Oct 15 (AD) The Nidahase Pada Yathra (Freedom March)—initiated under the leadership of the Maha Sangha to demand the release of the incarcerated Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero and to advocate for the religious rights of Buddhist monks—has now reached the vicinity of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. The procession began from Kadawatha today, the sixth day of the foot march, and more..

Oct 15 (NW) Construction of the Kurunegala-Galewela section of the Central Expressway is expected to begin before the end of 2026, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena said. The project forms the first phase of Section 4 of the Central Expressway (CEP 4), which will eventually extend from Kurunegala to Dambulla. A special meeting chaired by the deputy minister was held on Oct 15 to discuss land acquisition procedures that must be completed more..

Oct 15 (FT) Sri Lankans have heard these promises many times: corruption will be defeated, those responsible will be brought before the courts, and money taken from the public will be recovered and many more. It is these promise that resonates strongly, particularly in the minds of the ordinary people. After all, when public money is lost, it is ultimately the public that carries the burden through higher taxes, higher prices, reduced services and increased Govt debt. more..

Oct 15 (AD) Discussions on further strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and China and expanding cooperation in support of SL’s economic development have been held at the Ministry of Finance. The meeting was held yesterday between Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to SL, Wei Huaxiang and Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, the Ministry of Finance, Planning & Economic Development said more..

Oct 15 (FT) Sri Lanka's tourism industry has much to celebrate. In 2025, the country welcomed a record 2.36 million international visitors, surpassing pre-pandemic arrival levels and reinforcing confidence that tourism has recovered from the combined shocks of the Easter Sunday attacks, COVID-19, and the economic crisis. Yet beneath this success story lies a troubling reality. While SL is attracting more visitors than ever before, the value generated from those visitors is declining. more..

Oct 15 (FT) CoPF is seeking the AG’s opinion on whether Colombo Port City apartments can lawfully be sold on a freehold basis when the underlying land is held on 99-year leases. The committee is also pressing for tighter controls over how developers raise presale proceeds and fund construction. Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) Chairman Harsha Amarasekera, told the committee that more..

Oct 15 (NW) The Fort Magistrate’s Court has ordered authorities to take necessary steps to obtain an INTERPOL Red Notice against former Minister Basil Rajapaksa in connection with the alleged misuse of funds belonging to the SL Tourism Promotion Bureau. Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena issued the order today (14), directing that a warrant be issued in both Sinhala and English to facilitate the process of obtaining a Red Notice through INTERPOL. more..

Oct 15 (DM) The dengue vaccine promised by the Ministry of Health has yet to be introduced in Sri Lanka, with Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa questioning the delay in obtaining approval from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) for its importation. Dr. Sanjeewa, President of the Doctors' Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights, said the Ministry of Health had announced plans to introduce a dengue vaccine to protect the public during recent major dengue outbreak. more..

Oct 15 (TM) COPF has questioned why the Director of Commercial Operations of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC), Radika Obeyesekere, also holds the position of Director of Legal Affairs, with the Commission defending its decision not to appoint a dedicated director for legal affairs. The issue was raised by COPF Chairperson Dr Harsha de Silva during a meeting with the CPCEC on 8 Oct, more..

Oct 15 (NW) SL Police have rejected claims that a man was attacked for supporting a protest march from Kandy to Colombo demanding the release of imprisoned Buddhist monk Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera. In a statement, police said the incident occurred on Oct 14 in the Weeragula police area and was the result of a traffic-related dispute rather than an attack connected to the protest march. The clarification follows a video circulating on social media in which Ven. Thiththagalle more..

Oct 15 (FT) Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) has issued 14,300 visas thus far for foreign employees of Port City businesses but cannot vouch for all of them, CoPF was told this week. Members questioned whether the regime is being adequately policed amid regional concerns over scam networks and money laundering. The CPCEC monitors visa holders through monthly reports from businesses and random periodic visits by its officials, Commission Chairman more..

