Mar 21 (CT) SJB MP Harsha de Silva, while presenting facts in Parliament, stated that the current method of collecting cigarette taxes is flawed. He further pointed out that even the WHO supports the view that a 75% tax should be imposed on the sale of a single cigarette. Continuing his remarks, he emphasised that a decision regarding cigarette taxes should be made in Parliament very soon. He also noted that the cigarette tax has been decreasing for several years. more..

Mar 21 (DM) CID has been asked to conduct a probe against former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa on two land deals, Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe told Parliament today. Justifying his action of alleged forced entry into a temple in Imbulgoda and Kelaniya, Deputy Minister said the land concerned does not belong to a temple. “The land is owned by Mahinda Rajapaksa Spiritual Foundation. This land has been purchased for a price of Rs. 500,000 and has been sold for Rs.10 million. more..

Mar 21 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered ten suspects arrested in connection with the shooting and killing of the notorious criminal figure and drug trafficker Sanjeewa Samararathne alias Ganemulla Sanjeewa to be remanded further until April 04. The suspects were virtually produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali via Skype technology today. Presenting facts before the court during the trial, officers of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) said that more..

Mar 21 (CT) Govt must take bold and radical steps to strengthen the economy of SL to make it a developed nation, said SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa in Parliament. He added that the Govt should have a clear plan to generate inland revenue but it seems that the incumbent Govt does not have such but a clear plan for spending the funds. He acknowledged that the Govt’s concepts envisaged in the Budget proposal for the financial year 2025 were commendable but pointed out challenges more..

Mar 21 (FT) Verité Research will host a conference titled, Riding the Indian Wave: World’s Fifth Largest Economy on SL’s Shores on 27 March, at ITC Ratnadipa Hotel, Colombo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This hybrid conference, where participants and panellists will join virtually and in person, will provide a platform for senior policymakers, industry leaders, and economic experts from SL and India to explore economic opportunities arising from India’s economic ascent for neighbouring countries. more..

Mar 21 (EN) Opposition legislator Rohini Kaviratne said she was tabling a list of 1,300 politicians assassinated by the JVP during its second armed uprising in the late 1980s. She said during the signing of the Indo-Lanka agreement large numbers of politicians of various parties were killed. The uprising was crushed by the then administration with the use of extra judicial killings. ” Along with 1,783 members of the UNP and 1761 member of other parties, more..

Mar 21 (TM) Former Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed that SL target a $1 trillion economy by 2055. He noted that this would require the economy to grow ten-fold over the next 30 years. Wickremesinghe linked the goal to Asia’s rising global influence, particularly in the Indian Ocean region, and pointed out that India has set a comparable target for the same period. The former Prez stressed the importance of economic integration with India to lift SL out of its current fragile state. more..

Mar 21 (AD) Applications have been called for the appointment of a member to the Right to Information (RTI) Commission. Under the provisions of the Right to Information Act, No. 12 of 2016, the Constitutional Council has called for applications from suitable individuals to be recommended for the appointment as a member of the Right to Information Commission to fill the vacancy that has arisen in respect of the post of member of the Right to Information Commission. more..

Mar 21 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court has directed the Illegal Assets Investigation Unit of the CID to further investigate Piumi Hansamali under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and report progress to the court. The motion filed by Hansamali’s legal representatives alleging that her business operations have been negatively impacted due to the actions of the CID officers was taken up before Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake today (20). more..

Mar 21 (CT) Sprinter Chamod Yodasinghe shone at the 2024 World Indoor Championship, advancing to the semifinals of the 60m event in Nanjing, China, today. In doing so, he became the first SL male athlete in history to reach the sprinting semifinals of the World Indoor Championship. During the semifinals, Yodasinghe finished 8th, clocking 6.70 seconds—the same time he recorded during the heats—and secured an overall 22nd position. Earlier, Yodasinghe impressed in the heats, clocking 6.70 seconds more..

Mar 21 (NW) A complaint has been filed with the CID regarding a doctored social media post by the Nalanda College Old Boys’ Association. The original post was shared by the association to congratulate past pupil of the College Deshabandu Tennakoon on his appointment as Inspector General of Police (IGP). However, a manipulated version of the post was later circulated on social media following Tennakoon’s recent court appearance and subsequent police custody. more..

