Sep 12 (DM) There is something magical about Westminster on a crisp London evening. Last week, as I walked past the historic buildings glowing in the soft light, I felt the hum of global conversations taking place all around me. Diplomats, academics, journalists and policymakers were gathering for the launch of the Foreign Policy Centre’s latest report on soft power, and I was lucky enough to be in the room. As I listened to the discussions, it struck me that what we were talking about in more..

Sep 12 (TM) Recent bus accident in Ella has once again brought the spotlight onto SL’s public transport system, a sector long plagued by safety lapses and weak regulation. Similar crashes in recent years, particularly on winding mountain roads and heavily congested highways, have shown how human error, poor enforcement, and structural flaws in the transport network combine to put lives at risk. Public transport in SL is backbone of mobility more..

Sep 12 (ST) Why did Sri Lanka fail to convince investors to do business and get its exports right for decades unlike our neighbouring countries? Sri Lanka’s export earnings remained as low as US$13 billion, while neighbouring countries now record export values in the range of $200–500 billion? Or to put it differently, as we know Sri Lanka had to suspend its external debt payment in April 2022; why couldn’t Sri Lanka mobilise even $6–7 billion to meet its annual external debt obligations? more..

Sep 12 (TM) While the nation was captivated with the Govt’s shallow exercise of ending the privileges of former executive presidents, rather than filing credible indictments to reclaim the billions which were allegedly stolen and hauled overseas, the news broke in Colombo that an Army officer was arrested for selling ammunition to a known organised crime figure. According to reports, the Commanding Officer of a military installation, a Lieutenant Colonel, was arrested by more..

Sep 12 (FT) SL’s business and legal community reached a new milestone with the inauguration of the ICC SL Arbitration and Mediation Hearing Centre located at the Suncity Building, Colombo 3 on Wednesday. The Centre was officially opened by ICC Dispute Resolution Services Arbitration and ADR South Asia Director Tejus Chauhan, together with ICC SL Chairman Anthony Shanil Fernando, joined by members of the board and staff, the event was also attended by BOI Director General more..

Sep 12 (Island) Unlike conflicts between states where parties to an armed conflict are required to abide by internationally accepted rules of war, inherent imbalances in accountability exist in the case of internal armed conflicts between state and non-state actors for different reasons. This is the case with the armed conflict between the Sri Lankan state and the non-state actor – the LTTE. These imbalances are due to the fact that although the Sri Lankan state and the LTTE as more..

Sep 12 (FT) Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) renewed its call on the Govt to urgently reverse the ban on oil palm cultivation, saying it is key to boosting growth in the plantation industry and raising worker incomes. According to the Association, following the Govt’s abrupt ban on oil palm cultivation in 2021, this lucrative crop that was once considered the nation’s most valuable strategic diversification instead became a symbol of more..

Sep 12 (Island) Minister Harshana Nanayakkara has gone on record as saying that former political leaders ruined the country and, therefore, they must not be looked after at the expense of the public. He has sought to justify the newly passed law that strips former Presidents of their perks and privileges. Interestingly, the JVP aligned itself with the political parties of the former Presidents it is now inveighing against. Some of the JVP seniors were in the Cabinet of Chandrika Kumaratunga’s more..

Sep 12 (FT) Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) has launched Sri Lanka’s first-ever National Best Employer Awards – celebrating organisational excellence and human-centred leadership. At a time when SL is rediscovering its strength and optimism, EFC has announced the launch of the inaugural EFC National Best Employer Awards 2025. This landmark initiative comes at a pivotal moment in the nation’s journey, as organisations and communities embrace resilience, innovation, and purpose. more..

Sep 12 (FT) EDEX Mid-Year Expo 2025, SL’s premier education and career fair, will return on 13-14 Sept to the BMICH, Colombo. This highly anticipated event will open doors for students, job seekers, and professionals to explore education pathways and career opportunities both locally and internationally. This year’s expo will consist of around 50 leading educational institutions, 10 corporates, and direct overseas exhibitors from Dubai & Indonesia, giving attendees access more..

Sep 12 (FT) An official statement yesterday said that the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) found that Customs had not cleared about 30% of the total vehicles imported into the country in a performance review covering the first half of 2025. According to a statement from the Parliament Secretariat, Sri Lanka Customs had recorded a revenue of Rs. 996 billion between January and June 2025, recording a growth of 47% from a year ago. more..

Sep 12 (ST) In Jakarta, the sleepless city of Indonesia, amid the neon lights, traffic chaos, and crowds enjoying the nightlife, two Sri Lankans walked the streets on their first visit, their sharp eyes fixed on an apartment complex and scanning the faces of passersby for those matching their target. Most secret overseas operation in SL Police history to apprehend underworld suspects began on Aug 23, following 3 mo. of planning more..

