Jan 9 (NW) According to the notice issued by Met Dept today at 4:30 pm, a warning has been issued regarding a deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal for the next 24 hours. The deep depression was located about 150 km east of Batticaloa at 3:30 pm on 9 Jan. The department said it is very likely to move northwestwards and cross SL coast between Trincomalee and Jaffna tomorrow afternoon. The path of the deep depression has changed and it is now moving in a northwesterly direction. more..

Jan 9 (DM) The Economic loss from consumption of alcohol and tobacco in SL amounts to Rs. 241 billion annually which is one-fifth of the total economic loss caused by cyclone Ditwah and 40 percent of the total budget allocated by the govt for healthcare, as per the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC). ADIC says that 19.4% overall (3.2 million adults), 36.2 percent of men, and 4.9% of women currently use tobacco and tobacco smokers spend Rs. 520 million on cigarettes per day more..

Jan 9 (EB) Int'l Living magazine has identified the five most affordable places to live or retire in 2026, which scored the highest in the cost-of-living category of its 2026 Global Retirement Index. It evaluated retirement destinations across climate, healthcare, visa and lifestyle, along with cost. SL ranked top of the list due to affordable local transportation and easy-to-obtain retirement visas. A couple can live extravagantly on $2,200 a mo more..

Jan 9 (AD) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that between 20,000 and 25,000 new houses are expected to be constructed during the reconstruction activities following the damages caused by Cyclone Ditwah. Prez made these remarks today during the inauguration of the project providing Rs. 5 million each to those who lost their homes due to the recent deadly cyclone. The event was held at Galnewa-Handungama in Anuradhapura under the patronage of Prez Dissanayake. more..

Jan 9 (EN) Sri Lanka Expo 2026 with 750 exporters and investor forum is targeting 1,500 foreign participants including buyers, investor and the media, Export Development Board Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe said. Expo Sri Lanka is aiming to showcase exporters, promote SL has as a investment hub, build confidence among global investors to boost SL’s exports to 36 billion dollars by 2030. SL is estimated to have earned US$ 17 billion from goods & services exports, he said. more..

Jan 9 (AD) PM Harini Amarasuriya has stated that the Academic Advisory Board of the National Institute of Education (NIE) has ordered that no web links be included in future modules prepared for the second and third terms under the govt’s education reform program. Delivering a statement in Parliament today, PM further clarified that the websites and other online sources currently referenced in the modules are accessible more..

Jan 9 (AD) SLPP MP D.V. Chanaka has challenged Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody to a public debate on any media platform regarding the allegations of corruption in the coal tender process. MP stated that he is prepared to prove that the coal tender transaction is entirely corrupt and called on the Energy Minister to respond openly to the allegations. Chanaka accused the current government of engaging in corruption and fraud from the early days of its administration. more..

Jan 9 (EN) Central bank lending to banks hit 48 billion rupees on Jan 8, up from 19 billion rupees a day earlier, with market participants saying state banks were in a severe cash crunch. SL’s govt had built a so-called domestic buffer by over borrowing from bonds and depositing in banks, when public debt was under the control of the central bank, apparently in a scheme to control market interest rates. However, analysts have warned that it is not possible to build domestic buffers to keep more..

Jan 9 (NW) The govt has not taken any decision to replace Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) benefits with a pension scheme, Labour Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando said on Thursday. Issuing a media statement yesterday, the Minister dismissed reports suggesting that the govt was preparing to introduce a pension system in place of EPF and ETF contributions, describing such claims as false. He stressed that EPF and ETF funds belong to more..

Jan 9 (NW) A person by the name of Thilini Ranasinghe says she has requested information from the Police under the country’s Right to Information law regarding a visit by officers to an English university linked to an ongoing case involving a former president. Speaking to reporters, Ranasinghe said she visited the SL Police to confirm facts related to reports that officers travelled to England in connection with a case involving the imprisonment of SL’s 8th executive prez. more..

