Jan 20 (NW) Cabinet approval has been granted to implement the third phase of the Baseline Road extension project. Accordingly, approval was first given at the Cabinet meeting held in Nov 2009, to construct a 0.86-kilometre stretch of road with six lanes from the Kirulapone junction up to Dutugemunu Street on the Colombo–Horana Road. However, due to the economic crisis in 2022, the project was temporarily suspended. Later, under the National Highway Master Plan, this road was identified as more..

Jan 20 (NW) SL recorded 113 fatal road accidents from the beginning of this year up to Jan 19, claiming the lives of 120 people, police said on Tuesday. DIG in charge of Traffic Control & Road Safety, W.P.J. Senadheera, said 216 people sustained serious injuries in the accidents, while 490 minor accidents were also reported during the same period. 159 incidents involving property damage had also been recorded. He noted that pedestrians accounted for the highest number of fatalities, more..

Jan 20 (CT) Serious concerns have been raised over the sale of unregistered cancer medicines imported from India at private pharmacies across the country, amid an ongoing shortage of essential oncology drugs in State hospitals. Chairman of the Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights, Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said he had informed the NMRA in writing that several unregistered medicines, including cancer drugs, were being openly sold at private pharmacies. more..

Jan 20 (AD) The Colombo High Court today (20) scheduled the next hearing for February 12 in the case filed against three defendants, including former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka over a 2016 car accident. Former Minister Ranawaka and others have been accused of causing an accident due to negligent driving and evidence tampering. The case was called before High Court Judge Rashmi Singappuli today. Witnesses in the case did not appear in court today, Ada Derana reporter said. more..

Jan 20 (CT) National Consumer Front said there had been a steep increase in the prices of school supplies, including exercise books, stationery, school bags and footwear, and called on Ministry of Education to introduce a programme to provide these items at concessionary prices through schools. Organisation said, the price of an ordinary pen had risen to between Rs. 25 and Rs. 30, while a pencil now cost close to Rs. 20. It also pointed out serious quality issues in some pens, pencils and colour packs, more..

Jan 20 (NW) Construction of the Colombo Port Access Road has entered its final stages and is expected to be opened to the public before the end of this year, officials said. The project is being implemented with financial assistance from the ADB, under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and the Road Development Authority. Construction work has continued steadily after delays caused by SL’s recent economic crisis. more..

Jan 20 (FT) The world’s no. 1 thought leader in organisational culture and no. 10 in leadership for 2021 and 2022 by Global Gurus, Arthur Francisco Carmazzi will be in SL in February to empower corporates and employees with his expertise. He will hold a live behavioural science full-day workshop titled Spectrum of Minds on 7 Feb at the Monarch Imperia, Kotte. Carmazzi is the Creator of the Web3 Global Mentor Exchange and the Wisdom City Learning and Development Metaverse. more..

Jan 20 (DM) The second phase of the first school term for the 2026 academic year in govt and govt-approved private schools will commence tomorrow (21), the Education Ministry announced. The first phase of the first term was held from Jan 5 to 9. Schools were then closed from Jan 10 to today to facilitate the conduct of postponed G.C.E. A/L exam subjects, which were delayed due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah. The second phase of the first term will continue until Feb 13. more..

Jan 20 (Island) Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla and SL Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne recently discussed the possibility of expanding parliamentary cooperation through regular exchanges, formation of friendship groups, collaboration in policy and programme design and deeper engagement in technology-driven parliamentary innovation, including AI-enabled systems, real-time multilingual translation, and capacity building through Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE). more..

Jan 20 (NW) Singapore Airlines has expanded its services between Colombo and Singapore with the introduction of three new daytime flights, effective Jan. 6, strengthening air connectivity between SL and the airline’s global network. The new daytime services operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. With the addition, Singapore Airlines now operates a total of 10 weekly flights between Colombo and Singapore. The airline said the expanded schedule is expected to offer passengers more..

Jan 20 (EN) Sri Lanka will expedite the construction of the new Dumbara prison costing 4,363 million rupees based on latest revised estimates, as the prison system is facing over-crowding, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said. “Overall, the existing prison system is facing a more than 300 percent over-crowding and we are looking at the possibility of housing some prisoners in designated government buildings,” he told parliament. more..