Sep 12 (FT) A World Bank (WB) report released yesterday recommended that the Govt could significantly boost tax revenues by focusing on improving compliance among higher-income earners, rather than across the entire income distribution. According to the WB SL Public Finance Review, raising compliance by just 20% could increase collections from personal income tax (PIT) by 36% and pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax by 18%, equal to 0.04% & 0.02% of GDP, respectively. more..

Sep 12 (FT) US Ambassador Julie Chung, together with a delegation of senior officials from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), met with Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake yesterday. The Heads of the USTR, who commended the delegation appointed by the SL Govt to negotiate the US tariffs on products imported from Sri Lanka, also praised the progress the country has achieved in its economic recovery. Attention was also drawn to the assistance extended by the USTR towards more..

Sep 12 (DN) Maris Stella College, Negombo, and Lyceum Int'l, Wattala, emerged as the overall boys’ and girls’ champions of the 93rd Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletics Championship, which concluded at Diyagama, Homagama yesterday. The four-day event, organised by the SL Schools Athletic Association and sponsored by Ritzbury, witnessed a record-breaking display with a total of 33 new meet records, more..

Sep 12 (ST) The promise is to enrich and inspire, as the Ceylon College of Physicians (CCP) embarks on its 58th Annual Academic Sessions inclusive of many firsts, next week in Colombo. Inaugurated on Wednesday (10), the sessions on the theme Physician For The Future will be held from Sept 11-13. Explaining that this year marks a significant milestone in the journey of the CCP as they expand the sessions to a three-day congress in the post-COVID 19 era, CCP President more..

Sep 12 (DN) Reaching the 1000 run mark in the schools cricket season gives me a big boost to go forward and it’s a dream come true, said 16 year old right hand opener and Royal College skipper Rehan Peiris after the U-19 division one Tier A final which ended with Royal and St Sebastians Moratuwa being adjudged joint champions at the P. Sara Oval Stadium. I had to take over the captaincy for this final as our skipper Ramiru Perera was away in West Indies with the National under 19 team but more..

Sep 12 (DN) Asian Development Bank (ADB) financed Shared Care Cluster system pilot at Thambuttegama Base Hospital is nearing completion and the hospital will be fully digitalized soon. These projects commenced in Thambuttegama in the North Central Province and Badulla in the Central Province. ADB has facilitated funds to implement two more clusters in Uva and Sabaragamuwa. ADB SL Country Director Takafumi Kadono, speaking at an inspection tour of more..

Sep 12 (NW) Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Sujeewa Senasinghe has withdrawn a letter convening the inaugural meeting of a proposed Sri Lanka – Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association, admitting it was issued by mistake. In a statement, Senasinghe said the notice calling members of parliament to join the association was a result of an error and lapse, and confirmed that he has already informed all relevant authorities in writing to cancel the initiative. more..

Sep 12 (TM) Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne was compelled to adjourn proceedings yesterday following repeated disruptions and tense exchanges between Govt and Opposition lawmakers. The disruptions took place over the no-confidence motion (NCM) brought against the Deputy Minister of Defence, Aruna Jayasekera, which was rejected by the Speaker earlier. On Wednesday, Speaker announced that more..

Sep 12 (DM) South Asia Sustainability & Security Research Institute (SASSRI), a newly established SL-based think tank, was inaugurated at Cinnamon Grand on Wednesday. The event featured a roundtable discussion with India’s Synergia Foundation on maritime security in the Indian Ocean, attended by diplomats as well as local and international experts. The gathering underscored SASSRI’s commitment to advancing sustainability, regional security, economic resilience, and more..

Sep 12 (CT) Ambassador of Japan to SL, Akio Isomata, visited the Leprosy Hospital in Hendala, Wattala, on 9 Sept. Founded by the Dutch in 1708, the hospital is the oldest leprosy care facility in Asia. During his visit, Ambassador Isomata was briefed on the hospital’s rich history. Originally established as a colonial-era asylum, the facility now functions as a care centre for a declining number of in-patients. Although Sri Lanka successfully eliminated leprosy as a public health problem in 1995, more..

Sep 12 (DM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake today emphasized the importance of close coordination and unified action between the central govt and provincial institutions in the implementation of development projects. Chairing a meeting at the Prez Secretariat, President said that the longstanding practice of using provincial institutions merely as political instruments has been brought to an end under the current administration. He noted that both central and provincial authorities more..

