Feb 21 (CNN) Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe, a striking loss for the White House on an issue that has been central to the president’s foreign policy and economic agenda. The decision is arguably the most important loss the second Trump administration has sustained at the conservative Supreme Court, which last year repeatedly sided with the president in a series of more..

Feb 21 (CT) The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) has called for dedicated detention facilities for transgender individuals, stating that separate spaces should be established within prisons when such persons are taken into custody. Committee Chairman, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera, said that in addition to the conventional male and female wards, a distinct section should be created within prisons to accommodate transgender detainees. more..

Feb 21 (DM) SL’s largest-ever lottery jackpot, amounting to more than Rs. 63 crore, has been claimed, officials said on Friday. A representative of the Development Lotteries Board said the winning ticket carried a prize of Rs. 629,855,919.60, marking the highest payout recorded in the country’s lottery history. The ticket was purchased in the Girandurukotte area in the Badulla District. The winner will be formally identified following verification of the ticket’s authenticity and more..

Feb 21 (DM) UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake demanded an urgent statement in Parliament over the credibility of SL’s Gross Official Reserves (GOR), possible foreign exchange leakages and the consistency of the Central Bank’s regulatory actions. Addressing the House, Karunanayake said reserve strength cannot be judged by headline numbers alone, insisting that transparency, enforceability and regulatory consistency are critical to maintaining public and investor confidence. more..

Feb 21 (Island) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday alleged in Parliament that eight recently imported coal shipments were substandard and called for an independent probe into the matter.Speaking in the House, Premadasa said Sri Lanka typically requires 36–38 coal shipments annually. While 11 Russian shipments received so far had raised no concerns, he claimed that 25 vessels ordered from South Africa under a new tender were facing quality issues. more..

Feb 21 (AD) The Maha Sangha Conference, aimed at educating the public regarding the alleged pressures exerted on Buddhism and the Maha Sangha, was held in Colombo this afternoon (20). During the conference, the Buddhist clergy and Buddhist leaders from across the country jointly declared a Sangha Charter consisting of 10 points to alleviate the current social crises faced by the Buddha Sasana, the Maha Sangha and the people of the country. Accordingly, the relevant 10-point Sangha Charter, more..

Feb 21 (NW) SJB MP Harsha de Silva has called for recognition of the previous govt’s economic achievements while commenting on SL’s IMF programme. His remarks come after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, in a recent interview, commended the current SL govt for its commitment to maintaining macroeconomic stability and continuing reforms under the IMF-supported programme. In a post on X, de Silva said that while he supports the IMF programme and appreciates the present govt’s focus on stability, more..

Feb 21 (Island) INSEE Cement, Sri Lanka’s leading cement manufacturer and supplier and the only fully integrated cement plant in the country, announced the recommencement of limestone rail transportation from its Aruwakkalu quarry to the Puttalam plant following the successful restoration of the section of the railway line damaged by the recent Ditwah Cyclone. Limestone transportation via rail officially resumes from 18th Feb, marking a significant milestone in restoring more..

Feb 21 (CT) Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development has been informed that estimated losses linked to eight coal shipments have reached Rs 1,559.3 million (Rs 1.56 billion) for the eighth shipment alone, according to a letter dated 19 Feb, submitted by Engineer K.S.I. Kumara, General Manager of the CEB. The estimates are based on the results of load port and discharge port tests received from all shipments from December 2025 to date. more..

Feb 21 (NW) Sri Lanka Expo 2026, the country’s premier international trade exhibition, will be held from June 18 to 21, at the BMICH in Colombo. The event is organized by the SL Export Development Board (EDB) under the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development. SL Expo 2026 is expected to bring together local and international stakeholders, including exporters, investors, trade representatives and policymakers, to showcase SL’s export capabilities, investment potential and more..

Feb 21 (AD) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Sri Lankan delegation have returned to Sri Lanka after attending the AI Impact Summit 2026 held in New Delhi, India. The delegation arrived at BIA, a short while ago, aboard SriLankan Airlines flight UL-196 from New Delhi. The President and the SL delegation had travelled to India at the invitation of Indian PM Narendra Modi to participate in the summit. Prez attended the summit on an invitation extended by Indian PM Narendra Modi. more..

