Apr 9 (EN) SL’s Parliament, in a historic step aimed at combating systemic corruption and enhancing the rule of law, passed the Proceeds of Crime Act unanimously this week, a move that could be used to fast track unresolved and dragged past corrupt deals. This landmark legislation enables the govt to identify, seize, and recover illicit assets acquired through criminal conduct. The Act, analysts say, marks a new chapter in SL’s more..

Apr 9 (AD) Sri Lanka and Australia have reaffirmed the commitment to deepening defence ties and exploring new avenues for cooperation in areas such as maritime domain awareness (MDA), training exchanges and capacity-building initiatives. A number of key matters of mutual interest, particularly in the area of defence and security cooperation were deliberated when the Australian High Commissioner to SL, Paul Stephens, paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Minister of Defence, more..

Apr 9 (DN) The Sri Lanka A team for the upcoming tri-nation cricket tournament in the UAE has been announced. The team will be captained by Sadheera Samarawickrama. The selected players are Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara, Lasath Kruspulle, Nuwanindu Fernando, Pasindu Suriyabandara, Pawan Ratnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Sonal Dinusha, Dushan Hemantha, Tharindu Ratnayake, Wanju Sahan, Milan Ratnayake, Chamidu Wickramasinghe, Dilshan Madushanka, and more..

Apr 9 (NF) The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs has announced a new plan to expedite the trials of child abuse cases. This decision comes in response to the revelation that approximately 40,000 such cases are currently pending. The Ministry highlighted the problematic delays in delivering verdicts, which have led to prolonged and challenging situations for the victims. To address this issue, multiple rounds of discussions have been held with the Ministry of Justice. more..

Apr 9 (EN) SL is planning to open a night market on the scenic Marine Drive, Chairman of the SL Tourism Promotion Bureau Buddhika Hewawasam said. “We have planned a night market around Marine Drive in Colombo,” Buddhika Hewawasam said. SLTPB will launch this initiative under the city branding project to promote tourism in Colombo. The scenic Marine Drive runs along the ocean, stretching from the Kollupitiya business area to suburban Dehiwela, and features many hotels and restaurants. more..

Apr 9 (NW) Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the exhumation of the body of the 26-year-old youth who died while in police custody at the Welikada Police Station recently, to facilitate a fresh postmortem examination by a panel of three specialist doctors. The directive was issued by Additional Magistrate Kemintha Perera, following a request made by the aggrieved party. Court instructed Chief JMO of Colombo to carry out more..

Apr 9 (DM) There are two ministers in the present government who have faced corruption charges, Opposition MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake told Parliament yesterday. “One minister is alleged to have acquired a building in Dehiwala by force. A complaint had been filed with CID years ago, but no investigation has been carried out to date,” the MP said. The MP said there is another minister who was charged with theft during his days at Fertilizer Corporation.” more..

Apr 9 (AD) Former Minister Mervyn Silva, who was arrested and remanded for allegedly selling a plot of state-owned land in Kiribathgoda to a private party by forging documents, has been further remanded. The Mahara Magistrate’s Court ordered former Minister Silva and three other defendants in the case be remanded until April 21, Ada Derana reporter said. Meanwhile, court also issued warrants for the arrest of former state minister Prasanna Ranaweera and Milroy Perera, who are evading arrest more..

Apr 9 (AD) Election Commission has announced that Samantha Ranasinghe of the NPP has been elected as a MP to fill the vacancy created by the passing of NPP Kegalle District MP, Kosala Nuwan Jayaweera. Ranasinghe, who served as the Rambukkana Electoral Organizer of the NPP during the 2024 parliamentary election, was next on the NPP list based on the preference votes obtained. According to the official announcement, more..

Apr 9 (CT) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa questioned in Parliament whether the Govt has a proper plan to safeguard micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), as the Parate Law has now been reactivated. He stressed that successive Govts have failed to provide a lasting solution to the challenges faced by MSMEs, a vital segment of the country’s industrial base. He said the Parate Law, which empowers banks to auction properties of loan defaulters without court proceedings, more..

