Sep 17 (NW) Two newly constructed post office buildings will be vested in the public this month as part of the govt’s ongoing programme to modernise SL’s postal service. Mullaitivu Post Office, built at a cost of nearly Rs. 56 million, will open on Sept 18, while the Kaithady Post Office in Jaffna will be vested in the public on Sept 19. In addition, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, who is spearheading the modernisation programme, will lay the foundation stone for a new post office in more..

Sep 17 (AD) The Colombo High Court has ordered that the corruption case filed by the CIABOC against former Navy Commander, Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda and Yoshitha Rajapaksa be called for a pre-trial conference on Oct 13. The case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Ravindra Premaratne today, with both accused, who are currently out on bail, appearing before the court. Appearing for Karannagoda, President's Counsel Shavindra Fernando informed the court that more..

Sep 17 (NF) The family of former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa is not prepared to disclose her current location, according to Manoj Gamage, spokesman for former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa. Gamage said he had been informed that Shiranthi Rajapaksa would return to SL as soon as possible in order to continue providing care and support to former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa. The development comes after Shiranthi more..

Sep 17 (DM) The Govt is considering increasing the salaries and allowances of prison officers in the upcoming Budget, Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said. Minister made these remarks during a discussion on issues faced by officers at the Dumbara Prison, held following the establishment of a joint mechanism covering the Dumbara-Bogambara Prison and the Pallekele Open Prison. Nanayakkara also inspected the prison premises and spoke with inmates about the challenges more..

Sep 17 (AD) The Bar Association of SL (BASL) and the Law Council of Australia has entered into a MOU in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on the sidelines of the 39th LAWASIA Conference. The Memorandum was signed by President of the Law Council of Australia, Tania Wolff, and President of the BASL, Rajeev Amarasuriya, BASL said in a statement. The Law Council of Australia, established in 1933 and based in Canberra, is the apex national body representing the legal profession of Australia. more..

Sep 17 (CI) In moments of extreme stress or trauma, it's not uncommon for individuals to disassociate, to mentally check out from thoughts, feelings or even physical discomfort. It's a coping mechanism meant to protect and shield the psyche from an unbearable reality. On Tuesday night, a rarer, sport-induced variation of this phenomenon took hold. For thousands of Sri Lankans watching on, both on the field and across television more..

Sep 17 (DN) SriLankan Airlines can no longer be sustained as a loss-making entity, Deputy Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku said. He made the remarks during a special meeting held at the SriLankan Airlines premises on Sept 15 with newly appointed Acting CEO Vipul Misra. Secretary to the Ministry W.W.S. Mangala also participated in the discussions. The meeting focused on restructuring SriLankan Airlines, improving operational efficiency and restoring public trust in national carrier. more..

Sep 17 (NW) Actor Vishwa Kodikara was fined Rs. 5,000 by the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine. Mount Lavinia Magistrate Kanchana Neranjala Silva imposed the fine after Kodikara admitted to the offence. According to reports, Kodikara was arrested by Wellawatta Police on Wednesday night during a raid at a popular restaurant located in the coastal area of Wellawatta. He was among five people arrested with more..

Sep 17 (TM) Claiming that only around 9 per cent of Sri Lanka’s workforce are members of trade unions (TUs), National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) member and trade unionist Anton Marcus said the Govt should focus on protecting the workers’ right to join unions instead of concentrating on changes such as the proposed reforms to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF). Marcus, who is also the General Secretary of the Free Trade Zones and more..

Sep 17 (DM) One wonders whether the public rally organised by the SLPP with massive publicity in A'pura last Saturday — intended to create a favorable political wave across the country — has instead turned into a political disaster for the party itself. The meeting appeared to be a chaotic blend of political contradictions, conducted without a clear realisation of who is a friend and who is an enemy. At a time when the party needed to demonstrate that they are engaged in meaningful, more..