Feb 21 (NW) A 37-year-old SL man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing his estranged SL wife to death in a car park in Cardiff. Nirodha Niwunhella, known as Nirodha, 32, was killed at South Morgan Place in the Riverside area of Cardiff on Aug. 21, 2025. She died at the scene. Her estranged husband, Thisara Weragalage, from Pentwyn, had been separated from her for several months at the time of the attack. Weragalage initially denied murder but later pleaded guilty at a hearing more..

Feb 21 (DM) The Opposition seems to be not certain of their own stance about the Parliament Pensions (Repeal) Bill that was passed on Tuesday. They criticised the Bill, but did not vote against it. They had left the House when the Bill was put to vote, instead. The JVP from the beginning had been against paying pension for the Parliamentarians and were insisting on the abolition of the Parliamentary Pensions Act since it was adopted in 1977 by the J.R. Jayewardene Govt. more..

Feb 21 (FT) Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) in a statement strongly condemned the illegal commencement of constructing the proposed Jaffna Int'l Cricket Stadium and Sports Complex on Mandaitivu Island by SLC without obtaining the mandatory statutory approvals required under law. Despite SLC’s failure to obtain the requisite approvals, earth-moving machinery is presently in operation on site and construction materials have already been transported there. more..

Feb 21 (ST) Suspects who had smuggled in 144 pigeons from South India into the country and were hiding them in a house in Pungudutivu, Jaffna had set fire to the house along with the pigeons to avoid detection, police said. A few days earlier Kayts police had arrested three people who had brought 44 pigeons to Kurikkatuvan jetty to be transported to Jaffna mainland. Acting on information that an additional 100 pigeons were being held at a residence in Pungudutivu, police prepared to raid the premises. more..

Feb 21 (Island) Former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews believes the islanders have unearthed a gem in Pavan Rathnayake, backing the 23-year-old middle-order batter to scale the game’s highest peaks. Drafted into the World Cup squad at the eleventh hour, Rathnayake has wasted little time in justifying the selectors’ leap of faith. While much of the spotlight has rightly fallen on Pathum Nissanka’s match-winning heroics, the youngster has quietly gone about his business, compiling runs with more..

Feb 21 (FT) Veteran banker and Impact investor Rajendra Theagarajah recently outlined a patient-capital model aimed at rebuilding Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, arguing that sustainable wealth creation—not charity, was key to reversing decades of underdevelopment. Speaking at the inaugural Lanka Impact Investment Summit 2026 (LIIS), organised by the Lanka Impact Investing Network and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment Sri Lanka, Theagarajah said his fund, Cinnamon Global, more..

Feb 21 (ST) Internal documents from the Lakvijaya coal power plant show that samples from three consecutive shipments of South African coal, bought through India’s Trident Chemphar Ltd, failed quality tests. The official data proves that each coal shipment registered Gross Calorific Values (GCV)—which represents the heat released upon combustion—well below levels required to generate optimum electricity from the plant’s three units. While the specification of the procurement agency Lanka Coal Company more..

Feb 21 (FT) SL’s tourism authorities are once again polishing the runway lights at Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport (MRIA), promising that this time, the country’s most debated aviation asset will finally take off — at least on paper. SLTDA Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam laid out what he described as a game plan for Mattala to get scheduled flights. A refreshingly simple idea, given that the airport’s principal problem for years has been the absence of exactly that. more..

Feb 21 (Island) Far beneath the waters surrounding SL lies a largely unseen frontier, a deep seabed that may contain cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements essential to modern technologies, from smartphones to electric vehicles. Around the world, governments and corporations are accelerating efforts to tap these minerals, presenting deep-sea mining as the next chapter of the global blue economy. For an island nation whose ocean territory far exceeds its landmass, the question is no longer abstract. more..

