Feb 14 (TM) Sri Lanka continues to experience a decline in school enrolment, raising concerns about student dropout rates in the aftermath of the economic crisis. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Education’s Annual School Census, Govt school enrolment has steadily decreased, from 4,063,685 in 2020 to 3,882,688 in 2023. While the country witnessed a sharp drop in student numbers at the height of the crisis, more..

Feb 14 (DM) There were past governments which tried to introduce tabs to be used in school education. Some schools benefited through this method, but not all. Still most schools in the island use books in paper form and even maintain libraries. It is in this context that we must analyse the importance of buying books or even gifting them. What’s enlightening is that there is an International Book Giving Day and its falls today (14). Int'l Book Giving Day has been celebrated across more..

Feb 14 (TM) The Prof. Senaka Bibile’s medicinal drug policy is the answer to the present severe shortage of medicines in Govt hospitals. As a result, most patients have to purchase their medicines from private pharmacies. The price of these medicines has soared to such an extent that the poor are unable to afford them. This is particularly the case for those with chronic conditions such as diabetes where they need to take medicines daily. This leads to a flaring up of these severe illnesses, more..

Feb 14 (CT) Whether constructing residential buildings or commercial establishments, it is crucial to seek consultancy and guidance from the NBRO when selecting a site prior to commencing work, stated Dammika Kahahengoda, Director of the Structural Engineering Research and Project Management Division at NBRO. She emphasised, “If proper protocols are followed during construction, many issues that arise after more..

Feb 14 (ST) In the Netherlands, PM Mark Rutte rides a bicycle to work. In fact, the Dutch love cycling so much that in 2018 the country had more bicycles than people: 23 million to 17 million citizens. Of course the love for cycling is encouraged by an environment replete with beautiful parks, aesthetic buildings, green spaces and designated bicycle lanes. Maybe the current rulers – who have decreed that ministers would have a reduced number of vehicles, should provide bicycles for travel more..

Feb 14 (TM) The concerns expressed by the Govt with regard to the Attorney General’s (AG) Dept’s duties concerning the legal proceedings into the assassination of former newspaper editor and lawyer Lasantha Wickrematunge have sparked debates on social media platforms, the general society, and in the political arena. While some encourage the Govt’s interest in intervening in the matter, claiming that such is necessary at times to ensure the upholding of the rule of law, more..

Feb 14 (DM) Despite repeated complaints by local state authorities and residents at Mirihana in Kotte, UDA and its officials are turning a blind eye to the severe environmental devastation of UDA land due to the dumping of garbage and house waste. Until recent times, the land belonging to UDA had been a lush green paddy field with varieties of birds and other animals frequenting the place, but not anymore due to the allowing of human encroachment and dumping of garbage. more..

Feb 14 (DM) Valentine’s fever has gripped Colombo with more than just romantic gestures, with spending patterns reflecting a newfound optimism. As consumer confidence continues to rise post-crisis, florists, hotels, and restaurants are seeing an increase in demand for Valentine’s offering and sales are expected to exceed last year’s highs. A walk through Colombo’s Dean Street showed a busy consumer market regaining its footing. more..

Feb 14 (FT) Asian Development Bank (ADB) reinforced its commitment to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, outlining an ambitious $ 900 million investment pipeline for 2025. Outlining ADB’s 2024 portfolio performance in Sri Lanka and plans for 2025, Country Director Takafumi Kadono highlighted the bank’s alignment with the country’s development agenda and the broader IMF-backed reform framework. more..

Feb 14 (Island) The handful of tourists who enjoy loud noise come from countries where laws on noise pollution are very strict. In their home countries, can they make noise that affects others even during the daytime? In Re Noise Pollution, Chief Justice Lahoti referred to laws on noise pollution in several other jurisdictions. In the United Kingdom, the Noise Abatement Act provides that loudspeakers should not be operated between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. for any purpose and at any other time for more..

Feb 14 (Island) Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne is scheduled to announce the Supreme Court (SC) determination on the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill in Parliament, today. He was expected to do so last week, but he stated that he had not received any communication from the apex court, by that time, regarding its determination in question. The Opposition created quite a stir, making various allegations, but the Speaker stood his ground. more..

Feb 14 (FT) Agriculture-rich diversified conglomerate CIC Holdings has recorded a consolidated revenue of Rs. 64.66 billion for the 9 months ending 31 Dec 2024 (9MFY25), an increase of 7.49% YoY compared to the corresponding period of last year. Group’s gross profit has increased by 5.81% to 16.73 billion with gross profit margin for the period in review stood at 25.87%, a decrease of 41 basis points against the same period last year. Profit after tax contracted to Rs. 5.70 b from Rs. 9.67 b more..

