Feb 10 (FT) Dr. K.A. Lalithadheera, economist, writer, columnist, and educationist, made history last week by launching three books, one in English and the other two in Sinhala, authored by him. The book in English, titled The economic miracle of human capital, contains 10 articles which he had already published in newspapers. Of the two books in Sinhala, one is on the research methodology which is a must for those who plan to conduct scientific research. more..

Feb 10 (FT) As the saying goes, A nation’s wealth lies in the health of its people. It’s time for Sri Lanka to prioritise this wealth, ensuring that every citizen benefits from a healthier, more secure future. Reinstating this policy is a step forward in building a resilient economy powered by strong, healthy human resources. “In recent tax periods, individual taxpayers in Sri Lanka were allowed to deduct medical expenses, local education expenses, housing loan interest, more..

Feb 10 (AD) Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna says that measures will be implemented to provide immediate housing for families still living in relief camps following the landslides caused during the recent past. The Minister stated that the construction of the houses will begin in the first week of March. He emphasized this during a discussion held today at the Ministry of Plantation with Ministry Secretaries and tri-forces officers. more..

Feb 10 (EN) US Prez Donald Trump has promised reciprocal tariffs on all countries that tax US products, after announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to his own country. “Very simply it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said. Not all trading partners would be affected if he’s satisfied with the current arrangements with them, Trump said without naming anyone “It won’t affect everybody, because there are some where we have similar tariffs, but the ones that more..

Feb 10 (AD) CEB has announced that island-wide power cuts will be implemented on Monday (10) and Tuesday (11). The one-and-a-half-hour power outage will occur between 3.30 pm and 9.30 pm, affecting the entire island, the CEB said. The power supply disruptions will take place for one-and-a-half-hour each today and tomorrow during the said time period with areas divided into zones, to manage the power supply system. more..

Feb 10 (DM) The Small Industrialists' Association urged the government to provide compensation for damages incurred by the sector due to the recent islandwide power outage. They also criticised the authorities, saying that the blame for the issue should not be shifted onto a monkey to cover up their inefficiency. All Ceylon Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ACSMEA) Convenor Niruksha Kumara said their businesses had suffered significant losses due to the sudden blackout. more..

Feb 10 (AD) The Acting Secretary-General of Parliament, Chaminda Kularatne stated that the Committee on Parliamentary Business has decided to convene a special Sitting of Parliament, on Friday (14), at 9.30 a.m. This session is intended for the Speaker to inform Parliament of the Supreme Court’s determination on the petitions filed against the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill. This was decided at the Committee on Parliamentary Business held today (10), more..

Feb 10 (EN) A shipment of hydrated lime, meant for use in water purification, but which did not meet specifications, has not been used for any purification process, chairman of SL’s water utility has said. Water Board clarified that the shipment which was not in accordance with the specifications was not included in the Water Board stock and was stored separately. “This container was not in accordance with the specifications and more..

Feb 10 (FT) The Hotels Association of SL (THASL), a key stakeholder in the tourism sector, yesterday said it supports Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s Clean Sri Lanka initiative. “This program introduces much-needed changes across the environmental, social, and governance dimensions. THASL believes this is a significant step in the right direction. With hotels located throughout the country, the hospitality industry is wholeheartedly backing this Govt initiative,” THASL Prez M. Shanthikumar said. more..

Feb 10 (AD) The CEB is expected to decide today (10) whether power cuts will be required to be imposed as the Norochcholai coal power plant remains disconnected from the national grid. A special discussion regarding the situation is scheduled to take place today, as authorities assess the electricity supply following the island-wide power outage that occurred yesterday (9) at approximately 11.15 a.m. The disruption was linked to an incident at the Panadura grid substation. more..

Feb 10 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court has recalled the arrest warrant issued against former MP Hirunika Premachandra today. This order was issued after Premachandra appeared before the court through a motion. Colombo Magistrate’s Court has issued arrest warrants against former MP Hirunika Premachandra and several others today for failing to appear before the court. The warrant for the former MP’s arrest was issued by Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali after she failed to appear more..

Feb 10 (DM) Sigiriya has been crowned the world’s most welcoming city for 2025 by Booking.com, based on over 360 million of its verified customer reviews. The online travel agency (OTA) named Sigiriya as a must-visit destination for travellers seeking authentic off-the-beaten- path adventures shaped by exceptional hospitality and service. “From conquering the ascent to the fortress to embracing the tranquility of village life, Sigiriya presents an unforgettable blend of adventure & serenity” more..

