Feb 14 (CT) Data provided by the Ministry of Energy revealed that while the fines imposed on the coal supplier, Trident Camphor, for shipment 1 exceeded the projected losses, the fines imposed on shipments 2, 3, and 4 can scarcely cover the projected losses, which run to a massive Rs 2.2 billion. The total fines for these three ships amount to only a meagre Rs 392 million. Speaking at Sectoral Oversight Committee meeting more..

Feb 14 (CT) Regional Director for Asia and Pacific of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Tao Ma, is in Sri Lanka on an official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, enhancing cooperation between the ICAO Asia-Pacific Regional Office and SL, and supporting preparations for the upcoming ICAO audit. Tao Ma, speaking at an event held at the Civil Aviation Authority of SL (CAASL) on Friday (13), commended Sri Lanka’s aviation sector for its strong performance more..

Feb 14 (AD) The Attorney General informed the Supreme Court that all measures have been taken to recover arrears of excise duty from alcohol manufacturing companies that have defaulted on payments. Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle, appearing for the Attorney General, made this announcement during a Fundamental Rights petition filed by social activist Sanjaya Mahawatte, seeking an order to recover excise duty arrears from defaulting alcohol manufacturers. more..

Feb 14 (AJ) For Indian cricket fans travelling to Sri Lanka this weekend, the opportunity to watch their team take on archrivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup has come at the cost of inflated airfares, soaring hotel prices and a long wait for matchday tickets. But these are mere sacrifices that thousands are willing to make to witness the most heated rivalry in the sport as it unfolds on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. more..

Feb 14 (DN) Sri Lanka Women, led by experienced campaigner Anushka Sanjeevani, will take on Bangladesh Women in their opening match of the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars T20 Tournament today at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Bangkok, Thailand. Asian Cricket Council’s ‘Asia Cup Rising Stars’ Women’s Twenty20 Tournament for emerging players began yesterday in Bangkok, with Pakistan defeating Nepal in the opening fixture. The eight participating teams are divided into 2 groups. more..

Feb 14 (NW) The Department of National Zoological Gardens marked the 51st anniversary of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, highlighting its role in Asian elephant conservation and announcing the launch of a new welfare-focused facility. Established in 1975 by the Dept of Wildlife Conservation, the orphanage began with five rescued calves—Kumari, Nila, Kadira, Vijaya, and Mathali—and has since grown into one of the country’s most prominent conservation institutions. more..

Feb 14 (FT) Delivering Prof. A.D.V. de S. Indraratna Memorial Oration at the Annual Sessions of the SL Economic Association (SLEA), Senior Professor of Economics and SLEA Vice President Prof. O.G. Dayaratna-Banda offered a blunt assessment of Sri Lanka’s economic predicament, arguing that the country remains trapped by ideology, institutional inertia, and an unwillingness to change, despite repeated crises. “We are very good at advising and telling others what to do,” he said. more..

Feb 14 (FT) The ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has triggered a spike in daily tourist arrivals with numbers tipped to rise further in view of tomorrow’s blockbuster contest between arch rivals India and Pakistan in Colombo. The latest statistics by SLTDA for the first 12 days of the month shows there were 124,460 visitors, up 19% year-on-year (YoY). This has also pushed year-to-date (YTD) arrivals to 401,787, up 12.5% compared to the corresponding period last year. more..

Feb 14 (CT) Cabinet decision was taken in June 2025 to merge all 18 economic centres in SL and transfer 100% of their shares to a State-owned company, Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said. Minister added that steps had been taken on several occasions to inform the management of the economic centres and the relevant trade associations about this decision. He further stated that there was no decision to transfer more..

Feb 14 (NW) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake is scheduled to attend the India–AI Impact Summit 2026, which will be held in New Delhi from 16 to 20 Feb. According to a press release issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the summit is being hosted by the Government of India and will bring together global leaders, policymakers, innovators and experts to deliberate on the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The event is anchored on three key themes — People, Planet and Progress — more..