Sep 17 (NF) SL wants to use the economic stability achieved through IMF programme as a strong foundation to take the country towards a transformative era, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said when he met the visiting IMF team on Thursday. An IMF delegation is in SL for the 7th review of the country’s EFF programme and the 2026 Article IV Consultation. “Prez said recent economic indicators clearly demonstrate that more..

Sep 17 (NF) The driver of the car involved in the fatal road accident that claimed three lives in Mattakkuliya has been remanded until September 30. The order was issued after the suspect was produced today before the Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court No. 07. Police also confirmed that the driver had been under the influence of cannabis at the time of the accident. According to police, the finding was established through a medical examination conducted following the collision. more..

Sep 17 (NW) 34 new U.S. Peace Corps trainee volunteers have arrived in SL to begin training ahead of two years of service in the country. The volunteers will undergo intensive training in Sinhala or Tamil, SL culture and American English-language teaching before taking the Peace Corps Pledge of Service in November. Following their swearing-in, the volunteers will serve in the Northern and North Central provinces, working with SL teachers and students to expand English education. more..

Sep 17 (EN) SL’s Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs has approved the decision to call investment proposals to explore and develop petroleum resources in the country, parliament said. Last month, SL offered four offshore blocks in the Northwestern Mannar Basin for int'l investors to explore oil and gas in a fresh attempt to attract investments into the sector after an earlier attempt ended more..

Sep 17 (NW) SL has been assigned a 7.5% weighting in J.P. Morgan’s new frontier-market local-currency govt bond index, placing the country among the largest components of the benchmark. Govt Bond Index–Emerging Markets Edge, or GBI-EM Edge, is expected to be launched by the end of September and will track close to US$ 330 billion in govt bonds across 26 frontier markets. SL’s 7.5% share is just below the maximum country weighting of 8%. Vietnam, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, more..

Sep 17 (Island) LAWASIA, the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific, has stated that in court proceedings of exceptional constitutional significance, the basis upon which a Bench is constituted should be transparent and discernible and capable of maintaining public confidence in the institutional impartiality of the Court. The following is the text of the statement issued by LAWASIA regarding the proceedings on the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution: more..

Sep 17 (DM) Shiranthi Rajapaksa who left the country yesterday morning, is presently in Singapore undergoing a medical check-up at the elite Mount Elizabeth Hospital, sources said. Shiranthi left the island early yesterday, sparking controversy as she faces a summons to appear before the FCID on Sep 24 over alleged financial irregularities linked to the Siriliya Saviya Foundation. While in Colombo last week, the former First Lady had reportedly been admitted to a private hospital and more..

Sep 17 (NW) Authorities have uncovered a major haul of illegal electronic cigarettes inside a suspicious container in Peliyagoda, with officials seizing more than 1,400 devices along with refilling accessories and cosmetic products, Police said. The inspection was carried out by the Colombo Central Division Criminal Investigation Unit, assisted by SL Customs, Police Narcotics Bureau, and police sniffer dogs, after information was received by the Police Superintendent of the division. more..

Sep 17 (ICC) Sonal Dinusha has been named the ICC Men's Player of the Month for August 2026. This marks Dinusha being crowned with the accolade for the first time in his career. Having played only three Tests for SL coming into the ICC World Test Championship series against India, the left-handed batter was the leading run-getter in the two-match series. Dinusha finished with 420 runs, averaging a spectacular 140, more..

Sep 17 (DM) PM Harini Amarasuriya has stressed that universities have a moral responsibility to prevent and control ragging and ensure that students subjected to such incidents have confidence in the investigative procedures in place. She made the remarks at a meeting of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, convened under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, held at Parliament under more..

Sep 17 (NW) Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday ordered that the warrant issued against former cricketer Aravinda de Silva and his wife be recalled. The couple had stood surety for Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake, wife of the late SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, in connection with the Airbus bribery case involving an alleged USD 2 million payment. The warrant had been issued earlier in the day by Magistrate Pasan Amarasena after the couple failed to more..