Oct 15 (DM) Ministry of Education has published the lists of graduates who have qualified for the first phase of interviews for recruitment to 23,006 vacancies in the SL Teachers’ Service. The recruitment is for Grade 3-I (a) of the SL Teachers’ Service to fill Sinhala, Tamil and English medium teacher vacancies in national and provincial schools. Applications were invited from graduates in both the public and non-public sectors. The lists were published on the Ministry’s official website more..

Oct 15 (EN) Sri Lanka is considering a tourism industry request to provide incentives in dollars or cash to those who bring more tourists into the country from next year, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told an investor forum this week. Speaking at the SL Economic and Investor Summit 2026 on Monday, President said the tourism industry has submitted a proposal to raise incentives over the previous year for those who bring in tourists above the target set by the govt. more..

Oct 15 (DN) North Central Province canal will be constructed to extend the benefits of the 1960 Mahaweli Development Master Planto the North Central Province, and deliver Mahaweli water to the Northern province. With financial support from the ADB, the NCP canal construction is implemented under the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme (MWSIP) which was launched in 2015. North Central Province Canal Project is more..

Oct 15 (NW) Sri Lankan racing driver Yevan David has signed with Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) for the 2027 FIA Formula 3 Championship, securing his place on the grid for a second consecutive season. The 19-year-old will join the Dutch racing team following a promising rookie campaign in 2026, during which he finished 18th in the Drivers’ Championship with 35 points. His debut season was highlighted by a second-place finish in the Sprint Race at Silverstone. more..

Oct 15 (FT) Govt is placing exports at the centre of its growth strategy, backing a new national export plan with a commitment to policy consistency, wider trade agreements and new incentives, the Export Development Board (EDB) said, as it urged foreign investors to help SL move into higher-value global supply chains. Speaking at the investment panel of the SLEIS 2026, EDB CEO Mangala Wijesinghe said the Govt saw exports as essential to sustaining development and creating employment. more..

Oct 15 (NF) A Chinese national identified as Shen Richard, who was arrested in Sri Lanka, has been identified as a suspect linked to child abuse, rape and cybercrime offences, according to investigators. Authorities said the Chinese govt had issued warrants against the suspect on two occasions, with the first warrant dating back to 2017. Investigations conducted so far have revealed that the suspect arrived in SL in 2024 and had been employed at an office located in Nugegoda. more..

Oct 15 (TM) Education Ministry said that there was no need for an island-wide preparedness programme for schools to deal with the effects of El Niño at this stage, as the expected impact was likely to be concentrated in three Districts, with measures being planned for schools in those areas. Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa said the information available to the Ministry indicated that El Niño would not affect the entire country in the same way, and that preparations would focus on more..

Oct 15 (ST) Professional organisations are calling for changes to the existing tax system ahead of Budget 2027, proposing revisions to income tax rates and measures to ease the burden on salaried professionals. One such organisation, Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), has proposed changes to the existing income tax structure, including amendments to Advance Personal Income Tax system, in its proposals for Budget 2027. more..

Oct 15 (FT) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has outlined a February 2027 deadline for presenting key legislation covering State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), public-private partnerships (PPPs), labour reforms and Customs modernisation to Parliament, as the Govt seeks to address structural barriers to investment and fiscal sustainability. Dissanayake said work on the proposed laws was at different stages of completion, with the SOE legislation expected to reach Cabinet within two weeks. more..

Oct 15 (FT) Colombo High Court Judge Buddhika C. Ragala has enlarged on bail Jiffry Mohamed accused in a money laundering case having considered the submissions made on behalf of the accused and the submissions of the Counsel for the State. The accused was released on cash bail on 8 October in a sum of Rs 25,000 with two sureties in a sum of Rs. 1 million each. Counsel for the accused Priyantha Nawana PC appearing with Shafi Hussain, Dinali Siva instructed by Asanka Perera more..