Feb 14 (FT) Commends fierce lobbying by environmental groups and civil society groups and handful of public officials at CEA, PUCSL who refused to cave into political pressure by former Govt. Biodiversity scientist Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, who for the last year fought tirelessly against the proposal award to Adani Green Energy SL, said the exit move by the firm represents a victory for financial accountability and environmental protection. “Govt’s decision to renegotiate more..

Feb 14 (ST) Naysayers and officials with old ideas have thwarted plans to develop SL Railways to earn revenue by specialising in tourism. The railways, which has a rich history of 160 years, provided services including sleeping berths from the colonial times, on long distance trains. In colonial times, there were first and second and class sleeping berths. The VIP or the first class birth had attached bathrooms per cabin, while more..

Feb 14 (DN) Bellevue Beach Club, Port City, Colombo is expanding and has plans to create a special area to accommodate Yachts to the venue. SL born now resident in France and Managing Director of Bellevue Beach Club, Chandima Kahandawela said that he has already worked with Sail Lanka to create a special sea and beach path where mini Yachts could sail into the club premises and anchor, where passengers could embark and disembark from Bellevue Beach Club. more..

Feb 14 (DN) Sri Lanka cricket team will look to carry their momentum into the second and final ODI against Australia today at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, commencing at 10 am. After producing superb fighting performance to beat Australia by 49 runs in the first game last Wednesday SL is looking to make a clean sweep while Australia will aim to bounce back in this final game after disappointing collapse in the last game. Australia rested their key players more..

Feb 14 (TM) Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) lodged a formal complaint with the CID calling for an investigation into the nationwide power outage that occurred on 9 February. Association President Sanjeewa Dhammika alleged that the officials responsible at the CEB have violated the Constitution by neglecting their duties. According to the information received by the ECA, he noted that there should have more..

Feb 14 (ST) A Chinese passenger who allegedly stole branded wristwatches and other valuables from the luggage of another passenger on a SriLankan Airlines flight from Dubai to Colombo this week escaped legal action, as the victim did not wish to pursue his complaint. Upon finding several items had gone missing from his hand luggage stowed in the overhead compartment, the victim began to look for them and found them in the possession of a Chinese passenger. more..

Feb 14 (EN) Sri Lanka and UAE signed an agreement on Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments to strengthen economic and investment relations between the two countries. The agreement was signed during Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake’s three-day official visit to the UAE to attend the World Governments Summit 2025. The agreement was signed by UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs Bin Hadi Al Hussaini and SL’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath. more..

Feb 14 (DN) Sri Lanka over 50 cricket team led by Shane Fernando recorded back to back three wins to reach the top of the points table in the International Masters cricket over 50 World Cup which is now in progress in SL. Sri Lankan over 50 team recorded their first win over USA over 50 by 6 wickets in their match played at Colts grounds . Ruvin Peiris the dashing left hander was the match hero scoring unbeaten 75 ball 93 with 7 fours and 3 sixes guided SL masters team to victory. more..

Feb 14 (Island) The govt has allocated approximately Rs. 1.5 billion this year to partially complete four major stalled development projects at Kandy National Hospital, according to Minister Nalinda Jayatissa. The minister made this announcement during a recent inspection visit to assess the progress of several incomplete development projects at the hospital. Projects under review include the New Cancer Complex, the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Accident & more..

Feb 14 (DM) Sri Lanka, along with Cambodia, face possible anti-dumping duties over alleged less than fair value (LTFV) imports of paper file folders into the US. US Department of Commerce has initiated anti-dumping duty investigations based on estimated dumping margins ranging from 127.58% to 288.36% for paper file folders from Cambodia and from 23.57% to 91.28% for those from Sri Lanka. This follows petitions filed by the Coalition of Domestic Folder Manufacturers, more..

Feb 14 (Island) Sri Lanka has advanced capabilities to treat paediatric cancers, surpassing many other hospitals in South Asia, according to Dr. Mahendra Somatilaka, a specialist in paediatric oncology at the Apeksha Hospital at Maharagama. He made these remarks during a media briefing on 12 Feb. Dr Somatilaka highlighted that paediatric cancers could manifest in various forms, with the three most common being blood cancers, brain tumours, and bone or muscle-related cancers. more..

