Nov 2 (ST) The theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, gained worldwide attention, and some of those involved were nabbed by the police in next to no time. Compare this to the breaking-in at the Colombo National Museum 12 years ago where the question of who was involved still remains in limbo. In the latest audit report of the financial statements of the Dept of National Museums for the year ending Dec31, 2024, more..

Nov 2 (CT) When Lonely Planet named Jaffna the second-best destination in the world for 2026, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone who has walked along the city’s sun-drenched causeways or shared a crab curry under the shadow of the historic fort. For decades, Jaffna has been a hidden gem — quietly rebuilding, rediscovering, and revealing a side of Sri Lanka that is both ancient and refreshingly new. But if Sri Lanka wants Jaffna to become the No. 1 travel destination in the world next year, more..

Nov 2 (GV) Over the past two years, SL’s legislative landscape has become a testing ground for the future of free expression. Freedom of expression has always been a fragile promise in Sri Lanka’s democracy, a right often celebrated in principle and constrained in practice. Yet in recent times this fragility has deepened into what can only be described as a structural transformation of speech. A new generation of laws and legislative proposals, introduced in the language of safety, more..

Nov 2 (TM) It will be a decisive week ahead for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his JVP-led NPP Govet as the annual Budget for 2026 will be presented come Friday. The upcoming 2026 Budget, which will be presented in Parliament by AKD in his capacity as Finance Minister, will be a make-or-break situation regarding SL’s ailing economy that needs moving towards a growth trajectory from stability following more..

Nov 2 (TM) As the nation waits in cautious anticipation for the presentation of Budget 2026 on Friday (7), few in Sri Lanka are holding their breath. The President, in his dual capacity as Head of State and Minister of Finance, has already declared that there will be no major changes in economic policy or taxation. That assurance, though seemingly intended to calm jittery markets and temper speculation typical of the pre-budget season, has been interpreted quite differently by more..

Nov 2 (SO) I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones is a memorable quote attributed to Albert Einstein. What this means is clear – a World War III, possibly waged with nuclear weapons, will be an Extinction Level Event (ELE) that will wipe out most of humanity. Survivors, if any, will literally be back in the Stone Age, living through a Nuclear Winter. This is summed up by the unsaid doctrine of nuclear war more..

Nov 1 (ST) Many sectors are expecting tax relief, incentives, and salary anomalies to be sorted, while others want infrastructure improvement from the upcoming budget. Educators, state workers, private sector employees, importers, transport services providers, farmers, and industrialists are among those hoping for relief. There are greater expectations of more relief in an environment of reduced corruption and more..

Nov 1 (DN) Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa urged Sri Lankan specialist doctors currently practicing abroad to return and rejoin the public service in the country. The Minister made this appeal while speaking at a gathering of doctors organized by the SL High Commission in the UK during his official UK visit. Dr. Jayatissa highlighted the severe shortage of specialist doctors in Sri Lanka, stressing that the contributions of locally trained specialists are vital at this moment. more..

Nov 1 (NW) PM and Minister of Education, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya says India is working to provide necessary training for SL teachers, while the upcoming education reforms will create new opportunities for creative educators. She made these remarks at the opening ceremony of the new multi-ethnic trilingual school building in Gallella, Polonnaruwa, constructed with the assistance of the Govt of India. PM said SL takes pride in being a nation where people of different religions, more..

Nov 1 (CT) Around 2,200 employees, including engineers, accountants, and technical officers, have applied for voluntary retirement under the CEB restructuring programme. CEB had offered employees, who are unwilling to be assigned to newly-formed companies under the restructuring process, the option to retire voluntarily. Among those who have applied are 78 engineers, 18 accountants, and a large number of technical officers, more..

Nov 1 (TM) SL’s 2024 Population and Housing Census shows that females once again make up the majority of the population, a trend first recorded in 2001. The national sex ratio has declined from 93.8 males per 100 females in 2012 to 93.3 in 2024, indicating a continued female surplus. The Urban sector now reports the highest proportion of females, while the male population has decreased in both urban and rural areas, with a slight rise in the estate sector. Census data also reveal that more..