Jan 9 (EN) As Julie Chung, U.S. Ambassador to SL, prepares to depart SL on next week after nearly four years, her tenure stands out as one of the most active and influential in recent diplomatic history. Arriving in Feb 2022, just as SL plunged into its worst economic crisis since independence, Chung navigated a landscape of protests, political upheaval, and recovery efforts. Her approach blended high-level engagements, more..

Jan 9 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered an amendment to a bail condition previously imposed on the former Mayor of the Moratuwa Municipal Council, Saman Lal Fernando, who is appearing in court as a suspect in a corruption case. The case was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama. During the proceedings, the attorney representing the suspect informed the court that his client had been requested to visit the Moratuwa Municipal Council to more..

Jan 9 (DM) A rising number of injuries to the fingertips of dominant hands have been reported among men while attempting to clean their brand-new motorcycles, Colombo National Hospital’s Plastic and Surgery Department has warned. Dr. Ganidu Madhava said most victims are young men aged 20 to 30. He noted a recurring pattern of injuries linked to unsafe chain-cleaning practices. “Motorcycle manufacturers advise cleaning chains after a certain number of kilometers. more..

Jan 9 (Island) SJB MP spokesman Mujibur Rahuman wants the Catholic Church to exert pressure on the NPP govt to have an arrest warrant issued for Pulasthini Mahendran aka Sara Jasmine, wife of Katuwapitiya suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun. He said that the Catholic Church should throw its weight behind the SJB’s call for an open warrant and pressure the govt to ask for Interpol assistance to track down the fugitive. more..

Jan 9 (NW) Opposition MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has slammed the slander campaign against Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Harini Amarasuriya. In a statement on social media, MP Ponnambalam acknowledged that he and his party, the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), have some very serious policy differences with Harini Amarasuriya not only in her capacity as PM and a leading member of her party but also as the education minister. more..

Jan 9 (DM) Contracts have been given to set up seven power plants across the country without calling for tenders, an opposition MP revealed in Parliament yesterday. MP Mujibur Rahman said one contract had been given to two famous SL cricketers while another had been given to a company which was formerly owned by the Minister of Power & Energy Kumara Jayakody. “Where is transparency pledged by the govt?” he questioned. He said the contracts for a 100mw plant in Ottamavdai, more..

Jan 9 (AD) Former Minister Douglas Devananda, who was arrested and remanded, has been granted bail by the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court. After being produced before Gampaha Magistrate Shilani Perera, Devananda was granted bail under two personal bonds of Rs. 2 million each. The court ordered that the guarantors must be two close relatives of the defendant and imposed an overseas travel ban on the former minister. The case is scheduled for further hearing on 27 March. more..

Jan 9 (DM) Police have launched a special investigation following a complaint alleging that a Divisional Secretary currently serving at a Divisional Secretariat in the Ratnapura District had prepared fraudulent documents in connection with her marriage. The complaint was lodged by Ratnapura District Secretary K.G.M. Nishantha, prompting authorities to initiate detailed inquiries into the matter, police said. According to information revealed during preliminary investigations, more..

Jan 9 (FT) India aims to move decisively from announcements to execution in its economic engagement with SL in 2026, with a sharper focus on investments, connectivity, digital collaboration, and concessional financing, while awaiting Colombo’s formal position on upgrading the bilateral trade framework, Indian High Commissioner to SL Santosh Jha said. Addressing a press conference, Jha underscored that SL holds more..

Jan 9 (NW) Director General of the CAASL, Captain Daminda Rabukwella, said that investigators remain at Gregory Lake examining the Cinnamon Air seaplane crash, while recovery efforts are being hampered by difficult underwater conditions. He said the recovery of the seaplane is proving extremely challenging as the front section has sunk into mud at the bottom of the lake. “At the moment, retrieving the seaplane from the water is extremely difficult because front section is embedded in mud,” more..

Jan 9 (DM) Those who killed Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga governed the nation some years ago, Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake told Parliament today. He made this remark when MP Ravi Karunanayake asked why the Parliament Secretariat rejected a question he was to ask on the Wickramatunga killing. "Lasantha's killers and those who pledged to find them governed the nation years ago. They have failed but we will find and penalise all who harassed journalists in the past," more..