Oct 15 (Island) SL were once pioneers in limited overs cricket, setting the bar so high that the rest of the world was left scrambling to catch up. And mind you, this was not confined to the 50 over format, where SL tore up the coaching manuals, embraced an unconventional brand of cricket and took the world by storm. Even in T20 cricket, despite not possessing an abundance of power hitters, SL punched well above their weight. Clever improvisation, fearless innovation and more..

Oct 15 (TM) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) has called on the Govt and key State institutions to address a range of human rights concerns in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, including enforced disappearances, mass graves, military occupation of land, religious freedom and alleged intimidation of activists and communities. In a report on the human rights situation in the two provinces, Commission has made recommendations to more..

Oct 15 (DN) SL Women’s Under-19 team, led by Chamudi Praboda, continued their winning run with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their T20 Int'l Tournament fixture at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad yesterday. It was Sri Lanka’s fifth consecutive victory after their opening defeat to Pakistan, and both teams had already secured places in tomorrow’s final (16) at the same venue. The latest encounter offered Sri Lanka a useful opportunity to fine-tune their preparations, more..

Oct 15 (FT) Dilmah yesterday confirmed a double recognition ahead of SIAL Paris 2026 (17–21 Oct 2026, Paris Nord Villepinte). Three Dilmah innovations have been named to the SIAL Innovation Paris 2026 Selection, and Dilmah has separately been confirmed as one of just five global finalists in the Large Companies category of SIAL For Change, a new 2026 competition recognising sustainability and social responsibility across the agri-food industry. The three innovations named to more..

Oct 15 (FT) Financial conglomerate JXG (Janashakthi Group) has been ranked 44th in LMD’s Most Respected Entities in SL 2026, marking the Group’s first appearance in the prestigious listing. The recognition places JXG among SL’s most respected companies and marks an important milestone in the Group’s master-brand journey. As the holding company, JXG was also recognised across key attributes including Aspirational Workplace, Business Expansion, more..

Oct 15 (FT) US Ambassador Eric Meyer yesterday identified policy and regulatory unpredictability as the single greatest deterrent to foreign investment in SL, urging the country to strengthen transparency, intellectual property (IP) protection and fair competition to unlock greater bilateral business opportunities. Addressing 10th AGM of the SL–USA Business Council (SLUSABC) Meyer said sudden policy shifts, project reversals made it difficult more..

Oct 15 (Island) Shamindra Ferdinando, in The Island, 23 Sept, in an article entitled Thileepan’s fast unto death: An authentic narrative that many missed has provided an excellent review of the recent political event associated with the attempt to commemorate Thileepan and install a bronze bust of the LTTE militant. Here I argue that Thileepan was sacrificed by Prabhakaran in 1987 to the war God Murugan. While Shamindra Ferdinando has succinctly analysed the political backdrop more..

Oct 15 (ST) It is not just the case of Venerable Galabodaaththe Gnanasara Thera returning to jail after a presidential pardon granted to him by Prez Maithripala Sirisena seven years ago was held by the Supreme Court as invalid last month that has deeply disturbed the Buddhist Sasanaya’s composure. What has stirred a hornet’s nest inside the Buddhist Sassuna’s kutiya and provoked the collective ire of its incumbent monks is the arbitrary decision taken by the Prison Commissioner more..

Oct 15 (TM) When we say that we own something, most of us hardly ever stop to think about what the ownership of something that we mention means to someone. A person may own a piece of land, house, shares in a company, or a quantity of gold. A business may own a trademark, while a musician may hold rights to receive royalties from a song. These are different forms of ownership, they all share something fundamental that is a recognised relationship between a person or an org more..

Oct 15 (CT) The prevailing situation in our country calls for serious reflection and a responsible response from organised movements, particularly trade unions, professional associations and independent civil society organisations. The direction in which our laws are evolving, the exercise of governmental powers and the implications of administrative directives deserve close public scrutiny whenever they may affect democratic freedoms, social justice and the rights of more..