Sep 12 (AD) PM and Minister of Education, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, officially launched STEM Feed in SL, a new in-app destination on TikTok offering credible science, technology, engineering and mathematics content. This initiative embarks on a new era where TikTok will come together to reimagine how education can be accessed, shared, and strengthened in a digital-first world setting the stage for a transformative initiative aimed at expanding digital learning opportunities more..

Sep 12 (Island) Police are on the lookout for a hired gunman who led a hit squad contracted to wipe out the security staff at a Kollupitiya nightclub in retaliation for spoiling an earlier hit job there. A special operation has been launched to apprehend the suspect. The gunman was part of an armed underworld gang that attempted to storm the nightclub on Monday night (9) with the intent of killing its security personnel. more..

Sep 12 (CT) SL Police announced the official fee structure for a range of services provided to the public by the Police Dept. According to the announcement, obtaining a Police Clearance Report for overseas travel and related real-time services will cost Rs 5,000. Broadcast permit fees have been set at Rs 500 for up to six hours, Rs 1,000 for six to twelve hours, and Rs 2,000 for more than twelve hours. Meanwhile, Police reports issued by divisional Police stations for Middle Eastern countries more..

Sep 12 (TM) Ministry of Public Admin, PCs & LG has submitted evaluation reports on all official residences under its purview that were previously allocated to ministers, to the Presidential Secretariat. Subject Minister Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna said that the Presidential Secretariat had informed the ministry to submit all the information related to the official residences. “Certain ministries have their own official residences, but most fall under our purview. We conducted an assessment of every building more..

Sep 12 (TM) Sri Lanka’s banking sector has opened 30,594 Letters of Credit (LCs) by the first week of September to bring over 220,000 vehicles worth $ 1.49 billion. Presenting the fiscal performance before the CoPF, Finance Ministry said the total number of LCs opened by 3 Sept stood at 30,594 to bring in 220,026 vehicles worth $ 1,491 million. Vehicles cleared by Customs amounted to 154,537 worth $ 911 million, more..

Sep 12 (AD) Bribery Commission has filed indictments before the Colombo High Court against Ramith Rambukwella, son of former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, for failing to disclose the source of allegedly illegally acquired assets valued at over Rs. 270 million. The case, filed under Anti-Corruption Act, charges the accused—who also served as the private secretary to former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella—with failing to disclose how he acquired cash and properties more..

Sep 12 (FT) In the wake of the post-pandemic tourism boom, there is also mounting backlash against an excess of tourism in many countries. When too many tourists flock to a destination, exceeding its ability to manage it sustainably, it leads to negative impacts such as overcrowding, environmental degradation, strained infrastructure, reduced quality of life for residents, and a diminished visitor experience. This is referred to as over tourism or sometimes as over visitation. more..

Sep 12 (FT) President Anura Kumara Disanayake (AKD) made history when he became the first Sri Lankan head of state to set foot on Katchatheevu (spelled as Kachchatheevu also) soil on 1 Sept 2025. Among those who accompanied the President on his maiden voyage to the northern off-shore islet in the naval speedboat P 211 were Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala and Northern Navy Commander Rear Admiral Buddhika Liyanagamage. more..

Sep 12 (EN) Maharaja Foods and SPAR SL Pvt Ltd have signed an agreement to establish four new retail outlets in the Colombo region, the company said in a stock exchange filing. “This collaboration brings together Maharaja Foods’s product expertise and distribution capabilities with SPAR SL’s international retail standards and operational framework.” Development activities are expected to commence immediately following the MOU signing, with phased rollouts planned later. more..

Sep 12 (CI) For longer than ten years, a little over half of international T20 cricket's lifespan so far, SL and Bangladesh have nursed woeful run rates. The stats are pretty clear. Of the ten top-ranked men's T20I teams, they have the two worst run rates since 2015. A ten-plus year span is clearly many ages in T20 cricket, the fastest moving and now most-played of cricket's formats. And yet Bangladesh and SL's loyalty to the bottom more..

Sep 12 (NW) Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, who is currently on a visit to Geneva, has visited several international Buddhist institutions in the city. Minister Herath has visited the International Buddhist Foundation (IBF) and the International Buddhist Centre in Geneva. During his visit to the IBF, Minister met Ven. Halyale Wimalarathana Thera and members of the IBF. “Our discussion reflected on the important contributions of the Buddhist community in strengthening more..

Sep 12 (CT) Harvesting of big onion cultivation in the New Teldeniya area of Nochchiyagama, Anuradhapura, has already commenced, but the farmers complain that they are not receiving the right price for the harvest. They said that they have had a bountiful harvest this season. However, although the Government imposed a tax on imported onions, they are not getting the right price for their harvest because the tax imposition was not made at the right time. more..