JJan 4 (ST) PM Harini Amarasuirya, who is also the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, was to kick off the first phase of the NPP govt’s much-hyped educational reforms with a bang later this month, but instead, the whole process is now under public scrutiny and snowballing into a major controversy after the publication in the Grade Six English Language module textbook of a web address which more..

Jan 4 (ST) Dept of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) has reportedly announced its intention to award the tender for a Rs. 5.5bn contract to personalise its upcoming e-passport consignments. While the name of the winning bidder has not been publicly released, authoritative sources revealed it to be Thales DIS Finland OY and its Sri Lankan partner, Just In Time (JIT) Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. The procurement appeals process will begin next week, where unsuccessful parties will challenge the award. more..

Jan 4 (AD) Despite the severe impact of Cyclone Ditwah, Sri Lanka recorded a notable economic recovery in 2025, marking a significant turnaround following the country’s recent economic crisis. With the support of the IMF, SL entered 2025 with a renewed focus on restoring macroeconomic stability. Key economic indicators released for the year reflect substantial progress across multiple sectors. Tax revenue, the primary component of govt income, reached a historic high in 2025. more..

Jan 4 (AFP) President Donald Trump said yesterday that US forces had captured Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe. This image posted on Trump's Truth Social account yesterday show Maduro handcuffed onboard the USS Iwo Jima after US military captured him. more..

Jan 4 (ST) A golden handshake worth Rs 11.554 billion for workers choosing voluntary early exit will be funded by raising electricity tariffs from January to March, CEB has proposed to the regulator. This generous payout, offered as a part of the CEB carve-out, is for 2,158 employees. Some staff could be eligible for up to Rs 5m. The minimum is Rs 900,000. CEB has proposed to the PUCSL that voluntary retirement payments are to be funded through the first tariff revision this year. more..

Jan 4 (NW) The international gem and jewellery exhibition, FACETS Sri Lanka – 2026, was officially inaugurated today (3) at the Cinnamon Life Hotel in Colombo, under the patronage of Ministers Sunil Handunnetti and Vijitha Herath. Organized jointly by the SL Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA), National Gem and Jewellery Authority, and Export Development Board (EDB), the three-day exhibition will run from today until January 5. Now in its 32nd edition, FACETS Sri Lanka is more..

Jan 4 (Island) The removal of unauthorized pavement hawkers from Kandy town was carried out on Friday, in accordance with a prior announcement made by the Kandy Municipal Council. Despite the enforcement, vendors claim that the alternative location provided by the authorities is unsuitable for conducting their business effectively. Kandy Municipal Council had issued notices regarding the removal of unauthorized street traders since July of last year. more..

Jan 4 (DM) Showery conditions are expected to enhance in Eastern, Northern and Uva Provinces during the coming days, due to the development of a low-level atmospheric disturbance to the East of SL, Dept of Meteorology said. Showers are expected at times in Eastern, Central, North-central and Uva Provinces and in the Hambantota District. Fairly heavy falls above 75 mm are likely at some places in Central and Uva Provinces and in Batticaloa and Ampara Districts as per Met Dept forecast. more..

Jan 4 (TM) The Lanka Coal Company (LCC) is awaiting the Discharge Port Certificate before making payment for the first 60,000 MT coal shipment from a new supplier that imports coal from South Africa, following allegations that the shipment is of low quality. The Indian supplier is contracted to deliver a total of 25 consignments, following a tender that was finalised at the end of last year after months of delays, more..

Jan 4 (ST) When Sahasya Investment Company was established in Oct 2020, it was billed as a turning point in the management of SL’s expressway network. Designed as a state-owned commercial entity, Sahasya was meant to bring corporate discipline to an infrastructure system weighed down by heavy debt and long-standing inefficiencies. Instead, five years on, the company has been liquidated having barely operated leaving behind unanswered questions about governance, more..

Jan 4 (ST) Turmoil in Iran has caused a stir among SL tea exporters but shipments continue under the tea-for-oil barter deal between the two countries. Iran is one of the biggest buyers of Ceylon Tea. The Iranian Rial that fell sharply against the US dollar has reportedly sparked protests initially among traders there that later spread to other parts of the country and a shutdown of public institutions. At least 5 deaths have been reported by Friday. Devaluation of the Iranian currency more..