Mar 21 (AD) Sri Lankan Airlines has cancelled several flights to London scheduled to depart Colombo today, due to the temporary closure of Heathrow Airport in London following a large fire at a nearby electrical substation. Accordingly, the Sri Lanka’s national carrier announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs on 21 March 2025, will not operate. more..

Mar 21 (AD) Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake, says that the nominations process for the 2025 LG Elections was conducted across 25 districts from March 17 to 12 noon yesterday. Nominations were accepted for a total of 336 local govt institutions. Nearly 2,900 groups are contesting the elections, with around 2,260 of these representing political parties. Additionally, he stated that of the total nominations submitted, nearly 425 have been rejected. more..

Mar 21 (EN) Sri Lanka importers have opened letters of credit valued at US$ 207 million to import cars so far, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake told parliament. “We are monitoring this every day,” Prez told parliament, on the final day of the 2025 budget debate. “By yesterday US$ 207 million have been opened.” There were fears of an unexpected surge of vehicle imports, he said. SL has slapped high taxes on cars, including a new 20% import duty triggering tax losses to more..

Mar 21 (FT) British Council in Sri Lanka hosted its annual networking event to welcome home the latest batch of SL’s Commonwealth and Chevening Scholars returning from the UK on completion of their studies. This year’s event, organised together with the British High Commission Colombo, was also the 65th anniversary of the Commonwealth Scholarships, and took place on Commonwealth Day—the first-ever Welcome Home event that celebrated both Commonwealth and Chevening Scholars. more..

Mar 21 (AD) The six police officers attached to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD), who surrendered to the Matara Magistrate’s Court over the shooting incident in front of a hotel at Weligama in Matara, have been granted bail by the court. The suspects were each ordered released on two surety bails of Rs. 200,000 while they were also ordered to appear before the CID tomorrow to record statements. The six CCD officers of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) had surrendered to more..

Mar 21 (AD) Third Reading of the 2025 Budget was passed in Parliament with amendments by a majority of 114 votes this evening. A total of 159 members voted in favour while 45 MPs voted against the inaugural budget of the NPP govt. The vote on the Third Reading of the budget for the financial year 2025 took place at 7.45 p.m. this evening following the Prez’s speech. Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, presented the Second Reading more..

Mar 21 (DM) The nomination of a German woman who was set to contest the upcoming LG Elections in the Matale District has been rejected. Area Election Officer said that the nomination was disqualified after officials found discrepancies in the birth certificate submitted by the candidate. The woman, who had obtained SL citizenship, made headlines as the first foreign national to enter a local election in SL. She had placed her deposit and intended to contest under an independent group more..

Mar 21 (AD) A training aircraft of the SL Air Force (SLAF) has crashed in the Wariyapola area, according to the SLAF Spokesman. The aircraft, identified as a K-8 jet manufactured in China, was reportedly on a training mission when it suddenly went out of radar contact and later crashed at Minuwangete, Wariyapola. Both pilots had ejected safely and descended by parachute, avoiding any injuries, while the jet has caught fire, he said. No casualties have been reported following the incident. more..

Mar 21 (FT) Russian roulette is a game in which you empty the chamber of a revolver, load a single bullet in, spin the chamber, hold the gun up to your head and pull the trigger. In a hypothetical ten-chamber revolver, there’s a 1 in 10 chance of death. Imagine playing this game every time you fell ill? World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 1 in 10 medicines in developing countries such as our own are substandard or falsified. Depending on the severity of your condition, more..

Mar 21 (FT) Despite 78 years of independence, SL has yet to find the right leadership—one that combines vision, integrity, and the ability to bring about long-term, meaningful change. Instead, the nation has endured cycles of mismanagement, corruption, and short-sighted politics that have left it struggling to reach its full potential. This is not due to a lack of intellectual capability among Sri Lankans. In fact, Sri Lankans are known for their sharp intellect and hold key leadership positions more..

Mar 21 (Island) SJB MP Hesha Withanage yesterday tabled several documents in Parliament to substantiate his allegations against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). He presented an Executive Committee meeting minute, claiming that according to it, payments to IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon had been approved. MP said that the SLC Executive Committee had appointed Tennakoon, then Senior DIG of Western Province, as an advisor more..

