation in more..

Mar 14 (DN) Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Centre of Excellence for Ocean Science and Environment in Sri Lanka will serve as a hub for research, knowledge exchange and capacity building to support science-based ocean governance across the Indian Ocean Region, Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra stated. Sri Lanka celebrated IORA Day on Wednesday by officially inaugurating the IORA Centre of Excellence for Ocean Sciences and Environment. more..

Mar 14 (EN) Three of SL’s private commercial banks have already exhausted their current loan quotas for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the govt is looking to make additional allocations, Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe has said. “Currently, Commercial Bank, HNB & NDB have fully exhausted their loan quotas. Ministry of Finance expects to provide new allocations for these banks more..

Mar 14 (FT) CoPF has approved the proposal to determine salaries and service conditions for officers and employees of CIABOC, paving the way for recruitment under the country’s strengthened anti-corruption framework. The decision was taken when the Committee met in Parliament this week under the Chairmanship of MP Harsha de Silva. The meeting was attended by Deputy Ministers Nishantha Jayaweera and Chathuranga Abeysinghe, along with MPs Ravi Karunanayake, more..

Mar 14 (FT) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday reviewed the potential economic fallout from the escalating conflict in the Middle East as the Govt intensified monitoring of risks to energy supply, trade and domestic markets. The review took place at a meeting of the Committee on Economic Surveillance held at the Presidential Secretariat under the Prez’s chairmanship. Committee examined the possible impact of rising global oil prices, disruptions to maritime supply chains more..

Mar 14 (Island) Dept of Cultural Affairs said that a discussion will be held next Monday, under the patronage of the subject Minister, Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, to prepare the auspicious times (nekath) sheet for the upcoming Sinhala & Tamil New Year. Dept said that two groups had submitted proposals for the preparation of this year’s New Year auspicious times. It noted that the Ministry had already held four rounds of discussions with the two groups in an effort to reach a consensus. more..

Mar 14 (Island) Royal College made steady progress in reply to their arch rivals’ first innings total as skipper Rehan Peiris and Ramiru Perera guided them to 175 for four wickets at stumps on day two of the 147th Battle of the Blues at the SSC ground on Friday. ‎Royal needed only 51 overs to reach their end-of-day total after S. Thomas’ College had earlier adopted a cautious approach before being bowled out for 302 runs. ‎Royal suffered an early setback when open batsman Hirun Liyanarachchi more..

Mar 14 (TM) A group of illustrious past cricketers during a recent cricketing forum held in Colombo had unequivocally expressed their frank view that if the nation’s most popular sport is to be placed back on the path to sustained success, then the head of state himself will need to get to the root of the issue. They had conveyed their candid opinion that the leader of the country will need to take the bull by the horns and introduce the desired more..

Mar 14 (FT) Colombo Dockyard said Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd has secured majority control of the company after the conclusion of a mandatory offer to shareholders. Offer, which expired on 12 March, resulted in acceptances for 36,649,271 ordinary shares of Colombo Dockyard, representing approximately 9.27% of the issued share capital. Prior to the offer period, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd already held 164,916,229 ordinary shares in Colombo Dockyard, equivalent to 41.73% more..

Mar 14 (NW) Govt is considering easing restrictions imposed on the production of by-products from rice, Minister K.D. Lal Kantha said. He made the remarks during a meeting of the Mahaweli Water Management Committee held on Friday. Lal Kantha said SL currently produces only about 50% of its maize requirement domestically, with the remaining demand met through imports. Due to limited land available for maize cultivation, he said the country must focus on increasing rice production more..

Mar 14 (DM) ​SL continues​ to face significant cybersecurity challenges, with 30.4% of internet users experiencing Kaspersky web-borne cyberattacks in 2025, according to the latest Security Bulletin. The report places SL in the 20th position globally when it comes to the dangers associated with surfing the web. ​During the Jan-Dec 2025 period, Kaspersky products detected 9,153,362 different internet-borne cyberthreats on the computers of Kaspersky Security Network more..

