Jan 27 (FT) Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in SL (AHK SL) successfully organised the SL National Pavilion at Grüne Woche, the world’s largest B2C trade fair for food, beverages, and agriculture, currently taking place in Berlin, Germany. Grüne Woche attracts over 400,000 int'l visitors annually and serves as a premier global platform connecting producers, traders, and consumers. This year’s exhibition holds special significance as Grüne Woche celebrates its 100th anniversary, more..

Jan 27 (TP) Sri Lanka registered a hard-fought win over Afghanistan in their first Super Six encounter of the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2026, played today (26) at Bulawayo. After winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bowl first and were rewarded with a disciplined bowling performance that kept Afghanistan to a manageable total of 193. The Lankan bowlers applied consistent pressure, denying the Afghan batters the freedom to accelerate despite a few resistance efforts. more..

Jan 27 (DN) Wanindu Hasaranga will play in the third and final ODI against England which will commence today and skipper Charith Asalanka confirmed Hasaranga’s inclusion in the team yesterday to strengthen the spin department. Two teams are level in the series at one all and looking to give their best effort to win the series today in this deciding game. SL team is planning to make few changes to come back strongly in this game rectifying their previous match mistakes. more..

Jan 27 (CI) SL's captain, Charith Asalanka, has questioned England's condemnation of the pitch at the R Premadasa for the second ODI in Colombo by pointing out that 440 runs were scored in the match. Harry Brook said after Saturday's game that it was the worst pitch he had ever played on, while Joe Root, who scored a match-winning 75 off 90, said that he didn't think it was a great wicket for ODI cricket. That was after England had reached a target of 220 with 22 balls to spare more..

Jan 27 (ST) State-owned Airport and Aviation Services (SL) (Pvt) Ltd, the aviation services provider, has reported a 25% drop in profit for 2024 at Rs 21.108 billion versus Rs 28.122b the year before. But, the company has paid Rs 664.6 million in bonus, the national auditor observes. Audit note refers to 2025 bonus, while it may be for 2024. In 2023, AASL even paid Rs 50,000 bonus advance totalling Rs 178.8 million to 3,589 employees. more..

Jan 27 (ST) Modern limited-overs cricket is unforgiving to imbalance. Teams that enter global tournaments with a long tail or an overworked bowling unit rarely survive the business end. The importance of a genuine all-rounder is no longer a luxury but a necessity, particularly in a format where flexibility often outweighs flair. Sri Lanka’s victory against England in Colombo on Thursday underlined that truth yet again, and it also pointed clearly to what lies ahead. more..

Jan 27 (NW) Former England captain and International Cricket Commentator Nasser Hussain believes SL are primed to exceed expectations at the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, backing the team’s settled core of players and the country’s strong talent pathway to make an impact. Speaking ahead of the tournament, Hussain said the current group appears ready to deliver after years of promise without consistent results. “It feels like the right sort of time to deliver for this core of more..

Jan 27 (FT) SL Customs officials must be rewarded through a fairer and more credible incentive system if the Govt is serious about reducing corruption risks and sustaining reform, Finance Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando said yesterday, acknowledging that existing mechanisms remain weak and uneven. Addressing an event at SL Customs to mark International Customs Day, Dr. Fernando said more..

Jan 27 (NF) SL cinema witnessed a landmark moment over the weekend as Dharmayuddaya II stormed the local box office, setting a new all-time record for the highest-grossing opening weekend by a Sinhala film. From Friday to Sunday, the film surpassed the previous opening-weekend benchmark and firmly etched its name into the annals of local film history. What makes this achievement particularly significant is its historical context: this record has been set against more..

Jan 27 (FT) Yaden Laboratories, 100% SL-owned and the nation’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturer, has announced a major expansion of its manufacturing footprint by initiating a new state-of-the-art project. This was formalised through the signing of a strategic agreement with the BOI to establish Unit II within Katunayake Export Processing Zone (EPZ). CMD Shashimal Dissanayake said: “Our signing with the BOI reinforces Yaden’s mission to strengthen more..

