Oct 18 (Island) Lanka Aluminium Industries is transforming the retail aluminium extrusion supplies market by offering credit terms as well as credit card payment facilities at the company’s retail outlets that are being established island-wide. “We have observed a growing demand for the more generic architectural and hardware sections, which are usually sold in retail outlets. In order to capitalise on this opportunity, we are offering credit terms and credit card payment facilities more..

Oct 18 (FT) The newly elected Small Hydro Power Developers Association (SHPDA) President Pathmanatha Poddiwala recently vowed to steer the association through a period of major structural and regulatory change, pledging stronger advocacy, innovation, and collaboration to ensure the continued growth of the country’s renewable energy sector. Poddiwala said it was a great honour to lead one of the country’s oldest renewable energy associations, which currently contributes more..

Oct 18 (CI) South Africa took a big step towards a World Cup semi-final berth by chasing successfully for the fourth time in the tournament, this time in a rain-reduced encounter in Colombo. They played what was essentially a T20 against Sri Lanka, whose innings was paused for five-and-a-quarter hours, and whose semi-final hopes now hang by a thread. Sri Lanka have two points from two washouts and are winless. more..

Oct 18 (DN) The Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2025 returns to Colombo today with the two-day finale at the Racecourse International Grounds in Colombo. Reaffirming its strong ties with one of SL’s most followed sports, Commercial Bank of Ceylon has partnered with the series as Gold Sponsor and Official Banking Partner. The Colombo leg marks the return of international sevens rugby to SL after an eight-year-gap. The two-day tournament, organised by Sri Lanka Rugby, more..

Oct 18 (Island) Former SL off-spinner Jayananda Warnaweera, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 64 after a brief illness, had his moments with the ball, but it was his deeds off the field that truly left a mark on the game. A product of Mahinda College, Galle, Warnaweera was part of SL’s golden milestones — their maiden Test wins over NZ in 1992 and England in 1993, both at SSC — claiming six and eight wickets in those encounters. But it is what he did as Galle Int'l Stadium’s curator more..

Oct 18 (FT) For the first time in Sri Lanka, Casons Rent a Car, a leading family-run car rental company, has introduced a fleet of eco-friendly green vehicles to local roads. Chairman Zakir Ahamed said the company has acquired a new range of vehicles designed to minimise environmental impact and reduce carbon emissions. The fleet comprises fully electric vehicles (EVs) with zero tailpipe emissions, as well as hybrid and clean diesel models that offer improved fuel efficiency. more..

Oct 18 (FT) Colombo stock market maintained its rally to close the week in green with the benchmark index gaining sharply and crossing 22,500 for the first time. Yesterday, ASPI closed 0.97% up, gaining 217.65 points to 22,633.80 and the S&P SL20 closed up 0.58%, gaining 36.39 points to 6,263.03. Market turnover was more than Rs. 11.2 billion on over 282.6 million shares traded. Foreigners were net sellers with a net outflow of Rs. 1.4 billion. During the week, ASPI gained 315.08 (1.4%) more..

Oct 18 (CT) In a week marked by candour, compassion, and clarity of purpose, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has delivered one of the most comprehensive statements yet of his administration’s direction, i.e. striking a balance between fiscal discipline, economic modernisation, and long-overdue social justice. At a time when SL is still reeling from the aftershocks of its worst economic crisis in decades, Prez’s blunt assessment more..

Oct 18 (CT) Women in Tech SL, part of the world’s foremost organisation for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in STEAM with a mission to empower 5 million women by 2030, announced the formation of its new Board of Advisers, welcoming a coalition of seasoned leaders, innovators, and change-makers who will guide the Chapter to accelerate female participation in core tech roles and leadership across SL. The Advisory Board brings together diverse expertise from education, biotechnology, more..

Oct 18 (Island) General Arunkumar Shridhar Vaidya, who served as the 12th Chief of Staff of the Indian Army, from 1983 to 1986, was assassinated in August, 1986, by Sikh terrorists, for his role in Operation Blue Star in 1984. Vaidya was 60-years-old. He was shot dead on August 10, 1986, on Rajendrasinhji Marg, in Pune. His killers, namely Harjinder Singh, aka Jinda, and Sukhdev Singh, came parallel to Vaidya’s car, on motor scooters, and fired several shots at him. more..

