Sep 9 (AD) Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh who arrived in SL yesterday is scheduled to call on Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake for high-level talks. The meeting is scheduled to take place this morning at the Presidential Secretariat. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in SL last afternoon on a three-day official visit. He was received at the BIA by Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekara and Indian HC to SL more..

Sep 9 (NW) India will always stand firmly with Sri Lanka whenever the country faces a crisis, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said as he began his maiden visit to Sri Lanka. Addressing the Indian community in Colombo on Sept. 8, Singh said India and Sri Lanka share close cultural and civilisational ties that have provided a strong foundation for the bilateral relationship. “India will always stand firmly with Sri Lanka whenever the island nation faces a crisis,” Singh said, more..

Sep 9 (FT) Cabinet of Ministers has approved the implementation of a $ 100 million concessional loan program supported by the ADB to strengthen social protection, livelihoods and inclusive economic opportunities for vulnerable communities. Macro-Recovery Sector Development Program to Promote Resilience and Inclusive Economic Opportunities is scheduled to be implemented from Nov 2026 to Oct 2031 in Kegalle, Matale, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa & Nuwara Eliya. more..

Sep 9 (TM) Govt is set to launch several major expressway projects before the end of the year while moving to tackle massive backlogs in vehicle number plates and driving licences, Minister Bimal Rathnayake said. Among the projects expected to commence in Nov or Dec are sections of the Kurunegala–Dambulla Expressway and Ruwanpura Expressway, while plans are also being prepared for new expressway links from more..

Sep 9 (Island) Remanded SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa yesterday accused the govt of misleading the public with unfulfilled promises and urged it to focus on reducing the cost of living and easing the economic hardships faced by the people. Addressing Parliament after being brought from remand custody, Rajapaksa said the govt had come to power promising to address the problems of farmers and ensure a reasonable price for paddy, but had failed to deliver on those pledges. more..

Sep 9 (Island) Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in Colombo on a three-day official visit, the first by an Indian Defence Minister since the 1988 visit by K.C. Pant, during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as the PM. The Indian Defence Ministry declared that the visit would further strengthen the traditionally strong and friendly bilateral relations in mutually beneficial areas, including a strong maritime and defence partnership. The visit takes place in the wake of SL and India signing seven MoUs, more..

Sep 9 (FT) Cabinet has approved the award of a Rs. 173.86 million consultancy contract to support the implementation of a $ 30 million ADB-funded sustainable tourism development program. The Sustainable Tourism Sector Development Program, financed through an ADB loan, aims to improve tourism facilities in the Dambulla-Sigiriya and Trincomalee areas while upgrading infrastructure at selected tourist attractions. Transport, Highways & Urban Development Ministry had invited more..

Sep 9 (DM) Cabinet has approved a proposal to establish dedicated Digital Transformation Units in govt institutions to coordinate and manage digital transformation initiatives. National Digital Economy Plan 2025–2030, approved at the Cabinet meeting held on Oct 21, 2025, identified the need for a strong and standardized institutional mechanism within govt institutions to oversee sectoral digital transformation and ensure compliance with the National Digital Commons Initiative. more..

Sep 9 (FT) Cabinet approved a new institutional framework for negotiating the country’s future Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), aimed at making SL’s trade negotiations more focused, sequential and evidence-based. The decision, taken at the Cabinet meeting on 24 Aug 2026, follows recommendations of a committee appointed to review SL’s existing FTAs and determine the future direction of the country’s trade agreements. more..

Sep 9 (TM) Uni lecturers will stage a one-day strike today over the mounting crises facing the State university system, the FUTA said yesterday. FUTA Secretary Senior Lecturer Charudaththe Illangasinghe said Federation had engaged in trade union action throughout the past week over concerns including the severe shortage of lecturers and the lack of suitably qualified academic staff. He said the crisis had reached a point where students who sat the 2025 GCE A/L Exam could not more..

Sep 9 (Island) Despite the disappointment over how Sri Lanka’s cricket teams have fared in recent years, there is one format in which they have managed to hold their heads high, ODI cricket. There are a couple of notable feathers in their cap too, having beaten Australia and India, the world’s two top ranked teams and finalists at the last World Cup. Those impressive performances against the heavyweights have ensured that Sri Lanka are out of the woods this time around. more..