Feb 14 (EN) A team of women-led businesses are showcasing the island nation’s export offerings, from Ceylon cinnamon and tea to coconut-based products, and hot sauces made from scotch bonnet chilli peppers, across London, Manchester, and Yorkshire. Supported by the UK–SL trade mission and the SheTrades SL Hub, the businesswomen are now strengthening their engagement directly with the UK market through the trade initiative focused on advancing tangible business linkages, more..

Feb 14 (DM) Fine Food Australia 2026 will see its first SL Pavilion from Aug 31 to Sept 3, at Australia’s Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Pavilion is organised by the EDB along with the High Commission in Canberra and Consulate General in Melbourne. Fine Food Australia is Australia’s biggest trade show for food service, hospitality and retail industries. For more than 40 years, exhibition has attracted focused visitors and buyers from across Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region. more..

Feb 14 (DM) The global port optimisation experts are cautioning the SL terminal operators against prioritising massive infrastructure investments without first addressing the underlying operational inefficiencies, warning that capacity expansion is not the immediate answer for growth. The experts, speaking at the TT & TE 2026 conference in Colombo yesterday, argued that the incremental investment dollars required for infrastructure expansion would not yield optimal returns, more..

Feb 14 (Island) PM Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion. more..

Feb 14 (ST) Residents living along the Hamilton Canal and fishermen from the Negombo Lagoon say large-scale pollution is destroying fish breeding grounds, worsening floods, and turning a once-lifeline waterway into a serious public health hazard. “I have been fishing in these waters since I was a teenager, but something we see worryingly often now is that large batches of fish die at least three times a year,” said Ranjith Fernando, 61, chairman of the local fishermen’s association. more..

Feb 14 (FT) Officials of the Digital Economy Ministry outlined plans to provide every citizen with high-speed broadband connectivity by 2029, highlighting a significant infrastructure gap that must be addressed over the next four years. The timeline was presented at a meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Science, Technology and Digital Transformation held in Parliament under the chairmanship of MP Dr. Janaka Senarathne to review the 2026 Budget allocations for more..

Feb 14 (ST) With nearly 400,000 official vehicle licence plates well overdue, Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) is preparing to resume issuance following Cabinet approval to award the task to a private firm, Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, Kamal Amarasinghe said. South Asian Technologies (Pvt) Ltd has been selected to produce and issue licence plates, paving the way to clear a vast backlog that has frustrated vehicle more..

Feb 14 (FT) The ASPI ended up 0.24% or 57.33 points at 23,709.84 and the S&P SL20 was up 0.29% or 19.21 points at 6,618.73. Turnover was over Rs. 8.5 billion on nearly 191.4 million shares traded. Foreign investors were net sellers on a net outflow of Rs. 986.2 million. During the week, the ASPI fell 92.12 points, or 0.39% while the S&P SL20 gained 4.01 points or 0.06%. The net Foriegn outflow was Rs. 2.9 billion, compared to an outflow of Rs. 5 billion the previous week. more..

Feb 14 (FT) Hayleys Group said it has delivered a robust performance amidst persistent global volatilities and environmental disruptions during the first nine months of the financial year ending 31 March 2026, achieving a 16% y-o-y increase in Consolidated Revenue to Rs. 421.40 billion. Consolidated Profit After Tax amounted to Rs. 14.02 billion for the 9-month period, underpinned by the sustained performance of the Group’s domestic businesses and complemented by more..

Feb 14 (FT) The ninth edition of the Boat & Marine Show organised collectively by the Chamber of Marine Industries of SL (CMISL), SL Export Development Board (EDB), Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry was held successfully from 30 Jan–1 Feb 2026 at Port City, Colombo which showcased the country’s capabilities in marine tourism, recreational boating, yachting and boat building which are mainly focused on exports. EDB, in collaboration with the industry more..

Feb 14 (FT) Export Development Board (EDB) had a high-level meeting with Honorary Consul of SL to Hong Kong Hung Chiu Wah Derek during his recent visit to SL. The meeting was chaired by the EDB CEO Mangala Wijesinghe and attended by Directors, highlighting the strategic importance of Hong Kong as a key export destination and gateway to East Asian and global markets. Discussions centred on expanding trade collaboration, strengthening buyer-seller linkages, more..