Oct 18 (Island) COPE has revealed that Sathosa suffered a staggering loss of Rs. 15.1 billion due to irregular rice imports in 2014 and 2015, according to media reports. Losses incurred by Sathosa may not surprise anyone, but the question is why successive govts have not done anything about it for 10 long years. Those who are out of power pledge to root out corruption in Sathosa, and other state institutions and muster popular support to win elections, but after being ensconced in power, more..

Oct 18 (FT) Yesterday (17) marked the 60th birthday of one of the greatest batsmen Sri Lanka has ever produced and one of the finest the world has ever seen. Much time has passed since he lit up the cricketing world during the 1996 World Cup and gave all Sri Lankans a magnificent reason to celebrate at a time when there was little to cheer back home. Even cricket fans who were just babies at the time or were born thereafter would have heard of that amazing run. more..

Oct 18 (SO) Senior Counsel Dr. Ravindranath Dabare, a prominent public interest litigator, has filed a Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court against IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya and several others, citing police failure to investigate and act on a recent threat against him and his family. The respondents named in the petition include the IGP, OIC of Maradana Police Station, Secretaries to ministries of defence more..

Oct 18 (DM) Unlike leaders of other political parties in the country, the NPP leaders have been lodging complaints with the CID on defamation against them, especially in social media, for over a year. They began to do so even before the last Prez election as the mudslinging against the party was being intensified by the other major parties, particularly when the possibility of their party’s victory was becoming more and more evident. Minister Sunil Handunnetti, had on Aug 30 last year made more..

Oct 18 (DM) Recent revelation that the construction of the Port Access Elevated Highway (PAEH) -- much needed 5.3 km road connection built on posts expected to connect the Harbour to New Kelani Bridge, entrance and thence to the country’s expressway -- might get delayed for another two years is a clear reflection on Sri Lanka’s snail-speed development. The access road initially started with the aim of getting container loads from the port in 5 minutes avoiding Colombo’s busy traffic, more..

Oct 18 (DM) October 1990 was the month in which the Tamil-speaking Muslims of the Northern province were forcibly expelled en masse by the LTTE, 35 years ago. This two-part article revisits the horrible happenings of Black October 1990 on this thirty-fifth anniversary year. The first part of this article, published last week, focused on the mass expulsion of Muslims from the northern districts in the mainland like more..

Oct 18 (ST) Why is SL still dragging its feet on implementing FTAs with Thailand and Singapore?” Curious about the delay, I assumed there must be solid reasons behind it—so I did some digging. What I found was amazing. One response stood out: “If we implement the FTA with Thailand, motor cars manufactured there will enter SL duty-free.” “Wow… That sounds great! Sri Lankans could finally buy cars at more affordable prices” I said. Thailand has rapidly evolved into a major automobile more..

Oct 18 (CT) We have come a long way as a nation. Once, the person accredited as the father of the nation Hon DS Senanayake in 1944 stated that, one critical measure of development must be, the larder of the poorest of our households. Today, the measure has changed, now it is the buffet tables of the grand hotels, that signify, our state of development. The time of transition from social wealth passed onto capital wealth as a national goal, was rapid, it was brought about by changing more..

Oct 17 (DM) Nearly 25,000 people suffer severe, long-term injuries each year as a result of road accidents, health officials have pointed out. This was revealed ahead of the National Trauma Conference 2025. According to the National Trauma Secretariat, six to eight people die every day in road accidents across the country, while nearly one million people receive treatment annually for accident-related injuries at state hospitals. “In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more..

Oct 17 (DM) In recognition of PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya’s academic and public achievements, Hindu College, University of Delhi, has inaugurated a new research facility named the Harini Amarasuriya Social & Ethnographic Research Lab. PM Amarasuriya, who earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Hindu College, visited her alma mater during her ongoing official visit to India. She was warmly welcomed by the college administration, faculty members, and students. more..

Oct 17 (TM) Sri Lanka’s 5-star average room rate remains 20% above regional peers due to high cost bases and limited supply of rooms, constraining competitiveness in the mid to upper-tier segment. Five-star average room rate is estimated at $ 160-240 in SL, while peers such as Thailand has much broader range, and Hanoi, Vietnam has the lowest rate supported by lower cost base, an abundance of room supply and more..