Mar 14 (AD) PM Harini Amarasuriya stated that promoting the local industrial sector is one of the key priorities of the Govt. The PM made these remarks while attending the official opening ceremony of the INCO 2026 Industrial Exhibition on Friday (13), which is being held for the 20th consecutive year at the BMICH Exhibition Centre. The INCO 2026 Industrial Exhibition, organized by the Institution of Incorporated Engineers, SL (IIESL), will be held from March 13 to 15. more..

Mar 14 (NYT) Hours after an American torpedo sank an Iranian warship off the coast of SL, largest hospital in Galle, port city closest to the disaster, began filling up. White ambulances with red crosses whizzed back and forth between the harbor and the hospital carrying the injured, while the dead were brought in later on trucks. By day’s end, the mortuary had run out of space. Hospital workers had to place body bags more..

Mar 14 (DN) Moves have been taken to make tourists aware about Buddhism and its culture since tourists visiting SL are interested in having some understanding of the Buddhist philosophy of Sri Lanka. However, opportunities for tourists to gain a formal and accurate understanding is limited. Arrangements have been made to provide tourists with knowledge about Buddhist philosophy, Buddhist culture and other Buddhist activities, centered around the Makola Rajamaha Viharaya more..

Mar 14 (ST) After years of dreaming, Roshani Fernando finally reached the St Anthony’s feast on the Kachchativu islet last week, describing the journey as her prayers finally being answered. But her journey was not without challenges. She travelled hundreds of kilometres from her southern residence to the northern tip and waited for more than three hours at the Kurikaatuvan jetty in Jaffna to take an hour-long ferry service to the remote islet in the northern sea. more..

Mar 14 (ST) The sinking of the IRIS Dena by a US submarine just 19 nautical miles from SL’s shore in its Exclusive Economic Zone has forced Colombo to navigate one of the most complex diplomatic and legal crises in its recent history, with pressure mounting from Washington not to repatriate Iranian survivors and a third Iranian vessel now docked in India. The 3 Iranian naval vessels at the centre of the crisis, IRIS Dena, IRIS Bushehr more..

Mar 14 (FT) Colombo stock market plunged for the second straight session yesterday to close the week in red on concerns about the economic impact of the Mideast crisis. During the week the CSE lost Rs. 348.6 billion in value as the ASPI fell 4.45% or 1,009.36 points and the S&P SL20 was down 4.34% or 276.10 points. Both indices were in decline throughout the week except for a brief recovery on Wednesday. Yesterday, ASPI ended down 1.34% or 295.57 points at 21,692.55 and more..

Mar 14 (FT) Alumex PLC, SL’s leading aluminium extrusion manufacturer, was proud to be the official material sponsor for the event, Unleashed 2026 – the launch of FALCON E1, a next-generation electric racing car designed and built entirely by students of the Uni of Moratuwa. Event which was held recently at the university, marked a milestone in SL’s engineering innovation landscape. Developed by the university’s Team Falcon Racing, FALCON E1 is a completely new electric race car more..

Mar 14 (FT) SLT-MOBITEL has unveiled a redesigned portfolio of fibre unlimited broadband packages, empowering customers to step confidently into a digitally connected future driven by speed, stability, and unlimited possibilities. SL’s National ICT Solutions Provider introduces a revitalised range of unlimited packages, crafted to meet the evolving digital lifestyles of households and the growing connectivity demands of businesses. Built on world-class fibre infrastructure, more..

Mar 14 (FT) The highly anticipated event on SL’s food industry calendar, Profood Propack & Agbiz Knowledge Hub 2026, organised by the SL Food Processors Association (SLFPA) in partnership with Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (LECS), is scheduled to take place from 21 to 23 August 2026 at BMICH. The announcement was made during the award ceremony of the 22nd edition, held on 10 March, where industry leaders and key stakeholders convened to celebrate more..

Mar 14 (FT) Govt is committed to retaining SriLankan Airlines as the country’s national carrier, while pursuing operational improvements and exploring a possible strategic partnership to revive the airline. Responding to a question on the financial burden posed by the airline during a panel discussion at the LOLC Securities Forum, Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe acknowledged that the carrier has been a significant cost more..