Apr 9 (FT) Port City Colombo participated as a Platinum Partner at the Invest Sri Lanka Business Forum 2025, held on 3 April in Bangkok, Thailand. The event was organised by the Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Thailand in collaboration with the Thai-SL Chamber of Commerce. The aim of this premier occasion was to promote Sri Lanka as an emerging foreign direct investment (FDI) destination to prospective investors from across the Southeast Asian region. more..

Apr 9 (FT) While the buzz in media circles last week was about senior investigative journalist Namini Wijedasa’s US Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award 2025, the slow burn in the same arena was still over a baffling lack of progress in emblematic media cases demanding justice for slain scribes. Where the blood of assassinated editor Lasantha Wickrematunge runs as cold as the trail of suspects who carried out his slaughter at whoever’s behest, there can be no real celebration more..

Apr 9 (FT) The Adani saga appears to have raised its head again. A recent headline news claimed that SL has lost $ 1,000,000,000 foreign direct investment. This immediately raises the question, to what extent Sri Lanka is prepared to demean its sovereignty and national pride, for the so-called benefits of Foreign Direct Investment. No doubt, FDI is a recognised means of attracting capital for development and is touted as a way forward to achieve projects and growth trajectories. more..

Apr 9 (EN) US Customs and Border Protection will start to collect the 44% tariff against SL and a number of other countries from midnight while new taxes on China would go up to a total of 104% for daring to retaliate, Prez Donald Trump said. “CBP is working closely with other govt agencies to implement Liberation Day announcements and will continue to provide detailed guidance to promote compliance and uniform enforcement across more..

Apr 9 (TM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has personally written to US Prez Donald Trump on ways to mitigate the impact and reduce the tariffs imposed recently, Deputy Minister Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando announced in the Parliament. He said that the White House has also acknowledged the letter sent by Prez Dissanayake. Prof. Fernando stressed that the new Govt is focused on reducing the trade deficit with the US in response to the reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump. more..

Apr 9 (ST) Govt’s capital market policy is to bring isolated savings and scattered savings together, to create platforms to formulate these savings and recognise them as single investments, a top govt minister said. Govt has not ruled out the option of state-owned enterprises to raise capital through the capital markets, he added, noting that the govt has appointed a separate committee to look at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and other govt entities, & come up with appropriate solutions for them. more..

Apr 9 (FT) The Cabinet approved the revision of the national minimum monthly and daily wage structure for private sector employees. The new wage structure will take effect in two stages, beginning from 1 Apr 2025 while the second stage revision will begin on 1 Jan 2026. “The national minimum monthly wage will increase by Rs. 9,500 rising from the current Rs. 17,500 to Rs. 27,000. This will further increase by Rs. 3,000 more..

Apr 9 (Island) The govt would not extend the suspension of parate executions that was now effective, Deputy Minister of Finance Harshana Suriyapperuma told Parliament. Suriyapperuma said so in response to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who asked about the govt’s plans regarding a relief package to assist small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) struggling to repay loans. Pointing out that about 263,000 SMEs had closed down, more..

Apr 9 (FT) Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved drafting a new legislation aimed at protecting the rights of plant species, addressing a long-standing legal gap in the country’s intellectual property framework. Although the existing Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 includes legal provisions for publishing rights, technical planning, patents, trademarks and business rights, it currently lacks coverage for the protection of rights related to plant species. more..

Apr 9 (FT) Minister Nalinda Jayatissa responded to growing controversy over a statement made by Deputy Minister Nalin Hewage regarding the country’s official reserve levels at the time the new Govt assumed office. He presented verified data sourced from the CB, detailing the country’s reserve figures from Sept 2024 to March 2025. “In Sept 2024 when we took office, the official reserves stood at $ 5.99 billion, in Oct it was at $ 6.47 billion, in Nov it was $ 6.45 bil and in Dec it was $ 6.12 bil. more..

Apr 9 (FT) Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved the disposal of several State-owned lands on long-term leases, paving the way for new mixed development projects under Urban Development Authority (UDA). The move is expected to attract suitable investors through a transparent procurement process based on Govt Appraiser valuations and UDA planning regulations. The approved leases include; 1) three parcels of land in Sellakatharagama measuring 42.03, 20.28, more..

