Dec 23 (FT) SL faces an economic setback from Cyclone Ditwah that could wipe out between 2.5% and 5% of GDP, widen the balance of payments (BOP) gap by about $ 700 million over the next year, and push inflation higher and over CB's 5% limit in 2026. This is according to an IMF staff assessment released last week which noted that the cyclone’s impact is expected to be significant, though subject to a high degree of more..

Dec 23 (ST) Finance Ministry has approved the payment of performance-based bonuses to staff of commercial corporations, statutory boards and govt owned companies for 2025. Treasury secretary has issued the relevant circular laying out the proposed bonus payment scheme. For employees of institutions which earned profits during the 2024 financial year and paid at least 30% of the profit after tax to the Consolidated Fund as a dividend or levy will be paid Rs. 30,000 as bonus. more..

Dec 23 (SO) The country is beginning to scale down emergency shelter operations and move towards recovery following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, with the number of safety centres expected to be reduced to around 200 in the coming weeks, Deputy Minister Namal Sudarshana said. Efforts are under way to reunite displaced children with relatives and families where conditions permit, while arrangements will remain in place for those still unable to return home. more..

Dec 23 (Island) A prominent feature of the first year of the NPP govt is that it has not engaged in the institutional reforms which was expected of it. This observation comes in the context of the extraordinary mandate with which the government was elected and the high expectations that accompanied its rise to power. When in opposition and in its election manifesto, the JVP and NPP took a prominent role in advocating good governance systems for the country. more..

Dec 23 (FT) Jetwing Hotels is joining TiECON Colombo 2026 as the Official Travel and Hospitality Partner. Event is powered by TiE Colombo, part of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE); a worldwide network with 60 chapters across 16 countries, bringing together a rich mix of entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, policy makers and educators, visionaries and innovators, global leaders, private equity and venture capital leaders, and global brand builders. It will be held on 9 Jan 2026 in Colombo. more..

Dec 23 (ST) Hospitals are still struggling to cope with the destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah, three weeks into the recovery effort, while facing endless challenges. District General Hospital Chilaw, Base Hospital Mahiyanganaya, Divisional Hospital Wattegama, and Spring Valley Divisional Hospital Badulla were among the worst affected hospitals by floods and landslides between Nov 27 and Dec 2. more..

Dec 23 (DN) All seeded players have qualified to play men’s and women’s singles quarter finals in the 73rd National Badminton championships which is now in progress at S. Thomas Gymnasium Mt Lavinia. The 8-day tournament is conducted by SL Badminton with over 1500 shuttlers including junior age groups from Under 11 to 19. Masters events will also be conducted in this tournament. Open events will see most of the higher ranking shuttlers battle for singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles. more..

Dec 23 (ST) At first blush, draft law to replace SL’s odious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) presented by the NPP Govt released by Minister of Justice last week reflects the broad conceptual brushstrokes of highly problematic public security drafts proposed by the Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt (2018, 2023), albeit with some noticeable differences. Worrying question is whether those differences will be enough to blunt the overall adverse impact of the draft law if it is operationalised as is? more..

Dec 23 (Island) What’s this world coming to when the police cringe and cower before politicians? The JVP has a history of attacking the police. It even murdered the family members of the police personnel who dared defy its illegal orders during its reign of terror in the late 1980s. Old habits are said to die hard. A policeman attached to the Suriyakanda police station has complained that a gang led by a NPP MP assaulted him following a raid on a cannabis cultivation in Bulutota in more..

Dec 23 (TM) Following the extremist terror attack in Bondi Beach, Australia, international news has once again shone a light on a dormant issue which plagues many democracies: violent extremism. The attack took the lives of 15 individuals of the Australian Jewish community, including a child. Public outcry after the attack in Australia sounds eerily like what was echoed following the 2019 Easter Sunday Bombings across SL. Questions remain unanswered about how the accused more..

