Feb 24 (FT) SL’s top bankers last week revealed that the 2022 sovereign and currency crisis permanently altered how they manage risk, forcing a decisive shift away from concentrated sovereign exposure, collateral-heavy lending, and complacency over foreign currency liquidity. Speaking at the 36th anniversary convention of the Association of Professional Bankers of SL (APB), industry leaders described the crisis as a structural reset rather than a temporary shock. more..

Feb 24 (FT) British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick and Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe recently visited apparel logistics and quality assurance facilities North of Colombo to witness shipments being prepared for export to the UK. The visit follows reforms to the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which came into force on 1 Jan 2026. These changes enable SL manufacturers to source fabrics globally while maintaining duty-free access to the UK market, more..

Feb 24 (CT) As citizens, we must realise that this country will never develop into a state of peace and prosperity so long as the evil of racism and racist attitudes persist among the people. Sociological and anthropological studies show that prejudice against others is an innate human trait in its crude form. Therefore, to single out the Sinhala people alone as racists will be unfair because these attitudes are prevalent even among the Tamils and Muslims. more..

Feb 24 (Island) The visit by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to Sri Lanka was widely described as a success for the govt. She was fulsome in her praise of the country and its developmental potential. The grounds for this success and collaborative spirit go back to the inception of the agreement signed in March 2023 in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s declaration of international bankruptcy. IMF came in to fulfil its role as lender of last resort. The govt of the day bit the bullet. more..

Feb 24 (ST) Following the brutal killings of Attorney-at-Law Buddhika Mallawaarachchi and his wife Nisansala last Friday the 13th, the President of the Bar Association of SL, Rajeev Amarasuriya, issued a statement last Saturday, summoning the membership to a Special General Meeting to be held the following day, Sunday (15). ‘The last time such a special meeting was held,’ he told the media, was 14 years ago when Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake’s impeachment crisis was at its height. more..

Feb 24 (CT) Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, a young and outspoken MP from the Eastern Province representing the ITAK, is known for his principled stance on Tamil rights, land issues, and minority development. Speaking to Ceylon Today, he addressed the controversy surrounding MP S. Shritharan, stressing that ITAK’s call for Shritharan to step down from the Constitutional Council is a moral and political decision aimed at upholding party values, rather than a legal or punitive action. more..

Feb 24 (GV) It has been 36 years since the murder of Richard de Zoysa, an internationally known journalist, artist, political and cultural critic and human rights activist. In the early hours of February 18, 1990, a group of men abducted him from his home in front of his mother. His body was later found on February 19, 1990 on the beach at Koralawella, Moratuwa. A formal investigation into de Zoysa’s death, which drew international attention, was repeatedly demanded. more..

Feb 24 (CT) For years, scholars and legal professionals have pointed out the archaic nature of SL’s legal environment, which has been of significant detriment to the people of Sri Lanka and the State administration. When a nation’s laws fail to be relevant and applicable to the modern context, it creates a situation where compliance is required, but its reality becomes nonsensical: From the prices described as fines, to laws that feel out of place in modern-day sensibilities, more..

Feb 24 (TM) When Dudley Sirisena, one of SL’s most prominent rice mill owners, publicised images of a recently acquired high-end luxury vehicle and a video of him touring the Singapore Airshow, scouting helicopters and business jets, some raised questions about rising rice prices and the growing gap between powerful industry players and ordinary consumers. For many families struggling to manage daily food expenses, the sight of conspicuous wealth linked to the rice trade more..

Feb 24 (DM) US President Donald Trump is to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress today (Tuesday), February 24. The address is critical because – (a) He would be making it after a disruptive first year that produced more controversies than successes. (b) The general elections will be held on November 3, when voters nationwide will decide all 435 House of Representatives seats, 33 Senate seats, and 36 Governorships, as well as thousands of state and local officials. more..

Feb 24 (DM) Almost three months have elapsed since the disastrous Cyclone Ditwah swept the country claiming around a thousand lives, including those who are claimed to be missing. Those who sacrificed their lives in this calamity taught hundreds of lessons both to the people and to the authorities and some of them had been taught during the similar past disasters and repeated this time as well. Yes, they taught, yet, did we grasp the gravity of those lessons properly and more..