Feb 10 (DM) A total of 341,745 pregnancies were recorded in 2019, resulting in 319,010 live births. However, not all newborns were healthy, the College of Community Physicians of SL (CCPSL) said. It was reported that nearly 1,600 babies were born still or died in the womb after 28 weeks (stillbirths) and 35% of them due to congenital deformities and other fetal disorders. more..

Feb 10 (FT) Hambantota International Port (HIP) marked a significant milestone in Jan 2025, by successfully integrating High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO) into its range of bunkering services, now offering a complete suite of marine fuels, including Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) and Marine Gas Oil (MGO/MDO). This development strengthens SL’s position in the global maritime landscape, allowing HIP to cater to a broader range of vessels navigating one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. more..

Feb 10 (Island) PM Harini Amarasuriya stated that the Clean Sri Lanka program is an initiative aimed at removing obstacles to living a civilized life. PM made this remark on Sunday morning while participating in the A Beautiful Beach, an Attractive Tourist Destination held at the Mattakkuliya Beach Park. As part of this initiative, beach cleaning programs were conducted simultaneously at 124 locations across the Western & Southern Provinces from 8 am to 11 a.m., with the goal of cleaning 1,740 km more..

Feb 10 (TM) Despite the passage of over 15 years since the end of the war, 974 families remain displaced and residing in welfare camps in the Jaffna District. A recent audit report on the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has highlighted a troubling delay in resettlement efforts, which were initially approved by the Cabinet to provide homes for these families. While the ministry has allocated Rs. 16.78 million for the upkeep more..

Feb 10 (DM) Chairman of National Salt Ltd (NSL), Gayan Wellala, said that NSL will not rely on importing salt; instead, it will establish a new table salt plant, which is expected to produce five tonnes of salt per hour. Due to the recent shortage, the Cabinet approved a proposal to allow the import of 30,000 tonnes of salt. The first shipment, consisting of 1,485 tonnes (MT) of salt imported from India, arrived in Sri Lanka on Jan 27 to address the country’s salt shortage. more..

Feb 10 (DM) A Beliatta-bound train from Maradana abruptly came to a halt at Koggala Railway Station last Thursday afternoon when the engine driver left the train, citing ill health. This resulted in the passengers being stranded for about 5 hours until the next train to Beliatta arrived late in the evening. Train had more than 500 passengers on board. Driver had informed the Officer-in- Charge of the drivers and left. Railway officials said they had not heard from him until the following morning, more..

Feb 10 (AD) Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Asanka Karawita has been appointed as SDIG in charge of the CID and FCID with effect from Feb 12, Police Media Division said. Furthermore, the Police Media Division states that transfers and appointments have been made for three other officers, and these appointments have been made with the approval of the National Police Commission. The following transfers have been made with effect from Feb 12, 2025. more..

Feb 10 (Island) Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said that now it had been revealed that a political appointee to the CID had destroyed evidence pertaining to the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage investigations. Expressing his hope that the current govt would fulfill its promise to deliver justice for the victims of the Easter bombings, Cardinal Ranjith said that the victims were still waiting for justice, which, he said, had not been served by previous leaders. more..

Feb 10 (TM) Rice prices are expected to drop during the anticipated shortage later this year and early next year given the Govt’s moves to tackle the rice mafia, according to Deputy Minister Namal Karunaratne. “The rice mafia becomes active from October to January, which is when shortages occur. That is when the State must intervene to protect consumers,” he said, revealing that rice stocks were being strategically held to counteract price more..

Feb 10 (AFP) Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne said Sunday it had been a very emotional day after his 100th and final Test ended with a defeat to Australia. The veteran opening batsman Karunaratne was given the honour of bowling the final few balls as Australia wrapped up a nine-wicket win and series sweep before lunch on the fourth day in Galle. “It has been a long career — after my family and friends, I was spending most time with my teammates," he said. more..

Feb 10 (DM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake departed Sri Lanka for the UAE today on an official visit. Invited by UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Prez will attend the World Govt Summit 2025 in Dubai and deliver a speech. He is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prez Al Nahyan. In addition, Prez Dissanayake will meet UAE Vice President and PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and engage with several Heads of State and Govt attending the summit. more..