Sep 9 (NW) Minister Bimal Rathnayake announced that wearing seat belts will become mandatory for all passengers, both front and rear, on SL’s expressways starting Sept 19. He said the measure follows alarming statistics: in 2025, 2,700 people died in road accidents. He further said that research showed that casualties on expressways were predominantly rear‑seat passengers, especially women and children, prompting the decision to extend seat belt requirements beyond drivers more..

Sep 9 (ST) A high‑level Fisheries Ministry delegation is scheduled to visit India on Sept 25 for official talks with counterparts to resolve fisheries disputes, particularly bottom trawling by Tamil Nadu fishermen in Northern waters. Fisheries Minister R. Chandrasekar said the talks would focus on preventing Tamil Nadu fishermen from encroaching into SL territorial waters for bottom trawling, which is internationally banned. “We want to end the ongoing illegal fishing by TN fishermen more..

Sep 9 (FT) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara yesterday clashed in Parliament over the standing of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA). This was after Premadasa cited concerns raised by CLA President Steven Thiru over Supreme Court proceedings on the proposed 22nd Amendment, warning that perceptions of eroding judicial independence could undermine more..

Sep 9 (NW) Minister Bimal Rathnayake told Parliament that passenger transport vehicles such as buses, vans, office vans, and school vans will soon be required to undergo a mandatory road worthiness test every 5,000 km or once in three months. Minister stressed that this is not the annual road worthiness test currently in place, but a shorter, less comprehensive check designed to ensure basic safety. Test is expected to cost between Rs.1,500–2,000, and will cover several key mechanical more..

Sep 9 (NW) Ministry of Science and Technology is preparing a strategic plan to guide the development, standardisation, testing and commercialisation of drone technology and applications in SL. A preliminary stakeholder discussion on the proposed framework was held on Sept 2 under the leadership of Science and Technology Minister Krishantha Abeysena. The ministry said drone technology is already being widely used in industries including agriculture, highlighting the need for more..

Sep 9 (FT) The country’s legal profession filed only two Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) between 2020 and 2026, CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said. Speaking at a symposium where regulators pressed the profession to lift its compliance standards and the Bar Association of SL (BASL) conceded the shortfall and pledged reform. more..

Sep 9 (FT) Board of Investment of SL (BOI) has certified the registration of its agreement with Sahasdhanavi Ltd, paving the way for the development of a 350 MW RLNG/diesel-operable combined-cycle power plant at the Kerawalapitiya Industrial Zone. BOI Agreement was registered on 13 Aug 2026 under Section 17(2) of the BOI Law No. 4 of 1978, covering an envisaged investment of $ 291.19 million in the power generation project. The investment comprises $ 90 m in share capital, more..

Sep 9 (DM) Sri Lanka’s medium and large-scale businesses in the Southern province have pressed the govt to address the constraints affecting their operations, taking a series of concerns and proposed solutions directly to the Finance Ministry, as the private sector seeks quicker resolution of the obstacles facing the businesses. The representatives of several business associations affiliated with the Southern Province Chambers Forum met Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando more..

Sep 9 (FT) Sri Lanka’s tourism recovery showed signs of losing momentum at the start of September, with tourist arrivals during the first six days of the month falling 1.1% year-on-year (YoY). A total of 31,885 tourists arrived between 1 and 6 Sept 2026, compared with 32,246 during the corresponding six-day period of Sept 2025, representing a decline of 361 visitors or 1.12%. The modest September contraction comes after arrivals had already weakened during the preceding two months, more..

Sep 9 (Island) Harsha Karunaratne produced one of the highlights of the 104th National Athletics Championship, clocking 1:47.80 to win the men’s 800 metres on the final day on Sunday. His performance shattered the meet record and became the fastest 800m ever run by a Sri Lankan on home soil. Trained by veteran middle-distance coach Susantha Fernando, Karunaratne’s run carried an extra edge as he is the only gold medallist from 2025 South Asian C'ship who has not been picked more..