Feb 23 (IC) SL’s consumer price inflation slowed in January, according to data released by the country’s statistics department on Monday. The National Consumer Price Index showed prices rose 2.4% year-on-year in January, down from a 2.9% increase recorded in December. The index captures broad retail price inflation across the country and is typically released approximately three weeks after the end of each month. The deceleration in inflation marks a continuation of country’s efforts to more..

Feb 23 (CI) Afghanistan will host Sri Lanka for the first time in March for a multi-format white-ball series, with three ODIs and three T20Is to be played in the UAE from March 13 to 25. The T20I leg of the tour will be played in Sharjah on March 13, 15 and 17. The ODI leg will be played in Dubai on March 20, 22 and 25. The T20I series will start just five days after the T20 World Cup ends on March 8. The ODI series will end just one day before both the IPL and PSL get underway on March 26. more..

Feb 23 (TM) Govt cash reserves had dipped below its lower limit threshold of Rs. 1 trillion in Dec 2025, as it had made more than Rs. 500 billion in payments during the month, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury A.K. Seneviratne informed the COPF during its last meeting. “In December we made payments valued more than Rs. 500 billion, which included a Rs. 45 billion payout for the senior citizens; restructuring of SriLankan Airlines more..

Feb 23 (CT) Govt plans to recruit more than 23,000 teachers within this year to address shortages in schools and reduce long-standing issues related to teacher transfers, PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said. She made the remarks at a meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Edu & Vocational Edu held recently. PM also said approval has already been granted for the recruitments and that steps are being taken to complete the process before end of the year. more..

Feb 23 (NW) MAS Holdings has announced plans to cease garment manufacturing operations at its Methliya plant in Thulhiriya and repurpose the facility to expand fabric manufacturing capacity, citing a prolonged contraction in global apparel demand. In a communication to employees on February 19, management informed staff that the Methliya premises, located within the MAS Fabric Park in Thulhiriya, will be converted to strengthen knitting, dyeing and finishing capabilities. more..

Feb 23 (Island) A group of Tamil lawmakers and former MP M. A. Sumanthiran, during talks with UK Deputy PM David Lammy, in Colombo, recently, have alleged that the ruling NPP hasn’t fulfilled election pledges. UK Deputy PM met Tamil political leaders who called for renewed international action on accountability, justice and political rights. The meeting brought together Tamil MPs, including Gajendrakumar more..

Feb 23 (NW) The deadline for submitting public complaints and information to the Prez Commission of Inquiry investigating alleged corruption and irregularities within the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) has been extended until March 16. Commission has been appointed to examine alleged acts of corruption, fraud, criminal breach of trust, misuse or abuse of power, misuse of state resources and privileges, unlawful recruitments & appointments, violations of procurement more..

Feb 23 (TM) Dept of National Botanic Gardens states that the income generated from the country’s botanical gardens exceeded Rs. 1 billion in 2025. Despite the impact of Cyclone Ditwah in 2025, revenue generated from national gardens still surpassed Rs. 1 billion, specifically recording a total of Rs. 1.394 billion. This represents a 7% increase compared to the year 2024. The gardens effectively demonstrated their contribution to tourism earnings and economic activities throughout 2025. more..

Feb 23 (CT) Nearly 900,000 mobile SIM cards currently active in SL lack verified identity details and will be deactivated if the required information is not submitted, Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne informed Parliament. He said that 897,802 SIM cards in the system do not have proper identity verification. He stated that the new regulations were introduced to rectify shortcomings in the 2019 SIM registration framework and to ensure stricter enforcement of registration requirements. more..

Feb 23 (Island) General Secretary of the Communist Party Dr. G. Weerasinghe has said the national economy nosedived in 2022 due to three factors. The depletion of the country’s foreign exchange reserves was the main factor caused by the huge chronic trade deficit blamed on the import/export policy implemented through the free/liberal/open trade policies implemented since 1978. The second factor that led to the economic crisis was the steep decline in state revenue caused by more..