Dec 23 (TM) Gelioya is washing off the sediments that have stubbornly latched onto the roads, walls, homes, and almost everything that was touched by the floods and mud that ravaged the area. Although the monsoon rains are now falling more gently, they are not making it any easier for those who must continue cleaning layer after layer of debris and mud, discarding unusable items and salvaging what little is left. more..

Dec 23 (GV) Repressive government actions that restrict citizen behaviour undermine political legitimacy and fuel anti-govt sentiment as history has repeatedly demonstrated, Soviet Union being a case in point. Rather than quelling dissent, repression often invigorates social movements and political participation. For democracy to succeed and sustainable governance to take root, governments must involve citizens in reforms, foster consensus through public engagement and prioritise more..

Dec 23 (CT) It was reported yesterday that the NBRO had announced that it had completed landslide risk assessments at more than 720 schools in the Central Province, following a sharp rise in inspection requests after recent heavy rainfall. In fact, the statement appeared, at first glance, to reflect institutional alertness in the face of adverse weather. However, this development, like many similar responses before it, also serves as a reminder of how disaster preparedness in SL more..

Dec 23 (CT) Christmas smiles its widest in the cool of December. As it approaches every doorstep with that familiar grin, the entire country, indeed the world, begins to prepare in a cheerful rush. There is an old saying that still rings true across generations, that Christmas is truly Christmas only in Little Rome. In Negombo, that saying fits like a glove. Christmas arrived in Negombo during the Portuguese colonial period. more..

Dec 23 (DM) SL’s worst flood disaster in a decade has exposed an uncomfortable truth that transcends any single administration: the catastrophic impact of Cyclone Ditwah reveals not merely the current govt’s inability to protect its people, but the bankruptcy of an entire political class that has systematically failed the nation through decades of mismanagement and negligence. The scale of devastation is staggering. More than 2.4 million people across 22 districts have been affected, more..

Dec 23 (DM) The fourth name submitted by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake for the post of Auditor General in permanent or acting capacity has also been rejected by the Constitutional Council last week. The nominee, O.R. Rajasinghe, a member of the Audit Division of the Army was proposed by PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya had the backing of only four members in the ten-member CC -- namely, Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake and MPs M. Athambawa & S. Shritharan apart from PM. more..

Dec 22 (NW) Sri Lanka’s railway network has partially resumed operations following the impact of Cyclonic Storm Ditwah, with nearly 70% of passenger rail lines now back in service. According to figures released by the Office of the Commissioner General of Essential Services, passenger train services were operating on 1,098 kilometres of railway lines as of Dec 22, representing 69% of the country’s total rail network. SL’s overall railway length stands at 1,593 km. more..

Dec 22 (AD) The overall rate of inflation, as measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), has decreased to 2.4% in Nov 2025, compared to 2.7% in Oct 2025. Meanwhile, food inflation has decreased to 3.6% in November compared to 4.1% in October while the Year-on-Year inflation of the non-food group remained unchanged at 1.5%. On a Year-on-Year, the contribution of food commodities to inflation was 1.57% in November, 2025 compared to November, 2024. more..

Dec 22 (FT) Verité Research Executive Director Dr. Nishan de Mel yesterday reiterated his warning that accepting the IMF proposed $ 206 million Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to address post-Ditwah recovery could impose a high effective cost on Sri Lanka. “The IMF has sent a positive signal by approving an RFI for SL, and it provides options. But the decision to accept it should be taken with full awareness of the costs more..

Dec 22 (GT) Qatar Charity (QC) has launched an emergency relief project for SL provinces hit by Cyclone Ditwah. Funded by Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and supported by the Qatari embassy in Colombo, the project comes after severe flooding and landslides left widespread destruction across the provinces. The event was attended by the charge d' affaires, Ali Salem al-Nuaimi, and Director of Qatar Charity's office in SL Mahmoud Abu Khalifa, alongside several govt & community more..

Dec 22 (DM) Amid the ongoing probe into the withdrawn batches of the Ondansetron and request of the relevant Indian company to send samples for global testing, fresh concerns have been raised over Sri Lanka’s continued absence of a WHO-accredited laboratory for drug testing. Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) said steps are now underway to upgrade existing laboratory facilities to meet WHO accreditation standards. more..