Feb 10 (EN) SL’s new govt has appointed an expert panel as the first step to establish an independent prosecutor office, the Justice Ministry said, days after Attorney General’s (AG) Dept’s decision to release three suspects linked to high profile murder case. AG Dept has clearly said the move was due to lack of strong evidence to charge the three suspects. The proposed expert panel will consist two representatives from AG Dept, more..

Feb 10 (AD) Four people have reportedly died and over 25 others are injured after two buses collided on the Dambulla-Kurunegala main road in the Thorayaya area of Kurunegala, in the Doratiyawa Police Division. The incident had occurred when a private passenger bus traveling from Kaduruwela to Colombo stopped to pick up passengers, and another private bus traveling in the same direction crashed into the back of the parked bus, police said. Accordingly, the current investigation more..

Feb 10 (Island) ITAK leader and Kilinochchi District MP S. Sritharan sent a letter to the govt requesting that immediate steps be taken to investigate the situation concerning approximately 200 individuals from the Northern Province who are reportedly with the Russian Army, some of whom have been killed. Sritharan has said that when he inquired about this matter in Parliament, Minister Wijitha Herath had claimed those individuals had voluntarily joined the Russian Army. more..

Feb 11 (CT) Over the recent weeks two issues relating to Muslims had resurfaced to catch attention from the local media, one concerning that controversial cremation of Covid-dead Muslims during the Presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR), and the other about Rohingya Muslim refugees who started arriving in SL since 2008 when Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) was Prez. A good number of those refugees is reported to have found permanent abode in this Buddhist country, which is more..

Feb 11 (DM) The current controversy over the letter sent by Attorney General (AG) Parinda Ranasinghe to the CID Director to release three suspects from a case related to the murder of former Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge raises many questions. Subsequent to an uproar over the AG’s decision, his dept issued a statement stating that the letter dated 27 Jan, sent by the AG to the CID Director regarding case no. B92/2009 before the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate’s Court, more..

Feb 11 (DM) Sri Lanka celebrated seventy-seven years of gaining independence from British rule last Tuesday (4). The occasion was of historic importance as it was the first Independence day under the presidency of Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Prez Dissanayake and his JVP led NPP Govt earned much kudos for the manner in which the 77th freedom day event was held. The 77th Independence day was celebrated with more..

Feb 11 (DM) When the repressive 15-year regime of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown by a two-month-long violent mass movement led by university students, the expectation was that sanity, peace and the Rule of Law would prevail in Bangladesh. But that faith has eroded or is fast eroding both among law-abiding Bangladeshis and their well-wishers across the world. What marks Bangladesh today, six months after the revolution against fascism, is chaos punctuated by insane vandalism. more..

Feb 11 (Island) One area of focus of the Clean Sri Lanka programme, initiated by the new govt, that has enthused the people at large is the drive to clean the environment. People affected by intense noise hope that cleaning the environment will not be limited to keeping public spaces clean but will also address the issue of noise pollution. This is evident from letters to newspapers and social media posts calling upon the authorities to deal with noise pollution from varied sources, more..

Feb 11 (CT) In Migration and Human Resources for Health: From Awareness to Action, former Director-Organisation Development, Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition, Dr. Sarath Samarage stated that migration of health human resources, was a serious problem, especially for medical officers. Some medical officers move to private hospitals or overseas to seek better salaries and work environments. more..

Feb 11 (TM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday led a high-powered SL delegation to the UAE for a 3-day official visit at the invitation of UAE Prez Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to take part in the World Govt Summit 2025, Govt confirmed. It is understood that Prez Dissanayake will explore energy supply and investment opportunities while he attends the forum. Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the public remains in the dark about what happened on Sunday when the island once again faced more..

Feb 11 (CT) SL once again made headlines in one of the most meme-able moments of the year with a scuffle between two monkeys reportedly causing an islandwide power outage, disrupting the entire nation’s weekend last Sunday. According to Minister Kumara Jayakody, islandwide power failure was triggered when a monkey fell onto the power lines at the Panadura grid substation. Resulting imbalance in the national grid supposedly took five hours for officials to restore power supply to the entire more..

Feb 11 (Island) Most detractors of the NPP claimed, before last year’s elections, that SL would find itself in the same predicament as Oceania in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, if the JVP-led alliance was voted into power, but thankfully their prognostication has not come true although the NPP parliamentary group is said to be under the spell of a kind of Big Brother, as evident from their regimented conduct. However, it looks as if the current dispensation needed a Ministry of Excuses, as it were, more..