Feb 23 (AD) SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa has responded to the cancellation of his planned speaking engagements at the Oxford Union and Cambridge Union, following backlash from Tamil student groups and campaigners in the UK. In a post on X, Rajapaksa said he had looked forward to participating in the debates, highlighting that the Oxford and Cambridge Unions have, for generations, represented the highest ideals of more..

Feb 23 (FT) Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has accused schools of continuing to collect money from parents despite a recent public statement by the Education Ministry that such collections are not permitted. CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said the ongoing practice is placing a heavy financial burden on families and contradicts the Ministry’s position. According to the Union, schools are enforcing payments under multiple categories, with some institutions adopting more..

Feb 23 (AD) Supreme Court today directed the Attorney General’s Dept to file a charge sheet for Contempt of Court against I.G.S. Premathilaka, former Director of the National Institute of Education (NIE). The order was issued following his failure to comply with a court directive in connection with Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed over the 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship examination paper leak. SC also ordered that notice be issued on the respondent to appear before it on March 26. more..

Feb 23 (TM) 75 foreign nationals were arrested and 15 were deported last year for violating immigration and tourism laws by engaging in business activities while in the country on tourist visas, according to the SLTDA. This, amid calls for the Govt to get tough on tourists engaging in unregistered business and services which have mushroomed in SL over the last few years. The joint operations are being carried out by SLTDA, more..

Feb 23 (AD) British High Commissioner to SL Andrew Patrick and Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe have visited apparel logistics and quality assurance facilities north of Colombo to observe shipments being prepared for export to the United Kingdom. The visit follows reforms to the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which came into force on Jan 1, 2026. These changes enable SL manufacturers to source fabrics globally while maintaining duty-free access to more..

Feb 23 (Island) Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) was not party to a recent move by the Tamil National Council (TNC) to reive the 1985 Thmphu principals in a bid to make a joint proposal to the NPP govt. This has been recently discussed at a recent meeting in Jaffna with the participation of Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam. The TNC is of the view that the proposed new Constitution should take Thimphu principles into consideration to pave the way for a federal structure. more..

Feb 23 (FT) Colombo Active Week 2026, a city-wide celebration of sport, wellness and active living, is now on in Colombo, bringing together three flagship experiences, KAYA Wellness and Active Lifestyle Expo, IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo, and IRONKIDS, under one unified platform promoting movement, wellbeing and international engagement. The multi-day initiative was officially opened at Shangri-La Colombo yesterday by Chief Guest MP and Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe during more..

Feb 23 (NW) PM Harini Amarasuriya on Saturday called on Scouts to play a responsible role in safeguarding the country’s future, as she addressed the 169th birth anniversary celebration of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the World Scouting Movement, and World Scout Thinking Day. The event was held on Feb 22 at the National Scout Headquarters. Addressing the gathering, PM said the Scouting Movement is not about holding positions but about developing discipline, more..

Feb 23 (AD) The relatives of those found guilty in the murder case of late MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer have stated that they will file an appeal challenging the recent verdict delivered by the Gampaha High Court trial-at-bar. They made this statement while addressing media after meeting a Director General at the Presidential Secretariat today. The wife of one of the individuals found guilty of the murder said they expect more..

Feb 23 (NW) An 81-year-old candidate for the GCE O/L exam has initiated a public discussion regarding the national education system, questioning the Ministry of Education over the quality of this year’s mathematics evaluation. The individual, who describes the assessment as critically flawed, has raised concerns about the structural integrity of the examination and its impact on student outcomes. Nimal Silva, a resident of Kiriberiya, said Monday that his decision to sit more..

Feb 23 (APP) 25 SL students have arrived in Pakistan to pursue MBBS studies at leading medical universities under the Allama Iqbal Scholarships for Sri Lankan Students. The students were received upon their arrival at Jinnah Int'l Airport, Karachi. These fully funded scholarships form part of the broader Pak–SL Higher Education Cooperation Programme, administered by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. Under this initiative, students will undertake their more..