Feb 14 (AD) The Kalutara Disaster Management Unit confirmed that the fire at the perfume manufacturing factory in Horana has been completely brought under control. Fire brigade units from Colombo and Kalutara Municipal Councils, along with the Horana fire brigade, were deployed to extinguish the blaze. The fire broke out last evening at the perfume manufacturing factory, a cinnamon-based perfume manufacturing facility in the Boralugoda BOI Industrial Estate, Horana, more..

Feb 14 (Island) Former Vanni District MP Kulasingam Thileepan, who represented the EPDP, was arrested by the Tamil Nadu police in India on 12 Feb. Former MP had travelled from SL to Chennai and was attempting to obtain a visa to travel to a European country using a forged passport when he was apprehended in Kochi, Kerala. Investigations revealed that, in addition to the passport he submitted for travel to Europe, he possessed another passport, which he had used to travel more..

Feb 14 (DN) Minister Kumara Jayakody, announced that there will be no daily power cuts starting today. The recent power disruptions were caused by a system imbalance that resulted in all three generators at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant going offline last Sunday. In response, CEB imposed a one-and-a-half-hour power cut on Monday and Tuesday to manage the electricity demand. On Wednesday, CEB implemented a one-hour power cut as a precaution due to prevailing more..

Feb 14 (CT) Port Joint Trade Union Alliance (PJTUA) has raised concerns over several critical issues affecting Colombo Port’s operations, urging authorities to take immediate action. They claim that the ECT Master Plan—developed in collaboration with leading global firms such as Camco and Navis—is being arbitrarily altered by the newly-appointed Managing Director of the Port. Co-Convener Shamal Sumanaratne expressed more..

Feb 14 (AD) A preliminary discussion on the final phase of drafting the Budget 2025, which is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on Feb 17, was held this afternoon (13) at the Presidential Secretariat under the leadership of Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The discussion was attended by Ministers K.D. Lalkantha, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Anil Jayanta Fernando, Secretary to the Prez Nandika Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, more..

Feb 14 (NF) Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways, Prasanna Gunasena says that construction of the first phase of the Central Expressway, which had been halted, will begin in the next two months. The Deputy Minister said that approval from the China Exim Bank is awaited for the loan installment related to the project. He added that, the construction is set to resume as a result of discussions held during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's official visit to China. more..

Feb 14 (DM) Hours after news broke out that Adani Green Energy, founded by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, had decided to withdraw its wind energy project from SL, Daily Mirror learns that both the Indian side and SL govt had decided to go in for another set of discussions next week, signaling that the deal may not be entirely off. Informed sources said that it is highly likely that both Indian & SL sides will meet behind closed doors more..

Feb 14 (FT) The new NPP Govt finds itself navigating a delicate diplomatic tightrope between two Asian powerhouses—global powerhouse China, pouring billions into SL infrastructure, and resurgent neighbouring economic power, India, deeply concerned about security implications of SL aligning too closely with its rival, China. The new administration must maintain perfect balance: lean too far toward Beijing’s Belt and Road ambitions and risk alarming New Delhi; more..

Feb 14 (FT) 77th Independence Day saw SL more in dependence than independent. TN fishermen invade our territorial waters, disobey our Navy, and when they sustain injuries while grappling with the legitimate navy in waters where they are acting as pirates, our closest friend India summons our diplomats and issues a stern admonition though we are defending our own waters from predators who deprive our citizens of nutrition, and our fishermen, especially in the North, of their catch and more..

Feb 14 (AD) Ministry of Power and Energy has announced that steps have been taken to end the daily power cuts imposed to manage the electricity demand following the recent island-wide power outage. The outage, which occurred on Sunday, triggered the protocol system of the Norochcholai Power Plant, shutting down all three generators and causing a 900-megawatt loss to the national grid. In response, the CEB implemented island-wide power cuts, lasting one-and a-half hours on Feb 10 more..

Feb 14 (DM) SLPP briefed U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung on the SLPP’s proposal for a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate into the use of USAID funds by both registered and unregistered NGOs in SL, with a focus on ensuring transparency in the allocation of U.S. taxpayer resources. The SLPP made these remarks during a meeting with Ambassordor Chung and SLPP representatives including Namal Rajapaksa at the SLPP Headquarters today. more..

Feb 14 (FT) Sri Lanka’s premier political party representing the Tamils of the Northern and Eastern Provinces is the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) known in English as the Federal Party (FP). ITAK is currently the third largest party in Parliament with eight seats. 75-year-old party lost two of its senior most leaders within a span of eight months. Former Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan passed away more..