Jan 9 (AD) PM Harini Amarasuriya stated that the Govt does not act to protect any individual based on their status, noting that this is clearly evident through the judicial processes currently underway. She made these remarks in Parliament in response to a question raised by SJB MP Ajith P. Perera. PM stated that a system governed by the rule of law and an independent judiciary mentioned under the policy framework more..

Jan 9 (AD) Five suspects including former Minister Johnston Fernando and his two sons, who were arrested by the FCID, have been further remanded until Jan 23 by the Wattala Magistrate’s Court. Former Minister Johnston Fernando, his son Johan Fernando, youngest son Jerome Kenneth Fernando and two others were arrested in connection with the alleged misuse of a Sathosa vehicle during Fernando’s tenure as Minister. Previously, police had warned that an arrest warrant would be more..

Jan 9 (FT) PM and Minister of Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, addressing the public, have been speaking of the need for education reforms. PM, former student of St. Bishop’s College, followed by an Indian Govt scholarship to Uni of Delhi. She also obtained a PhD from the Uni of Edinburgh. She has failed to be specific, but wished to increase the school closing time by half an hour. Currently, schools close at 1.30 pm; closing at 2 pm will delay children’s lunch by half an hour, more..

Jan 9 (FT) In May 2025, at the 8th Meeting of the EU Working Group on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Govt confirmed the commitment to repeal the PTA and briefed the Working Group on the timeline to replace it with new counter-terrorism legislation in compliance with international norms and standards. The recommendations of this group carry weight when the EU decides whether to allow SL continued access to the European market through GSP+ trade preferences. more..

Jan 9 (NW) A Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) member elected from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is facing the risk of losing her council seat after the party terminated her membership for voting in favour of the municipal budget alongside the NPP. In a letter dated Jan 9, the SLMC informed CMC councillor Zohara Buhary that her party membership had been terminated with immediate effect for what it described as a gross violation of party discipline. more..

Jan 9 (EN) A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal could intensify and will move towards Trincomalee, Met Dept said a 530 am weather forcast, while a land area forecast warned of the possibility of the system intensifying into a cyclone. “The deep depression in the Bay of Bengal to the southeast of Sri Lanka (At 4:00 a.m. on Jan 9th, 2026 located about 200 km South east of Batticaloa) is very likely to intensify further and more..

Jan 9 (DM) Authorities have urged the public to take action as a developing weather system in the Bay of Bengal is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to several parts of the country. The deep depression, located about 200 kilometres southeast of Batticaloa as at 4.00 a.m. on Jan 9, is forecast to intensify further and move northwestwards towards the SL coast between Pottuvil and Trincomalee by this evening. Meteorological forecasts indicate that the system is likely to strengthen more..

Jan 9 (AD) The US has announced it will provide ten TH-57 (Bell 206 Sea Ranger) helicopters to the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) at no cost for the equipment itself with delivery expected early this year. In a post on X, the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to SL Julie Chung stated that these helicopters will be transferred under the Excess Defense Articles Program (EDA). Manufactured in Texas and known for their reliability, the helicopters are expected to arrive in SL in early 2026 more..

Jan 9 (NW) PM Harini Amarasuriya said Thursday that the govt is formulating a national policy to ensure child protection in the use of technology, amid controversy surrounding a Grade 6 English language textbook. Speaking in Kandy, the prime minister briefed the chief Buddhist prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiriya chapters on an error identified in the first print run of the Grade 6 English module. more..

Jan 9 (AD) A total of 500 tablet devices have been issued to traffic police officers in the Western Province, enabling efficient access to the enhanced SL Police Road Accident Data Management System and facilitating the verification of the new digital insurance e-card (e-card). The annual plastic insurance card currently issued by insurance companies to vehicle owners will be phased out in the near future, SL Police have announced, Accordingly, steps have been taken to more..

Jan 9 (AD) A discussion has been held focusing on several key proposals, including the establishment of a technology research and development institution in SL aimed at strengthening int'l academic collaboration and innovation-driven research. The discussion was held at the Parliamentary Complex between representatives of the Uni of Oulu in Finland, and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, together with PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne. more..