Sep 9 (NW) Former Army Commander General Shavendra Silva has rejected allegations of wrongdoing during the final stages of SL’s civil war, saying he is prepared to answer specific accusations against him and questioning the basis on which he has been sanctioned internationally. Silva said the SL military had fought the LTTE professionally and had sought to minimise civilian casualties during the final military offensive. more..

Sep 9 (Island) Buruwa is traditionally played with a 52-card pack, a standard deck. Players sit in a circle, and after the cards are shuffled by the dealer, one player who sits right side of the dealer can cut the deck and request a specific card from the dealer who must deliver it into two sets (hitting-the dealer’s side and asking-the opposite side), after set aside two cards, and the first player to collect their requested card wins. it’s quick, sociable, and genuinely simple to learn, more..

Sep 9 (CT) Two years ago, Sri Lankan voters did not merely elect a new govt. They voted for a political transformation. The NPP came to power promising something much larger than better administration. Its central message was system change—a break with the political culture, corruption, privileges and institutional weaknesses that many Sri Lankans believed had contributed to the country’s economic and political crisis. Now, nearly two years into the NPP administration, more..

Sep 9 (ST) The constitutional ball has been smashed into the Supreme Court, and it’s now in the hands of a five-judge bench to decide whether they should render unto Parliament what is Parliament’s or render unto the people what is theirs. On the face of it, the legal issue of whether the bill to amend the constitution to extend the retirement age of judges required not only a two-thirds majority in parliament but a referendum as well – considered on an isolated, esoteric plane of judicious thought more..

Sep 9 (Island) Power is as addictive as narcotics, and those who savour it cannot let go of it. When out of power, they find themselves in the same predicament as drug addicts who kick the habit cold turkey. Hence politicians’ determined efforts to perpetuate their grip on power regardless of the methods used to achieve that end. NPP General Secretary Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe has declared that his party will remain in power until 2050, as we reported yesterday. He first said so at a political rally more..

Sep 9 (TM) By the last week of the salary cycle of every month, a development officer in Colombo stops buying meat and fish. His household of three survives on sprats, dhal, and eggs when his salary of close to Rs. 50,000 arrives and immediately begins to dry out. “My salary goes straight into basic provisions, electricity and water bills, and the kid’s school transport. There is no money left for anything else. more..

Sep 9 (DM) The Eighth Colombo International Maritime and Logistics Conference (CIMLC) to be held from September 9 to 11 is designed to enhance SL’s status as a major maritime hub in the Indo-Pacific region. It will bring together global maritime leaders, regional policymakers, maritime sector professionals and captains of trade and industry to discuss new horizons and challenges facing the global shipping community. This year’s conference will have Sri Lanka as its prime focus, more..

Sep 9 (DM) SL’s Constitution has already been changed 21 times, and now a Twenty-Second Amendment is being proposed. As usual, this has brought a lot of arguing between the govt and the Opposition. But under all that noise is an idea that isn’t getting enough attention: a govt is not the same thing as the State. Govts come and go. Majorities in parliament change, parties rise and fall, and today’s ruling party can become tomorrow’s Opposition. But the State, as set out in the constitution, more..

Sep 9 (SO) Time has come to live the famous words of Great King Parakramabahu: Not even a little water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to mankind. Sri Lanka is blessed with 103 rivers fairly distributed over the country. The country receives high rainfalls in the North-East and South-West monsoon periods resulting in an average annual rainfall of around 1760 mm. more..

Sep 9 (DM) Ahead of its 63rd regular session scheduled to be held from Sept 7 to Oct 7, the UNHRC has reminded the SL govt of a list of its past commitments. Some of these commitments have gone unfulfilled for the past two decades. Successive govts have either bought time in the guise of fulfilling them or rejected them. UN human rights body has been adopting resolutions on SL since 2012, pressing successive govts to implement a credible accountability process for more..

Sep 9 (TM) This week, as they have done at almost every session of the UNHRC since the war ended seventeen years ago, Sri Lanka's representatives once again stood in the Palais des Nations to defend the country's record, appeal for patience and ask that its efforts be judged fairly. The Office of the High Commissioner once again presented its written update. The Govt once again objected to the external mechanism set up to gather evidence outside the country's own institutions. more..