Feb 21 (Island) The JVP-NPP government has appointed another Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to study the electoral system under which the Provincial Council (PC) elections are to be conducted and submit proposals and recommendations to Parliament. It is bound to take a month of Sundays to complete that task. In fact, that is exactly what it is intended to do; the government wants the PC elections delayed further as it is not ready for an electoral contest. more..

Feb 21 (FT) In this day and age, when volumes of Buddha Dharma texts are needed to explain the doctrine and the pathway to attain the ultimate objective of liberation from Samsara or cycle of birth, perhaps, genuine belief and adherence to the Buddhist Brahmavihara practices Metta, Muditha, Karuna and Upekkha, could prepare the mind of a person to achieve the ultimate purpose of the doctrine. In a converse context, one could well question whether not believing and adhering genuinely to these practices more..

Feb 21 (CT) There is an emerging environmental crisis in SL. The open dumping, the bursting streets, and the beaches littered with plastics are not only aesthetically unpleasing, but they are also dangerous to the health of the people. A direct result of poor waste management is diarrheal diseases, hepatitis, scabies, typhoid and a myriad of skin and respiratory infections. Plastic waste, especially single-use bottles made of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), requires up to 450 years to break down more..

Feb 21 (SO) As the crescent moon appears in the evening sky in mid-February, Muslims across the world will welcome Ramadan: a month that asks believers to pause, reflect and reconnect with both faith and humanity. This year, Ramadan is expected to begin on February 18 or 19, depending on the sighting of the new crescent moon, which traditionally determines the start of the Islamic month. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, more..

Feb 21 (DN) Low floor buses are a long standing need for Sri Lanka. During the past several decades Sri Lankan differently able people, elderly, sick and pregnant mothers travelled in ordinary passenger buses with severe difficulties because they could not get on to those buses and they climbed to the buses with the assistance of other passengers. Now after several decades, this burning issue of the ordinary people has been solved by the current NPP Govt. more..

Feb 21 (TM) As SL further embraces the digital economy, the launch of the digital platform Crop Resources, Optimising Operations through Precise Information Exchange System (CROPIX) denotes a significant step in the direction of data-driven agriculture. With the modernisation of SL’s agricultural governance system, the country works to strengthen food security and improve farmers’ services through evidence-based decision-making. However, with the movement of the platform into the real-world, more..

Feb 21 (CT) Sri Lanka’s political landscape this week has been defined less by grand policy pronouncements than by a series of legal and institutional tremors. Taken individually, each development may appear discrete: a summons issued in a high-profile financial investigation; a writ petition challenging a parliamentary suspension; allegations traded before the bribery watchdog; and the resignation of a State enterprise chair citing political pressure. more..

Feb 21 (GV) The theme for this year’s World of Social Justice Day is social protection and decent work for all. At a time when headlines are dominated by economic instability, deepening inequality and protracted conflicts, this day a reminder that justice is not abstract; it is bread on the table, safety in the workplace, equal pay for equal work and the dignity of knowing that illness, disability or displacement will not push a family into destitution. From households struggling with rising costs of living more..

Feb 21 (CT) The current debate over pensions for legislators has captured public attention, and Parliament has already taken steps to address the issue. Yet this moment calls for a perspective broader than narrow political argument. Pensions are not merely a privilege granted to a few—they are a fundamental national responsibility. In any democratic and compassionate nation, pensions represent a social contract. Public funds are generated through the hard work and productivity of more..

Feb 20 (DM) Police have released AI-generated images of a suspect wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a lawyer and his wife in Akuregoda earlier this month, seeking public assistance to track him down. Western Province Southern Crime Division, which is probing the February 13 double murder, said the images were developed using artificial intelligence technology based on available evidence and witness descriptions. According to investigators, the suspect is believed to be more..

Feb 20 (Island) A 22-year-old monk from the Muruthalawa area in Kandy has been arrested by the Central Crimes Investigation Division (CCID) for allegedly defrauding various companies and individuals of nearly Rs. 5 million using the names of government ministers. According to the police, the suspect created fraudulent WhatsApp accounts using photographs of Ministers Kumara Jayakody and Anura Karunathilaka. The suspect used them to collect funds from private organisations under more..