Jan 4 (AD) The facility to pay traffic spot fines online through the GovPay platform will be made available islandwide by January 15, according to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of Traffic Control and Road Safety, W.P.J. Senadheera. The DIG made these remarks while addressing a press conference held in Colombo yesterday (3), stating that the necessary facilities and training have already been provided to police officers to implement the system before January 15. more..

Jan 4 (TM) Employees of the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) are Govt servants whose salaries are determined strictly in line with national public sector salary scales, says Treasury Deputy Secretary Ananda Seneviratne, dismissing suggestions that remuneration at the newly established office should be aligned with that of the Central Bank of SL (CBSL). “PDMO employees are Govt employees, part of the pensionable Govt service. Their salaries are structured more..

Jan 4 (TM) SL is set to record year-on-year growth in tea exports in 2025 compared to 2024, although gains in production volumes remain uncertain pending the release of official figures following the impact of Cyclone Ditwah, reveals Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB). SLTB Chairman Rajpal Obeyesekere, commenting on the latest official export figures, stated that up to Nov 2025, SL had exported 239 mil kg of tea, more..

Jan 4 (NW) Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) has asked its MP Sivagnanam Shritharan to step down from the Constitutional Council following controversy over his support for the appointment of an army officer as Auditor General, party General Secretary M. A. Sumanthiran said. Sumanthiran said the decision was taken by the ITAK politburo, citing concerns over Shritharan’s stance on what the party views as the militarisation of independent state institutions. more..

Jan 4 (SO) Police prevented journalists from entering the highly contested Tissa Raja Maha Vihara premises in Kankesanthurai yesterday. The incident occurred during a protest in front of the Tissa Raja Maha Vihara where journalists from the private and State media had arrived to cover a protest by activists and residents. Hundreds of protestors had gathered in front of the temple calling for the release of private land allegedly encroached on by the temple in 2018. more..

Jan 4 (ST) For Sanath Jayasuriya, the road to the World Cup is no longer just another chapter in SL’s cricketing calendar. It is the final stretch of a journey that began quietly in Dec 2023 as a consultant and gathered full momentum when he officially took over as Head Coach in Oct 2024. This time, there is an end point clearly marked. Whatever the outcome of the World Cup, this will be Jayasuriya’s last assignment more..

Jan 4 (TM) Krrish Square project is expected to be stuck in limbo until the liquidation processes relating to Krrish Transworks Colombo Ltd. are completed, according to sources from the Urban Development Authority (UDA). High-ranking sources in the UDA said that a major creditor of Krrish Transworks Colombo Ltd., the local entity behind the Krrish Square project, has filed for the company’s winding-up. Consequently, the court has appointed a liquidator to manage the company’s affairs. more..

Jan 4 (TM) Price volatility dominated the local gold market during the final week of 2025, as the curtain closed on a historic year for the gold market, which saw local gold prices pass the milestone of Rs. 400,000 for the first time in history. Inamul Hassan from We Buy Gold revealed that on 26 December 2025, local gold prices had increased sharply, which saw 24 carat 8 g (1 sovereign) reaching Rs. 370,000 and 22 carat 8 g (1 sovereign) reaching Rs. 338,000. However, he noted that more..

Jan 4 (ST) Led by Vimath Dinsara of Royal College, the Sri Lanka Under-19 team took wings to the African continent to test their chances of becoming the ICC Men’s U-19 Cricket World Cup champions, which will be held from Jan 15 to Feb 6 in Namibia and Zimbabwe. Once the team lands in Namibia, where all their Group ‘A’ matches are scheduled to be played, SL youth will play two warm-up matches against South Africa on Jan 11 and Afghanistan on Jan 14, before 16-team extravaganza sets off more..

Jan 4 (Island) SLC is laying the groundwork for a new chapter in the island’s cricketing history, with plans to stage day-night Test matches at the historic Sinhalese Sports Club ground. The installation of floodlights at the SSC has now been completed and SLC Treasurer Sujeewa Godaliyadda said the project goes well beyond the immediate demands of the upcoming T20 World Cup. SLC funded the floodlight project at a cost of Rs. 1.8 billion, with SSC set to host 5 matches of the showpiece event. more..