Mar 21 (TM) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) is still waiting for the CEB to provide them with information and data on the islandwide power outage that occurred on 9 Feb, it is reported. Several parties have been requesting that the PUCSL conduct an independent investigation into the power outage that occurred on 9 Feb this year. When queried by The Daily Morning, regarding the actions taken on the matter, PUCSL Director Jayanath Herath said that they had requested CEB more..

Mar 21 (EN) Parliament passed amendments to the country’s Inland Revenue Act aiming to boost tax income to achieve an ambitious revenue target Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake govt committed with the IMF. The amendments which will be effective from April 1, 2025 include many new tax proposals and changes to the existing personal income tax. The proposed amendments tabled in the parliament on March 1 were passed without any changes in the Parliament on Thursday, the Parliament said. more..

Mar 21 (DM) President of the Vehicle Importers' Association of SL (VIASL) Prasad Manage claimed today that an issue has arisen at the SL Customs Department, as the Nissan X-Trail and Toyota Raize, classified as hybrid SUVs by Japan Customs, have been identified as non-hybrid vehicles by SL Customs. He said that the Nissan X-Trail is a hybrid SUV with a 1,500cc engine capacity, while the Toyota Raize is a hybrid SUV more..

Mar 21 (TM) Following reports that at least 50% of the petitions received by the Parliamentary Committee on Public Petitions (PCPP) remain unaddressed, Committee Chairperson MP Gamini Rathnayake said that several measures have already been taken to make the Committee more efficient and responsive. Minister Bimal Rathnayake recently said in the Parliament that he believed that at least 50% of the public petitions received by the Parliament had not been investigated. more..

Mar 21 (CT) With a four-month-long waiting list for radiation treatment, the Linear Accelerator machine installed at National Hospital, Galle, has stopped accepting new patients for the past two weeks due to a fault in the computer system that plans radiation treatment, the Govt Radiological Technologists’ Association (GRTA) said. GRTA President, Chanaka Dharmawickrama lamented yesterday (20) that this was a result of a fault in the computer system that planned radiation treatment. more..

Mar 21 (NW) A discussion on reviewing the responsibilities of respective Ministries in achieving the objectives of the Clean Sri Lanka National Initiative was held yesterday on the second floor of the Chartered Building, located opposite the President’s House, with the participation of key officials from relevant institutions. As a key initiative of the govt, the Clean Sri Lanka programme has been allocated LKR 5 billion in the budget for this year. more..

Mar 21 (TM) Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) has alleged that many disciplinary proceedings against certain teachers, principals, and education administrative officials in the North Central Province (NCP) are currently not being properly implemented due to political pressure. CTU President Priyantha Fernando claimed that the disciplinary action against a principal, who was sentenced to five years of suspended imprisonment and fined Rs. 50,000 over the sexual abuse of a schoolgirl has come to more..

Mar 21 (DM) Sri Lanka could face losses of up to US$ 1.23 billion if it loses its GSP+ trade benefits with the European Union (EU), a new study by the IPS showed. With the absence of the preferential tariff scheme, the report noted that Sri Lanka risks facing a tariff increase from its GSP+ concessions to Most Favoured Nation (MFN) levels, which could potentially result in a loss of 36.7% of its exports to the EU. more..

Mar 21 (DM) In a momentous event for SL’s automotive landscape, the first shipment of BYD’s cutting-edge new energy vehicles (NEVs) has arrived at the Hambantota Port. This historic milestone, facilitated by John Keells CG Auto (JKCG Auto)—the authorised distributor for BYD vehicles in SL—ushers in a new era of sustainable mobility and innovation. Shipment includes a brand-new range of BYD’s most popular global models such as BYD SEALION 6, BYD ATTO 3, BYD DOLPHIN more..

Mar 21 (NF) National Union of Seafarers SL (NUSS) inaugurated the country's first Seafarer Wellness Centre, The Palace, today (20). The event marked a significant milestone in recognizing the contributions and addressing the well-being of seafarers. Katie Higginbottom, Chairperson and Head of ITF Seafarers' Trust, highlighted the challenges faced by seafarers during the pandemic, including denied shore leave and crew changes. She emphasized the importance of the new facility, stating, more..