Dec 22 (Island) Serious questions have been raised over SL’s drug regulatory system following revelations that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority’s (NMRA) quality control laboratory is not accredited by the SL Accreditation Board (SLAB), casting doubt on both the reliability of local test results and the adequacy of oversight of imported medicines. Medical and civil rights groups warn that the issue points to more..

Dec 22 (DM) With the approach of the festive season, nearly 2,300 Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) and Administrative Public Health Inspectors have launched islandwide raids and inspections to ensure the availability of safe and quality food for consumers. Health authorities said the special inspections are being carried out in view of recent heavy rainfall, which increases the risk of food contamination and spoilage. Legal action will be taken against traders who sell food items more..

Dec 22 (NW) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has fully endorsed the appeal by international economists urging substantial debt relief for Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah. “I hope Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his administration have the courage, wisdom, and capability to achieve these objectives,” Premadasa said. His remarks come after a group of 120 leading global economists, including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, inequality expert Thomas Piketty, and more..

Dec 22 (Island) Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith accused the govt of pursuing education reforms undermining parental rights and SL’s cultural and religious values. Speaking at a ceremony, Cardinal said several programmes, currently being implemented, were weakening key socio-cultural institutions such as marriage and family. He took exception to the government’s decision to introduce sex education to the school curriculum. more..

Dec 22 (NW) Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Australia Yasoja Gunasekera handed over the Commission of Appointment to Chirantha Weerawardena, the new Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Perth with consular jurisdiction covering Western Australia, on 19 Dec at the SL High Commission in Canberra. Weerawardena is a mining engineer with thirty-three years of operational and technical experience in the mining industry and a strong network in that industry. more..

Dec 22 (AD) The police constable involved in the assault incident with Ratnapura District NPP MP Shantha Pathma Kumara has been arrested, police stated. He was apprehended by officers attached to the Embilipitiya Investigation Bureau on several charges, including criminal intimidation. The arrested police constable is scheduled to be produced before court this afternoon. Police earlier stated that a blood sample obtained from more..

Dec 22 (EN) Foreign agencies have committed US$ 350 million to Sri Lanka for cyclone recovery work and more is expected, Deputy Treasury Secretary A K Seneviratne said as efforts are made to get the country back to normal. “There is a foreign exchange issue. There are commitment of US$ 350 million now, above the original 2025 budget, by donor agencies,” Seneviratne told the parliament’s CoPF shortly before a 500 billion rupee supplementary estimate was approved. more..

Dec 22 (Island) A meeting between PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and a delegation of UNICEF representatives was held on Saturday, at the PM’s Office. During the meeting, PM explained the measures taken by the Govt to ensure the protection of the affected student community and to restore the damaged school system, as well as the challenges encountered in this process. PM stated that reopening schools located in landslide-prone areas would be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, more..

Dec 22 (DM) Trump administration has begun recalling nearly 30 career diplomats serving as ambassadors and senior embassy officials worldwide, including US Ambassador to SL, as part of a broader reshaping of US diplomatic representation to align with Prez Donald Trump’s America First agenda. State Dept officials said chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January. more..

Dec 22 (NW) SL team that participated in the 7th Roll Ball World Cup held in Dubai has alleged that due to the misconduct of their association’s officials, they had to face numerous difficulties during the World Cup tournament. Upon their arrival in SL recently, women’s and men’s teams said that several of the team members were unable to attend the tournament due to the Association’s failure to apply for visas. “We came to Colombo on Dec 13 to leave for the tournament on the 14th, but more..

Dec 22 (TM) Western Province continued to dominate the national economy in 2024, contributing 42.4% of the country’s nominal GDP, according to Central Bank data. The province’s lead is driven by strong performance in both the Services and Industry sectors. North Western Province (11.5%) and Central Province (10.7%) were the second and third largest contributors. Several other provinces, including Central, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa & Uva, also recorded increases compared with 2023, more..