Nov 1 (DM) The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision in fuel prices, effective from midnight today. Accordingly, the price of Petrol Octane 92 has been reduced by Rs. 5 per litre, bringing the new price to Rs. 294. Meanwhile, the price of Super Diesel has been increased by Rs. 5 per litre, with the new retail price set at Rs. 318. Ceypetco stated that there will be no change in the prices of Petrol Octane 95, Lanka Auto Diesel, or Lanka Kerosene. more..

Nov 1 (FT) SL Customs has collected over Rs. 2 trillion in tax revenue as of 30 Oct, marking the highest annual revenue in the Dept’s history and placing it well ahead of its ambitious Rs. 2.115 trillion target for 2025. This milestone follows a 60% year-on-year (YoY) surge in 2024, when Customs recorded Rs. 1.53 trillion in revenue, a sharp increase from Rs. 975 billion in 2023. Dept announced that its total tax revenue for 2025 had exceeded Rs. 2 trillion by the end of October, more..

Nov 1 (FT) Rakuten Symphony and SLT-Mobitel have announced the signing of a MoU to collaborate on a pilot project to build an Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) comprising 4G and 5G NSA/SA (Non-Standalone and Standalone) sites within SL. SLT-Mobitel will leverage Rakuten Symphony’s advanced Open RAN portfolio to deliver innovative network infrastructure for the project, including a virtualised Centralised Unit (CU) and Distributed Unit (DU) infrastructure, more..

Nov 1 (ST) The govt’s plan to merge under-enrolled schools has triggered protests and confusion among students, parents, teachers, and education unions. Most sections have been left pondering whether local schools with a low number of students will be permanently closed, triggering a chain of reactions and leading to a risk of increasing the school dropout rate, particularly in provinces. There have been contradictory statements, more..

Nov 1 (DM) During the past six years in Sri Lanka, the number of soil embankment failures has increased compared with landslides and slope failures, officials said. As a result, Sri Lankans are being asked to be extra vigilant in building houses and buildings near earth embankments. According to data received from the Landslide Research and Risk Management Division of the NBRO for 2019–2024, there have been 936 landslides and slope failures, 4,320 earth embankment failures reported. more..

Nov 1 (DM) Sri Lanka is stepping up efforts to align its packaging industry with the global sustainability standards, targeting a 20 percent reduction in total waste by 2035 and meeting the European Union (EU) packaging benchmarks by 2040, a senior expert said. SYLCAN Trust SL Senior Technical Expert Dr. Thusitha Sugathapala said waste management has become a key driver of growth and innovation in the country’s packaging sector, which already contributes about 3% to GDP. more..

Nov 1 (DM) The Homagama High Court Judge Navarathna Marasinghe yesterday sentenced a man to 17 years of rigorous imprisonment for breaking into a house and sexually assaulting a woman and her two daughters while the husband, a soldier was away on duty. According to the evidence presented in court, the incident took place on May 13, 2014. The victim’s husband had been away in Puttalam on official duty leaving at home his wife, two daughters aged 14 and six and their young son. more..

Nov 1 (ST) Nuwara Eliya’s small-scale farmers whose livelihoods depended on small plots of cultivated land, are now gradually abandoning their farmlands due to the high cost of cultivation. As a result, some former farmlands are turning into overgrown shrublands. Particularly during the past two years, due to the changing climatic conditions in Nuwara Eliya, farmers have been unable to cultivate at the proper time and many find it difficult to continue farming, they say. more..

Nov 1 (ST) This week, Ministry of Education released a circular outlining the implementation of the 2026 curriculum reforms, which includes extending school hours until 2 p.m. for grades five to nine, but already has drawn protests from teacher unions. According to the circular, the reforms aim to modernise Sri Lanka’s education system and align learning with 21st century competencies. more..

Nov 1 (DM) UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has formally confirmed that it has reviewed a complaint concerning the UNHRC’s external accountability mechanism on SL and has taken appropriate action. The acknowledgment was issued to one of the complainants on 23 October 2025. The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is the internal oversight body of the UN. The Office assists the Secretary-General in fulfilling his oversight responsibilities more..