Feb 14 (FT) Central Bank of SL (CBSL) yesterday released its bi-annual Monetary Policy Report – Feb 2026, setting out updated baseline projections for inflation and economic growth following the Jan 2026 monetary policy round. According to the report, headline inflation will continue to accelerate and move towards the target of 5% in second half of the year, supported by gradually strengthening demand conditions. more..

Feb 14 (FT) SL was rudely awakened by Cyclone Ditwah in Nov 2025. Ditwah brought intense rainfall and destructive winds and widespread flooding and landslides inundating more than 1.1 million hectares of the country’s land area. Over 576,626 families and 2,054,535 individuals were affected, with 627 deaths. More than 4,517 houses were destroyed. Over 16000 kms of roads were flooded including 278 kms of railway tracks. More than 50% of people in these affected areas were already poor with more..

Feb 14 (DN) Thambithurai Muthukumarasamy, a SL student activist turned human rights lawyer, who,later in life, shone as a top functionary of Amnesty International in the US, died on Jan 19 at Washington DC, mourned by rights workers across the world. He was 76. As a member of the Tamil Student Movement, Muthukumarasamy part of the radicalised youth milieu which responded to systematic discrimination and State violence by seeking new political pathways beyond more..

Feb 14 (ISland) A nine-day protest by beach seine fishers against a ban on the use of tractor-mounted winches to haul their nets was called off yesterday following a discussion with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The protesting fisherfolk had been demanding a meeting with the President, but in vain. Why did the President wait for nine days to invite them to a discussion? He could have stepped in to have the fishers’ protest called off on the first day of agitation itself. more..

Feb 14 (CT) Seven years after the carnage of Easter Sunday shattered lives and shook the nation’s conscience, SL still waits for judicial closure. Govt’s renewed focus on expediting the long-delayed trial into the 2019 terror attacks signals a recognition, belated though it may be, that justice deferred risks becoming justice denied. It is understood that the authorities have moved to ensure that the Special High Court established to hear the case is provided with the necessary facilities to more..

Feb 14 (TM) For much of the past two years, Sri Lanka’s property market has been spoken about in extremes. On one end are headlines declaring Colombo the most unaffordable city in the world to buy a home. On the other are confident assertions that real estate has emerged as one of the economy’s clearest post-crisis recovery stories. Both are true, and the uncomfortable reality is that they are true at the same time. more..

Feb 14 (GV) Foreign Minister recently stated that the country should seek compensation from former imperial powers for the economic destruction caused by colonialism while also expressing intentions to reclaim Sri Lankan artifacts currently held in British museums. While the question of cultural restitution deserves serious and nuanced discussion, the broader claim of colonial-era economic destruction requires closer scrutiny. At first glance, this argument appears persuasive. more..

Feb 14 (DM) Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, is an aphorism. It warns that holding high authority, especially without checks and balances, leads to immoral behaviour. Today, our NPP led govt, which was voted into power with a two-thirds majority, is in this position. Having promised to abolish all oppressive legislation, the people now find govt enacting legislation to protect itself from the people! NPP govt having failed to live up to its pre-election promises, more..

Feb 14 (CT) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has placed the rule of law at the very centre of his administration’s political and moral agenda, declaring that no country in which the rule of law has collapsed has ever achieved genuine or sustainable development. Addressing the Central Province leg of the national anti-drug campaign, A Nation United, in Nuwara Eliya, he warned that where law and order disintegrate, criminal elements inevitably rise more..

Feb 14 (DM) After ten years of negative performance, Sri Lanka has risen from 121stplace to 107th place on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025. It is a 14-place climb, as the places are decided from minimum corrupt country to maximum corrupt country. The country has earned 3 points more than its previous year’s score, indicating the highest jump in the survey in its history. Yet, it remains below the global average score which stands at 42. more..

Feb 14 (DM) Rule of Law is considered as a concept consisting of predominant principles required to be followed in the process of making and implementation of laws in democratic states. It is a changing concept as interpreted by some experts in constitutional law and political science through the passage of time on the evaluation of values attributed to law. The main characteristic of Rule of Law as defined by Dicey in his work Law Of The Constitution, Wade and Phillips in their work more..