Jan 4 (ST) Up-and-coming table tennis prodigy Taavi Samaraweera has let his commitment to the sport speak for itself, rising to the No.1 position in the latest World Table Tennis (WTT) Under-11 Boys’ Singles Rankings. The 10-year-old, a promising student of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, had been placed in the lower reaches of the world rankings in his age group not too long ago. A heavy workload of international competition in more..

Jan 4 (Island) Education reforms are among the most consequential policy decisions a nation can undertake. They shape not only the intellectual capacity of future generations but also the economic resilience, social cohesion, democratic culture, and long-term sovereignty of a country. In SL, education has historically functioned as a powerful engine of social mobility, equity, and national integration. From the mid-twentieth century onward, free education enabled generations from rural and more..

Jan 4 (CT) During a conference, I once asked the audience a simple question: Are the politicians in our country genuine? A young man who had been sitting quietly at the back then stood up and replied with a question of his own: “Do you think our voters are genuine?” In that moment, it became clear to me that the answer I was searching for lay not in my question, but in his. Perhaps the question itself needs to be reframed. Instead of asking whether politicians are genuine, more..

Jan 4 (Island) SL’s education sector is rarely in the news for the right reasons. It is perennially in turmoil and characterised by countless problems and clashes. Thankfully, Education Ministry has walked back its controversial decision to extend the school day by half an hour. It is reported to have cited transport problems caused by recent disasters as the reason for the reversal of its decision. However, it is determined to go ahead with its education reforms amidst vehement protests more..

Jan 4 (ST) My dear Mother Lanka, The year that just ended was one of ups and downs, one of great surprises, some notable achievements, but other equally significant disappointments. I feel that reflecting on last year could benefit us as we look forward to this year. For those who said the maalimaawa chaps will have to abandon govt and go home in 2025, giving specific dates as to when this would occur, this didn’t happen. They must be disappointed. more..

Jan 4 (ST) Minister Vijitha Herath flew to Bangladesh on Wednesday (31) to attend the state funeral of former PM Begum Khaleda Zia, who passed away at the age of 80. The plane carrying the minister had departed the BIA at 9.20am and landed in Dhaka at 1 pm, which left him only an hour to get to the funeral, which was due to begin at 2 pm. Despite being given a police escort from the airport, the motorcade carrying Minister Herath could more..

Jan 4 (TM) In the annals of governance, few practices are as corrosive as the predilection to manufacture crises, then feign investigation when they explode in public view. NPP Govt, which ascended to power on a clarion call for transparency and accountability, has increasingly distinguished itself not by the reforms it delivers but by the pitfalls it creates, only to respond with investigations, platitudes, & ritual sacrifice of a convenient official while architects of policy slip unscathed. more..

Jan 4 (CT) After me, the deluge, is the widely used English translation of the notorious French expression, Aprčs moi, le deluge, attributed to the 18th century King Louis XV of France and his indifference to what might happen after him. What happened afterwards was of course the French Revolution that led to the birth of the Republic amidst the carnage of a people. The expression was quite common in the SL parliament when it had quite a contingent of Oxbridge purists and more..

Jan 4 (ST) As fireworks and merriment draw to an end, the New Year has dawned with new hope for the people and the nation while the Govt as well as the Opposition are faced with old and new challenges in 2026. It is no secret that 2025 was a challenging year for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his JVP-led NPP Govt in learning the intricacies of governance as a first-time govt while Opposition political parties were more..

Jan 4 (ST) As the 2024 elected JVP-NPP appeared to be settling in after a year in the seat of govt, their Rendezvous with Destiny to change the political landscape was sent into a tailspin in just 24 hours by a natural disaster: a cyclone turned out to be their tormentor, not the political opposition they were hounding all year long. In relief work, complaints are mounting that it is relying more on its party cadres and that they are dictating terms, overriding the grassroots niladharis (officials). more..

Jan 4 (SO) The Colombo Port is one of the most well connected Ports in the world, located at the centre of the East-West shipping route between Singapore and Dubai. The World Bank recently ranked Colombo as the 24th in the Container Performance Index (CPI) and just one year back, Alphaliner rated it as the World’s Best Performing Port. It consistently ranks among the top 20 most well-connected Ports and is generally regarded as the most efficient Port in South Asia. more..