Oct 17 (NW) A group of Chinese traders visited former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa at his private residence in Tangalle yesterday. The group presented gifts to the former prez and inquired about his well-being during the visit. It is reported that this is the first group of Chinese traders to visit the former president after he vacated his official residence in Colombo and moved to Tangalle. The group, involved in tea exporting, had visited Mahinda Rajapaksa while en route to Weligama and more..

Oct 17 (DM) A SL Army officer and Paralympic gold medalist, Warnakulasuriya Amila Prashan, has died after being hit by a train in the Madurankuliya area. The 34-year-old, a father of two from Kirthisinghegama, Madurankuliya, had won gold medals in the 100m and 200m events at the 2018 Paralympic Games in Indonesia, representing the SL Army. He was a disabled officer serving at the Boossa Camp. The officer was struck by the Bangadeniya train traveling from Colombo more..

Oct 17 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama today issued a travel ban against ten athletes who had travelled to the 2022 Commonwealth Games but failed to return to SL, allegedly causing a financial loss to the govt. Investigations are being carried out into the ten athletes who had travelled to the UK to participate in the 2022 Commonwealth Games but failed to return to SL after the event and did not participate more..

Oct 17 (NW) PM Harini Amarasuriya has engaged in discussions with Indian PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi today. Commenting on the meeting, Indian PM Narendra Modi said the discussions covered a broad range of areas, including education, women’s empowerment, innovation, development cooperation and welfare of Indian fishermen. “As close neighbours, our cooperation holds immense importance for the prosperity of our two peoples as well as the shared region,” he added in a post more..

Oct 17 (AD) The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has dismissed without hearing two fundamental rights petitions filed by former Minister Wimal Weerawansa and two other parties, who sought to invalidate the MoU signed between the Sri Lankan govt and India for the implementation of a digital identity card project for Sri Lankan citizens. The petitions were taken up before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court today, headed by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, more..

Oct 17 (AD) The Parliament is scheduled to adopt amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) on Oct 21, 2025, during the Committee Stage, along with the Committee Stage Amendments. According to the Ministry of Digital Economy, the PDPA (Amendment) Bill received approval from the Cabinet of Ministers and was passed at its Second Reading on June 3, 2025. Subsequently, at the request of the Ministry of Digital Economy, Legal Draftsman’s Dept, more..

Oct 17 (NW) Starting from 12 noon on 17th Oct, passengers departing from BIA will be permitted to check in up to four hours before their scheduled flight time, the airport management announced. The new measure aims to enhance passenger convenience and ensure smoother airport operations, especially during peak travel hours. According to the AASL, the initiative is expected to help manage crowd flow, reduce congestion, and improve the overall travel experience at more..

Oct 17 (DM) Delays to the completion of the Port Access Elevated Highway (PAEH) which would link Colombo City Centre and Katunayake Expressway (CKE) via the port has faced further delays with the Engineer Representative abandoning the project. The elevated highway that was to connect Galle Face to New Kelani Bridge allowing a faster exit from the city limits, has now come to a standstill, more..

Oct 17 (DM) Wildlife officers arrested a woman in Wathurugama, Gampaha, after discovering a replica made using leopard skin during a sudden raid conducted on Oct 16, following a tip-off received by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The officers inspected a house in the area where the item was found. The suspect was subsequently produced before the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court the same day, along with seized replica. Court released the woman on a cash bail of Rs. 500,000 more..

Oct 17 (DM) Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has instructed all High Court judges and judicial officers that pending court production items must be cleared by Dec 31, 2025, as per Circular No. 422 A. In a recent Circular, the JSC stated that to ensure timely clearance, court staff may work on weekends and public holidays, from October 18 to December 31, 2025, without seeking additional permission from the Commission. The circular further said that access to case production item rooms or more..

Oct 17 (AN) SL is facing a silent but no less worrying genetic problem linked to the fact that about seven out of every 100 married couples are blood relatives (primarily cousins) or close relatives. Among the Sinhalese & Muslims, the percentage is about 4%. But among the Tamils, the figure is significantly higher, affecting almost one in four couples. Many families have children with beta thalassaemia (β-thalassaemia) and, among these, more..