Jan 20 (AD) The Cabinet has granted approval to a proposal to sign a MoU to establish the Indian Ocean Coastal Alliance, with the objectives of enhancing cooperation among member countries to improve the livelihoods of fisheries communities and ensuring the sustainable management of fisheries resources in the region. The tuna fisheries industry makes a significant contribution to national economies, food security, employment generation and the socio-economic stability of coastal communities more..

Jan 20 (NW) Sri Lanka plans to deploy 1,000 Sri Lankans for home-based caregiving jobs in Israel in 2026, the SL Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said, with more than 100 caregivers already sent during the first two weeks of the year. According to the SLBFE, 107 Sri Lankan caregiving professionals were deployed to Israel during the first two weeks of 2026 under a govt-to-govt arrangement. The bureau said the programme is continuing as planned for the rest of the year. more..

Jan 20 (MB) Cricket is more than a sport in Sri Lanka. It is woven into the country’s postindependence identity, a unifying passion that cuts across class, ethnicity and geography. Yet in recent years, the push to expand cricket infrastructure has increasingly collided with fragile ecosystems, triggering uncomfortable questions about development priorities, environmental governance and climate resilience. The latest controversy centers around plans to build more..

Jan 20 (AD) The burial of the late Nandana Gunathilake is set to take place following a decision taken by his family. His sister stated that the decision was made in light of a complaint previously lodged by Gunathilake concerning a politically motivated threat to his life. She noted that considerations related to security and prevailing circumstances influenced the family’s decision. The final rites of late Nandana Gunathilake are scheduled to be conducted tomorrow at more..

Jan 20 (NW) Deputy Minister of Transport Prasanna Gunasena said the stalled Getambe Flyover project in Kandy will be completed using local funds, following Cabinet approval to proceed without foreign loans. Construction of the project originally commenced on August 16, 2021, under a Hungarian loan facility. However, work was halted midway after the loan was cancelled on May 14, 2022. The contract for the project had been signed earlier on June 20, 2019. The deputy minister said more..

Jan 20 (FT) A few weeks ago the Govt posted an advertisement calling for opinions and inputs on the review of the Tourism Act No. 38 of 2005. I responded formally to that call. But beyond my written submission, I have spoken to many people across the tourism industry – fellow hotel owners, destination operators, travel agents, investors and professionals who have built this sector over decades. What follows is not a legal critique. It is a reflection of what the industry is feeling, more..

Jan 20 (FT) The year 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the passing of Dr Albert Winsemius, Singapore’s first Chief Economic Adviser and a guiding force behind its transformation. Winsemius was a Dutch economist whose influence on Singapore’s early development is difficult to overstate. First appointed in 1960 as head of a United Nations Development Program mission, he went on to work closely with the country’s founding leadership, particularly Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, shaping more..

Jan 18 (TM) Grama Niladhari Trade Union Alliance (GNTUA) has decided to withdraw from the process of disbursing the Rs. five million Govt grant allocated for residential properties that were partially damaged as a result of cyclone Ditwah. Accordingly, the TU action took effect from yesterday (19), the GNTUA noted. The Co-Chairperson of the GNTUA, Nandana Ranasinghe stated that the decision was taken due to deficiencies more..

Jan 18 (DM) A Fundamental Rights petition filed by former Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, seeking an order preventing the CID from arresting him in connection with an investigation into the alleged E8 visa agreements with Korea without following the due process, was today withdrawn before the Supreme Court. The former Minister, through his counsel, sought the permission of the Supreme Court to withdraw the application. A three-judge Bench comprising Justice S. Thurairaja, more..

Jan 18 (DM) A large precious stone has emerged from the site of a landslide at Delthota watta , Galaha in the Kandy district and the police have provided protection to the location. Police said the precious stone had been found near the Sri Muthu Marie Amman Kovil in Galaha where a massive landslide had caused extensive damage to the Kovil. Residents of the area had built the Kovil with funds collected from the public and it was to be opened in March this year. more..

