Oct 7 (NW) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has raised concerns over jailed BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera being brought before court in civilian clothes, calling on the govt to respect religious traditions and the dignity of the Buddhist robe. Premadasa said courts operate within a legal framework and cannot go beyond those limits, but argued that govts must also act sensitively towards social traditions, conventions & cultural identities. more..

Oct 7 (NW) PM Harini Amarasuriya, reaffirmed the govt’s commitment to safeguarding the dignity, welfare and professional rights of teachers, announcing plans to recruit over 23,000 new graduates into the national teaching service. Addressing the Guru Pratibha Prabha – 2026 National Teacher & Principal Commendation Ceremony at Ananda College, Colombo, to mark World Teachers’ Day on Oct 6, PM outlined key state initiatives aimed at resolving long standing more..

Oct 7 (FT) SJB MP Harsha de Silva yesterday urged the Govt to buy back part of SL’s Macro-Linked Bonds (MLBs) before markets reprice them, claiming proactive action could save the country $ 300 million to $ 400 million over the next decade. MLBs, issued under the 2024 sovereign debt restructuring, tie repayments to economic performance, so that bondholders recover more if GDP growth exceeds the IMF baseline. more..

Oct 7 (NW) Police have provided further details regarding a video circulating on social media showing officers from the Walipenna Police Station searching a house in the area. According to Police, the search was carried out following several complaints received on October 3, 2026, concerning an alleged incident in which two individuals and several others had allegedly assaulted people at another residence while displaying sharp weapons and issuing death threats. more..

Oct 7 (NW) A bank officer accused of helping BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera evade arrest while warrants had been issued against him by three courts has been remanded until Oct 9. Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued the order after the bank officer, a resident of the Kelaniya area, was arrested and produced before court by Colombo Crimes Division (CCD). CCD told court that the suspect had allegedly transported Thera in his vehicle more..

Oct 7 (ST) The implementation of SL’s 2026 Budget proposals reflects a period focused on transitioning from post-crisis stability toward infrastructure revival, though it faces a slower pace of development spending. This process under the Ministry of Finance has been strictly bound by the fiscal rules of the Public Finance Management Act No. 44 of 2024, aiming for a primary surplus of 2.3-2.5% of GDP. Secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance, Harshana Suriyapperuma, has stated that more..

Oct 7 (ST) Dept of Immigration and Emigration will procure another 500,000 ordinary machine-readable passports to tide it over until the govt finally introduces e-passports. Last month, the department floated a tender for a national e-passport public key infrastructure (PKI) solution. Tender included passport personalisation, whereby personal details are entered into the data page, and integration with Int'l Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) public key directory (PKD). more..

Oct 7 (ST) Sports Minister will no longer have the power to directly appoint SL’s national cricket selectors under the proposed new Sri Lanka Cricket Bill, with that responsibility being transferred to the SLC Board. The Bill, gazetted this week, provides for the SLC Board to appoint both the National Men’s Selection Committee and National Women’s Selection Committee. This marks a major change from the system that has more..

Oct 7 (FT) National Co-operative Exports Limited (NCEL), India, and the Sri Lanka Consumer Co-operative Societies Federation Ltd (COOPFED) have signed a MoU in Colombo today to strengthen cooperation in the supply of essential commodities, food security and cooperative development. The MoU was signed by NCEL Managing Director Unupom Kausik and COOPFED Chairman Dr. Shantha Jayarathne in the presence of Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe and Indian HC more..

Oct 7 (FT) SL Export Development Board (EDB), operating under the Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry, conducted a SME Awareness Creation Forum at the Trincomalee District Secretariat on 1 Oct 2026. Forum aimed to support and develop regional small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs with export potential in the Trincomalee District of Eastern Province. Program comprised three main components; an awareness creation seminar, a mini exhibition more..

Oct 7 (HRW) SL govt’s latest attempt to replace its abusive PTA retains numerous provisions that have enabled serious human rights violations, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTB), which will be sent to Parliament on Oct 6, includes an overbroad definition of terrorism, inadequate judicial oversight, sweeping powers of search and arrest for the armed forces, more..

Oct 7 (Island) The membership-based electoral structure should provide representation without becoming a substitute for executive management. The seven Elected Directors would bring the perspectives of the SLC membership into the Board, while the seven Independent Directors would provide additional professional expertise and independence. The model’s effectiveness will, therefore, depend on whether the Board can integrate these perspectives into coherent more..

Oct 7 (Island) Fuel queues have returned, with long lines of vehicles reported at filling stations in many parts of the country. Foreign companies engaged in fuel trade have reportedly curtailed supplies, claiming that they are incurring substantial losses as fuel prices determined by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) are not sufficient to cover their costs despite a 70-rupee diesel subsidy. The govt appears to be watching helplessly while fuel queues are lengthening. more..