Mar 14 (GV) When the immediate devastation of Cyclone Ditwah began to fade from headlines, the story of the disaster seemed to conclude in familiar terms: damaged infrastructure, destroyed crops, flooded homes and the enormous fiscal cost of recovery. Relief operations moved forward, reconstruction began and life in affected districts gradually returned to a fragile version of normal. But disasters do not end when the waters recede. The visible destruction of a cyclone, more..

Mar 14 (ST) There was a buzz and palpable excitement in this leafy neighbourhood suburb. The talk of the town was on the conflict in the Middle East or West Asia (as we Sri Lankans like to call it). Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, had stopped his pastry-laden tuk-tuk at the gate where the trio had gathered. “Meda peradiga inna apey sahodara sahodariyanta mokakda wenna yanney (What will happen to our brothers and sisters in the Middle East),” asked Aldoris. more..

Mar 14 (Island) Some prominent astrologers are up in arms, claiming that the JVP-NPP govt has not officially recognised the list of traditional New Year auspicious times or the nekath seettuwa they have submitted. They have been holding press conferences and raking the govt leaders over the coals (pun intended) for what they describe as a sinister move to devalue the cultural significance of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. All previous govts officially endorsed the nekath seettu, more..

Mar 14 (DM) Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva last week said that SL now has a govt that people trust, and the country’s recovery is being powered by that trust which is a rare and valuable asset. On the other hand, after ten years of negative performance, SL recently had risen from 121st place to 107th place, a 14-place climb, on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025. These are invaluable international acclaims that NPP Govt has won in the recent weeks. more..

Mar 14 (TM) With Sri Lanka witnessing a gradual but concerning rise in substance abuse among women, the situation is fast transforming into a growing public health concern that demands urgent attention from authorities. According to the Handbook of Drug Abuse Information in SL 2025, data indicate a clear upward trend in drug-related arrests over the past five years, rising steadily from 97,416 in 2020 to 228,450 in 2024. more..

Mar 14 (FT) I published two articles in 2016 and 2022 titled Are you ready for the next black out? Let us hope that the silver lining behind the calamity of 9 Feb, country-wide blackouts may hopefully have created the environment, commitment and preparation of the CEB to prevent any future island-wide blackouts. But recent events, both local and int'l, certainly may drive the CEB to impose power cuts in the not-so-far future. Further, breaking up of CEB into six different companies more..

Mar 14 (TM) World Consumer Day falls on 15 March every year and is celebrated worldwide under the leadership of Consumer International, the global body representing consumer organisations. The day is observed to demonstrate solidarity with citizens and to highlight the needs and grievances of consumers. Every citizen is a consumer at some stage of life, from birth to death. When a child is born, parents become consumers when purchasing essential items for the child. more..

Mar 14 (DM) Some occupations, professions and jobs are decided by gender. But there are some male-dominated jobs even males find too hard to handle. Many men find dealing with the dead to be a somewhat scary and abhorrent task. But 19-year-old Sneha Nethra Kumari from Giriulla off Kuliyapitiya has taken up embalming as her profession. Going beyond just embalming the dead, young Sneha more..

Mar 14 (DM) Faced with continuous losses and no end in sight of a turnaround at the loss-making CEB, Minister Kumara Jayakody ultimately issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification earlier this month establishing six successor companies to transfer the functions and duties of the CEB. An effort to restructure the loss-making entity and cut its losses. Since its creation in 1969, CEB as it is commonly referred to, has been a chronic loss-making state-owned enterprise (SOE). more..

Mar 14 (DM) In an era where space exploration is no longer limited to a few powerful nations, SL youth now stand at the gateway of a global scientific revolution. This is an attempt to inspire and empower young minds in SL to explore the wonders of astronomy and space science by showing how world-class knowledge is now accessible to anyone with curiosity and ambition. At the heart of this global movement is Manjula Gayan, Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of the Book a Scientist more..