Apr 9 (TM) Govt stated that the agreement reached with the Indian Govt regarding the pharmaceutical sector is to recognise the Indian Pharmacopoeia in SL, and that this will not affect the powers and functions of the NMRA. Minister of Health Nalinda Jayatissa said that recognising the Indian Pharmacopoeia would simplify the work done by the NMRA in importing and certifying medicines, in a context where 85% of SL's imported more..

Apr 9 (NW) SJB MP Jagath Vithana alleged that former Prez Ranil Wickremsinghe funded the efforts to elect Maithripala Sirisena into power during the 2015 presidential election. MP said Wickremesinghe offered monetary support on the condition that that Arjuna Mahendran be made the CB Governor. “He doubled and tripled the money that we gave, and he is still to be found. Why am I not summoned? Why am I not being questioned?” He said referring to former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran more..

Apr 9 (FT) Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved tabling a report in Parliament detailing the deviation of headline inflation from the target set under the Monetary Policy Framework of the Central Bank of SL Act. No. 16 of 2023. The move comes after the CBSL failed to meet the set inflation target for two consecutive quarters in 2024. As per the agreement on the monetary policy framework signed on 3 Oct 2023 between the Finance Minister and CBSL under the provisions of Section 26(1) of the Act, more..

Apr 9 (AD) A meeting between Secretary to the Prez, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake and relevant ministry officials was held today (8) at the Presidential Secretariat regarding the development plans to be implemented in SL under three zones, in collaboration with the Surbana Jurong Institute of Singapore and 18 Ministries. During the meeting it was discussed in detail regarding the plans for the Colombo Metropolitan Region, Eastern Development Plan and the Greater Hambantota Project. more..

Apr 9 (Island) SL Olympians, together with the Dept of Forest Conservation, conducted a tree planting programme at the premises of D. S. Senanayake National School, Dambulla. SL Olympians conduct a tree planting programme every year at a selected school in one province. Accordingly, this year’s event was successfully held with the participation of Olympians, students and a large number of enthusiasts at Dambulla. Name plates of 77 living Olympians out of the 107 who more..

Apr 9 (TM) Govt declined to provide details about the MoUs signed between Sri Lanka and India during the visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi, calling on journalists and the public to obtain information through Right to Information (RTI) requests instead. These remarks were made by Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, at the weekly Cabinet media briefing in response to questions raised by the media regarding publication of the contents more..

Apr 9 (DM) SL’s banks and finance companies ended 2024 on a strong note, disbursing a substantial volume of loans to the private sector as declining interest rates and a recovering economy reignited credit demand. According to CB’s Annual Economic Review 2024, licensed finance companies recorded a significant Rs.277.1 billion increase in outstanding private sector credit last year, reflecting robust growth of 21%. By comparison, licensed commercial banks extended Rs.789.6 b more..

Apr 9 (FT) On his first visit to the north as the BoI Chairman Arjuna Herath sought support from the relevant Govt officials to speed up the initial steps to ensure that the infrastructure facilities of the proposed investment zones in Kankesanthurai, Paranthan, and Mankulam can be finished promptly. He said this will ensure that investors can begin construction of their projects by the end of the third quarter of this year. more..

Apr 9 (DM) SL’s tourism recovery is facing significant headwinds, with new projections suggesting that the island nation will fall half a million visitors short of its ambitious 3 million arrival target this year. According to First Capital Research (FCR), the country will likely welcome just 2.5 million tourists in 2025, resulting in approximately US$ 4 billion revenue below the targeted US$ 5 billion revenue. Even by 2026, FCR predicts Sri Lanka will still miss its 3 million target by about 200,000 arrivals. more..

Apr 9 (FT) Chamber of Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) said it is seeking to collaborate and offer support to Govt officials by assembling a panel of export oriented industry specialists in this time of need. COYLE is a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, inclusive of a number of well-experienced Export Revenue generating entrepreneurs and manufacturers. Various products and services operated by our members generate some of the highest income in the export more..