Jan 18 (FT) Sri Lanka is expected to sustain both primary fiscal surpluses and current account surpluses over the medium term, supported by strong revenue performance, lower global oil prices, and resilient remittance inflows even as economic growth moderates, according to the World Bank’s Global Economic Outlook 2026. The World Bank said growth in SL is projected to decelerate to 3.5% in 2026 and 3.1% in 2027, more..

Jan 18 (TM) Media Spokesperson for the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), Dr. Ajith Gunawardena said that a decline in air quality has been reported in multiple parts of the country. According to Dr. Gunawardena, since 18 January of this year (2026), the Air Quality Index (AQI) has ranged between 150 and 200 in the Northern, North Central, North Western, Western, and Southern Provinces, as well as in the Ratnapura and Kegalle Districts. He described this level as more..

Jan 20 (CT) Doctors attached to hospitals across the Eastern Province began a continuous strike yesterday, demanding the removal of the medical Superintendent of Akkaraipattu Base Hospital and the initiation of fair inquiries into the allegations levelled against him. As a result of the strike, medical services at the hospitals came to a halt, causing inconvenience to patients. Doctors across the province had previously staged strikes on 13 and 14 January, which were temporarily more..

Jan 18 (AD) The Deputy Director General of the National Institute of Education (NIE), Darshana Samaraweera has been sent on compulsory leave in relation to the controversial Grade 6 English module. Two other officials of the NIE have also been suspended in relation to the incident. Previously, the Director General of the NIE, Prof. Manjula Vithanapathirana, decided to step down from her position until the conclusion of the inquiry into the controversial Grade 6 English module. more..

Jan 20 (DM) SL’s tourism sector recorded a massive statistical jump in leisure travellers in December 2025 compared to the previous year, a shift driven by both genuine demand and a significant rectification of data classification issues that had obscured visitor profiles in 2024. According to the latest data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, leisure and vacation travel dominated the arrivals in Dec 2025, accounting for 70.3% of the 258,928 visitors. more..

Jan 20 (Island) Govt has launched a far-reaching overhaul of the electricity industry, breaking up the CEB into six fully state-owned companies, claiming to rein in chronic losses and mounting debt. Under the Preliminary Transfer Plan, the newly incorporated entities, namely, Electricity Generation Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (EGL), National Transmission Network Service Provider (Pvt) Ltd (NTNSP), National System Operator (Pvt) Ltd more..

Jan 20 (DN) SL will take a significant step towards strengthening its organic agriculture and export framework with the official launch of the Amended Sri Lanka Organic Standard SLS, scheduled to take place later this month in Colombo. The launch will be held as the key event of a series of capacity-building and awareness programmes organized by the National Organic Control Unit (NOCU) in collaboration with the Int'l Trade Centre (ITC), under UK Trade Partnerships (UKTP) Programme. more..

Jan 20 (TM) SL’s computer literacy rate has risen to 38.4% in the first half of last year (2025), the latest survey by the DSC shows. The urban sector posted the highest literacy rate at 52.1%, followed by the rural sector at 36.6% and the estate sector at 18.6%, the survey showed. The survey found a small gender gap, with computer literacy among males at 39.9% and females at 37.1% in the first half of 2025. Youth aged 15-19 recorded the highest literacy rate among all age groups, at 75.6%. more..

Jan 20 (FT) Global fashion and beauty retailer Victoria’s Secret & Co. has taken criminal enforcement action against several entities involved in the sale of counterfeit Victoria’s Secret-branded products in SL, including body mists, perfumes, and body lotions. Following complaints lodged by Victoria’s Secret through its local legal representatives, Sudath Perera Associates, CCD carried out coordinated raid operations at several wholesale and retail outlets more..

Jan 20 (DM) A recalibration of Britain’s post-Brexit trade preferences is set to materially alter how SL’s exporters, particularly the apparel manufacturers, structure their production and sourcing, highlighting a shift from tariff relief to supply-chain flexibility as the core trade advantage. Under the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which came into force in June 2023, more than 92% of SL product lines already enjoy duty-free access to the UK, SL’s second-largest export market. more..