Nov 1 (FT) Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and Int'l Organisations of the Holy See, will undertake an official visit to SL next week. The visit is undertaken at the invitation ofMinister Vijitha Herath, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between SL and the Holy See. During the visit, Archbishop Gallagher will call on Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake, PM Harini Amarasuriya, and more..

Nov 1 (FT) Sri Lanka’s move toward a digital energy ecosystem remains uneven, with pilot initiatives underway but progress held back by limited funding, weak coordination, and the absence of a national roadmap, according to the IPS flagship report State of the Economy 2025. Report notes that while the National Energy Policy (NEP) 2019 provided a framework for digitalisation, implementation has been fragmented and more..

Nov 1 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday ended the week in red after a three-day rally amid foreign selling. ASPI was down 0.15%, 34.69 points lower to 22,804.84. The active S&P SL20 index however closed in green, up 0.18% gaining 11.20 points to 6,213.91. Turnover was more Rs. 5.6 billion on over 154.8 shares traded. Foreign selling was considerable with foreign net outflow amounting to Rs. 893 million yesterday. Compared to a week ago, the ASPI was down 7.68 points, more..

Nov 1 (FT) India and Sri Lanka have taken another step forward in their landmark power grid interconnection project, holding a virtual meeting on Thursday (30), to discuss implementation modalities and next steps for regional energy integration. Senior officials from both countries met virtually to deliberate on the operational framework for the proposed India–SL power grid interconnection, a key regional energy initiative aimed at enhancing cross-border electricity trade. more..

Nov 1 (Island) In the lush green heart of SL’s wet zone, where the songs of cicadas mingle with the distant rush of waterfalls, a remarkable story of restoration is quietly unfolding. Endane Biodiversity Corridor, a pioneering initiative by Dilmah Conservation, stands today as a symbol of ecological healing and visionary stewardship — a bridge reuniting fragments of rainforest once divided by human hands. It began in 2018, when Merrill J. Fernando, founder of Dilmah Ceylon Tea, more..

Nov 1 (FT) As part of its grand 175th anniversary celebrations, S. Thomas’ College (STC) has announced the launch of the first-ever All-Island Schools National Startup Innovation Event, scheduled to take place in partnership with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in November 2025. This pioneering initiative reflects STC’s commitment to elevating entrepreneurship across SL by nurturing the next generation of innovators and leaders. Founded in 1851, STC’s 175-year legacy more..

Nov 1 (DM) An elected chairman of a Pradeshiya Sabha (divisional council) is shot dead by a lone gunman while meeting members of the public in his council office. The party to which he belongs protests strongly and calls the killing a political assassination. The cabinet minister in charge of public security makes light of the murder by alleging that the victim was a gangster with a criminal past. He dismisses it as an underworld dispute. more..

Nov 1 (FT) Changing the world begins with changing our minds. In the midst of growing global crises, including climate change, increasing polarisation, inequality, and an overarching sense of disconnection from those around us and the natural world, it’s not a stretch to say that humanity needs change. Without question, the external systems and structures of our world need to be examined and adjusted. Yet a more hidden source of our current problems runs so deep that it is often more..

Nov 1 (Island) The state health sector is perennially ill, and the people are sick of it, so to speak. Nary a day passes without a strike or a protest staged by one category of health workers or another. Doctors are up in arms again. GMOA has been complaining of irregularities in doctors’ transfers due to administrative or political interference. It decided to stage a countrywide token strike yesterday in protest against an alleged govt move to implement doctors’ transfers arbitrarily, more..

Nov 1 (ST) With a colourful mop of hair and clothes and a big red nose, was a clown at a medical conference at a Colombo hotel recently and lo and behold, the same clown was later seen roaming the lengthy corridors of Angoda’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). They are the Clownselors from India who have provided evidence that there can be healing through humour! This is why they were going from bed-to-bed at the NIID’s Paediatric Ward, bringing smiles not just to more..

Nov 1 (CT) It is immaterial that, since coming to power, neither Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, nor any of his colleagues in the ruling JVP-NPP combine, has talked about the undefined systems change that they mouthed, especially between Aragalaya 2022 and the twin elections last year. Good will it be for the Nation if they leave it at that. It is not unlikely that the JVP masterminds, post-mainstreaming, circa 2024, have finally concluded that not all slogans are for enforcement. more..