Sep 17 (NW) The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered that Renuka Perera, former Chairman of the National Transport Commission, be remanded until Sept 29 following his arrest by the Bribery Commission in connection with a corruption allegation. The order was issued by Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama after considering submissions made by Bribery Commission officials and the suspect’s lawyers. more..

Sep 17 (NW) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, engaged in a series of tourism‑related programmes in Bangkok aimed at learning from Thailand’s approaches to destination promotion, product development, and heritage‑based tourism. According to the Embassy of SL in Bangkok, hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), led by Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool, the Minister joined a curated heritage walk through Bangkok’s historic Songwat neighbourhood. more..

Sep 17 (DM) A well-grown leopard cub that had wandered into a house in Dedugala, Bulathkohupitiya, was safely rescued by wildlife officials following a coordinated operation. The rescue operation was launched on September 15 after the Bulathkohupitiya Wildlife Office received information that a leopard had entered a residence in the area. Wildlife officers, acting on veterinary advice, rescued the animal and subsequently attempted to reunite it with its mother. more..

Sep 17 (FT) A SL creator can build a TikTok following in the millions, produce content that performs as well as anything coming out of Los Angeles or London, and earn nothing directly from the platform for it. That is not an exaggeration. It is policy. TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program remains limited to selected eligible regions, and Sri Lanka is not one of them. Neither is much of South Asia, much of Africa, and much of the Middle East. YouTube, by contrast, has offered SL creators a clearer and more..

Sep 17 (FT) My caption this week is an obvious echo of Winston Churchill’s characterisation at a nodal point in WWII, that it was not yet the beginning of the end, but only the end of the beginning. Later in the war, he announced the beginning of the end. There is usually an interregnum between the two, but sometimes the transition is short, and at others, the end of the beginning marks the beginning of the end. Why Prabhakaran Will Lose was the title of an article by me (then in my late-40s) more..

Sep 17 (Island) The US Embassy in Colombo declined to comment on a special police probe into the recent narcotics detection, jointly made at China-managed Colombo Int'l Container Terminal (CICT) by the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Delhi Country Office and SL Police. US Embassy spokesperson said that the mission wouldn’t add to their press release, issued on 2 Sept, in the immediate aftermath of the raid. more..

Sep 17 (AD) Despite several railway trade unions launching a 48-hour strike from midnight yesterday, all office trains are presently operating as usual, SL Railways said. Railway trade unions launched the 48-hour strike, based on several demands including the removal of the current General Manager of Railways. Commenting on the ongoing trade union action, Chairman of the Railway Station Masters' Association Sumedha Somarathna said several trains had been cancelled yesterday more..

Sep 17 (NW) Two people were killed and four others seriously injured in a road accident involving a car, three three-wheelers and four motorcycles in Mattakkuliya, Colombo, on Wednesday night. The accident occurred when a car collided with several vehicles travelling along the road. According to reports, the car struck three three-wheelers and four motorcycles, leaving six people injured. All six were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, where two later succumbed to their injuries, more..

Sep 17 (PMD) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that Sri Lanka’s health sector is being strengthened under three key areas to ensure healthy lives for all citizens. President pointed out that bringing free healthcare service closer to the people, introducing the world’s most advanced medical equipment as well as medical practices and establishing a systematic management system are the three key areas. more..

Sep 17 (DN) Sri Lanka Tourism has concluded its Australia and New Zealand Roadshow Series in Perth, bringing together more than 85 Australian travel agents and tour operators for a day focused on business-to-business engagement, industry networking and the promotion of Sri Lanka as a preferred holiday destination. Perth programme, the final stop of the roadshow series, provided a platform for SL tourism representatives and members of the Australian travel trade to more..

Sep 17 (DN) Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep said that SL’s coconut industry generated US$614 million in export revenue during the first half of this year, up from US$530 million during the corresponding period last year. Addressing the SL Coconut Awards 2026 organised by the Coconut Development Authority, Deputy Minister Pradeep said the growth reflected strong performance across the sector. CEO of the Export Development Board (EDB) Mangala Wijesinghe said more..