Jan 27 (FT) As transparency becomes a defining requirement among European buyers, Mabroc Teas Ltd, a member of the Hayleys Group and one of SL’s leading tea exporters, has launched TeaTrace, a data-driven traceability platform designed to meet evolving global standards in ethical and sustainable sourcing. Developed in collaboration with ITechro, the platform ensures buyers and consumers gain end-to-end visibility from tea estate to retail shelf, embedding sustainability directly into more..

Jan 27 (DM) Air pollution is having a devastating effect on large parts of South Asia, particularly Northern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka too is affected, but only seasonally and that too due to cross border flows from its northern neighbours. The lack of proper Air Quality Management (AQM) in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent is causing diseases and deaths, while also slowing down economic development, says a World Bank report. more..

Jan 27 (FT) Sri Lanka’s export sector continued its positive growth momentum in 2025, recording a notable year-on-year (YoY) growth of 5.6%. Based on Sri Lanka Customs statistics and estimated export figures for Gems & Jewellery, Petroleum Products, and services, total export earnings reached $ 17,252.15 million in 2025, reflecting sustained growth and improving external trade conditions. more..

Jan 27 (Island) The NPP govt’s efforts to abolish MPs’ pensions have met with stiff resistance. All members of the current Parliament, including 159 NPP legislators, will lose their retirement benefits unless the govt walks back its plan. Several petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court against the bill seeking to abolish the MPs’ pension scheme. The matter is now best left to the judges of the apex court. Interestingly, former Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has pointed out more..

Jan 27 (Island) Neo-liberal economists assess economic development using parameters like GDP growth, inflation rate, interest rates, debt/GDP ratio and such and recommend measures to improve these expecting a resultant improvement in poverty rates, employment and household income, but this seldom happens as revealed by increasing inequality, decline in real incomes, malnutrition and school dropouts. Increased GDP doesn’t always translate into improved living standards or more..

Jan 27 (FT) Nearly two years into office, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake faces a question that no amount of electoral arithmetic can dodge: is delivery being delayed by resistance — or by hesitation? When AKD sought office, his promise was unambiguous and resonant. Those who robbed the Treasury would be held to account. Not investigated indefinitely. Not reviewed. Held accountable. It was a pledge that cut across class, party, and ideology — because it spoke to something more..

Jan 27 (GV) Academic and linguist Noam Chomsky once wrote: if we adopt the principle of universality: if an action is right (or wrong) for others, it is right (or wrong) for us. Those who do not rise to the minimal moral level of applying to themselves the standards they apply to others – more stringent ones, in fact – plainly cannot be taken seriously when they speak of appropriateness of response; or of right and wrong, good and evil. This principle of morality has guided my work as a filmmaker and journalist more..

Jan 27 (TM) Nearly two months after Cyclone Ditwah tore through parts of SL, official narratives increasingly speak of recovery. Roads have been cleared, emergency shelters dismantled, and administrative briefings suggest that the worst is over. In much of the country, daily life is inching back towards a fragile normalcy. For the Malaiyaha Tamil plantation community, however, the disaster has not ended. In many ways, Cyclone Ditwah was more..

Jan 27 (ST) It is highly unusual—and worryingly so—that the primary gatekeeping associations of legal and judicial institutions in SL have come together to tersely protest against what they see as an unwarranted interference across social media in regard to the judicial and prosecutorial function in ongoing cases. In certain respects, these tensions point to the emergence of a curious trend of public intimidation, if we may term it so. Previously, the lines were clear-cut, more..

Jan 27 (CT) Recent newspaper reports titled Court dismisses People’s Bank appeal on RTI disclosure reveal an important and troubling pattern in the conduct of public institutions. The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal filed by People’s Bank, thereby affirming a directive issued by the Right to Information Commission requiring the Bank to release information sought by a customer under the Right to Information Act, subject to lawful redaction. The Bank had resisted disclosure on more..

Jan 27 (SO) January holds a dark significance for Sri Lanka’s media community. Known as Black January, it is a month that painfully reminds journalists and media workers of a troubled history marked by killing, enforced disappearances, abductions and attacks on media institutions. Disturbingly, a large number of these grave violations against journalists have taken place during January. more..

Jan 27 (CT) Second only to the destruction left in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami, the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah’s damage to land and property could not be understated. It also made abundantly clear that Govt authorities should have taken action to relocate families and communities that were living in areas prone to landslides, finding them new homes before a major catastrophe caused by adverse weather arises. Instead, now authorities are seeking the support of landowners to step forward more..

Jan 27 (DM) Sri Lanka is facing significant controversies surrounding two key ‘AG’ positions the Attorney General and the Auditor General which have created political tension and accusations of institutional interference against the JVP -led NPP Govt. These two positions are undoubtedly very important in the NPP’s drive against corruption, possibly the foremost election promises of the party on which all other promises and its entire economic programme are positioned. more..

Jan 26 (AD) SL Railway Station Masters’ Association has warned that unless existing issues are resolved promptly, it may be compelled to launch trade union action. In a statement, the association noted that ongoing administrative inefficiencies within the Railway Dept have caused significant hardships for both passengers and railway employees. The statement highlighted that necessary procedures needed to be taken related to recruitment and promotions for station masters have been more..

Jan 26 (NW) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake will inaugurate a national program, tomorrow, aimed at restoring religious sites damaged by Cyclone Ditwah, with the government moving to fast-track repairs and reopen places of worship across the country. The initiative, titled Godanagamu Adhishtanaye Sanhinda, will be launched under the patronage of the president and coordinated by the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, according to Prez’s Media Division. more..

Jan 26 (AD) Criminal behavior among youth aged between 16 and 22 years has increased over the past 10 years, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Tharaka Fernando stated. Dr. Fernando noted that the trend has been revealed through research conducted in the country and that it is also visible worldwide. Dr. Tharaka Fernando made these remarks while attending a media briefing held to mark the 100th anniversary of more..

Jan 26 (Reuters) SL's central bank is expected to maintain its key interest rate at 7.75% on Wednesday, a Reuters poll found, as an IMF delegation reviews the sixth tranche of a crucial $2.9 billion package. The poll of a dozen economists unanimously forecast no change to the benchmark overnight policy rate, citing stable inflation, healthy credit growth, and consistent economic expansion. CB has held rates steady since last May, as the nation recovers from a 2022 financial crisis more..

Jan 26 (NW) National Council for Road Safety announced Monday that police have begun imposing fines for seat belt violations nationwide, marking the end of a three-month transition period. Council Chairman Manjula Kularatne confirmed that the grace period, which was intended to allow motorists to adjust to stricter safety regulations, officially expired on December 24. Law enforcement officers have now been instructed to strictly enforce the law to mitigate the high rate of fatalities more..

Jan 26 (DM) It is reported that a serious issue has arisen in the tender process for the purchase of dry and fresh food supplies for the Tri-Forces for this year. This situation has emerged because the tender wasn’t awarded to the company that submitted the lowest bid at the relevant price call. A letter dated 13.11.2025, signed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Sampath Thuyacontha confirmed that this above more..

Jan 26 (DM) The Catholic Church in SL is to file a Fundamental Rights petition against the police officers who had assaulted a priest in Negombo over the weekend, Spokesman for Archdiocese of Colombo Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando said yesterday. "We are planning to file a Fundamental Rights petition on behalf of Fr. Milan Priyadarshana who was assaulted by police officers in Negombo. They have come in bikes and surrounded the priest and had assaulted him. more..

Jan 26 (EN) Sri Lanka’s plan to hold an international donor conference to raise funds to rebuild Ditwah devastation-hit area has been delayed and the date is yet to be finalized, govt sources said. Sri Lanka is planning to spend an extra 500 billion rupees in Cyclone relief and recovery in 2026 of which 250 billion rupees will go for infrastructure, 100 billion rupees for destroying homes and 200 billion rupees for business recovery in agriculture and other industries. more..