Oct 7 (GV) Tisaranee Gunasekara, in her article in Groundviews, Land Mining Sri Lanka in Vadunnagala, says that Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, who is accused of child rape and no longer the Atamasthanadhipati, gifted a Sri Maha Bodhi sapling to me that I planted it in Vadunnagala archaeological site in the Northern Province, which is being promoted via social media as the next battle field between Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus. She says that Galgamuve Shanthibodhi more..

Oct 7 (TM) Some years ago, in a village temple in the Kandyan hills, I asked the incumbent whether anything old from his teacher had been kept. He thought about it, found a key, and opened an almirah in a side room. Inside were brass lamps, a silver betel box, a folded length of cloth that had clearly once been fine, and a small reliquary that I would guess, though only guess, to be 19th century. I asked who had given them. He said his teacher would have known. more..

Oct 7 (TM) SL’s Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) sector handles billions of rupees each year, much of it directed towards development, humanitarian assistance, poverty alleviation, education, health, human rights, and other social programmes. The scale alone makes the case for financial accountability difficult to dispute. Official figures published by the National Secretariat for NGOs show a reported NGO fund inflow more..

Oct 7 (ST) All the trouble and the untold efforts taken these past two years to build a rich nation and a beautiful life on cloud nine for the people of this country may come to naught if the bleak economic scenario – as painted in a damning US report on SL’s economic prospects for the year ahead – comes to pass. While US State Dept’s annual report on SL explicitly acknowledges that SL’s economy grew by 5%, exceeding expectations, and credits NPP govt for maintaining political stability, more..

Oct 7 (DM) NPP govt is facing a serious dilemma in keeping some of its pledges to the people given during the last Prez and Parliamentary elections. The reason could be argued both ways -- insincerity as well as circumstantial pressure, based on one’s political affiliation. One important acid test for the govt is to adopt a new constitution replacing the current one, while another is replacing the current PTA with another anti-terrorism Act that could be acceptable to the int'l community. more..

Oct 7 (SO) SL entered 2025 with a national objective of eliminating child labour, but a senior official of the Dept of Labour has confirmed that the Dept’s report corresponding to 2025 has not yet been prepared. The absence of the 2025 report means that the latest available annual performance data from Dept of Labour currently cover the period up to 2024. These reports record thousands of inspections, investigations into complaints more..

Oct 7 (DM) The dynamics of political change across countries are undergoing changes. Political change is no longer brought about only by elections involving conventional political parties and established leaders, but by agitations and street actions by Gen Z. A Gen Z grouping is an inchoate, unorganised, and spontaneously formed group surfacing in response to the emergence of intolerable conditions in the social, economic or political environment. more..

Oct 7 (CT) Public attention is currently focused on a humanitarian issue involving the provision of essential food ,water and other humanitarian assistance to Iranian naval vessels within Sri Lanka’s maritime zone. There is a fundamental question that we should ask whenever sanctions, int'l restrictions or political considerations arise in relation to persons in distress at sea: A person who is drowning cannot first be asked about his nationality, political affiliation or more..

Oct 6 (NW) CPC says fuel prices can be maintained at their current levels until the end of October, while assuring that there is no issue with its fuel stocks. CPC Chairman D.J. Rajakaruna said the corporation was also confident of maintaining the current fuel price and supply situation over the next three months, provided there were no major unforeseen disruptions. He said temporary shortages could occur in some areas due to other fuel companies reducing supplies to their filling stations. more..

Oct 6 (DM) Another case filed against BBS organisation Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera over allegedly making a statement insulting Islam has been fixed for Oct 23 for further hearing by Colombo High Court Judge Buddhika C. Ragala. At the previous hearing, the court issued a warrant against Ven. Gnanasara Thera as he had failed to appear before the open court in connection with this case. Accordingly, when the case was taken up today, accused, Ven. Gnanasara Thera, more..

Oct 6 (NW) SL’s economy has returned to pre-crisis levels after expanding for 12 consecutive quarters, but household incomes, employment outcomes and poverty levels continue to lag behind the broader economic recovery, World Bank said. In its latest SL Development Update, titled From Recovery to Transformation, World Bank projected the economy to grow by 4.4% in 2026, higher than earlier forecasts, supported by strong more..

Oct 6 (PMD) A special discussion on preparations for SL’s third mutual evaluation on international compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards was held this morning, chaired by the Prez. Discussion focused extensively on preparations for the third mutual evaluation, scheduled to be conducted from 26 Oct to 6 Nov 2026. Progress in implementing the relevant recommendations and action plan at more..

Oct 6 (AFP) Misinformation targeting SL's Muslim community has long circulated on social media, fuelling tensions in the Buddhist-majority nation. In September, users falsely claimed more than 380,000 Muslim babies are born annually while 750,000 mostly Buddhist Sinhalese women supposedly undergo abortions every year. Multiple experts told AFP the figures are inconsistent with the island nation's birth rate and available data on abortions. "Sinhala people, if you don't have at least more..

Oct 6 (Island) The govt is coming under pressure from civil society organisations to formulate a clear mechanism to deal with requests for presidential pardons. Representing civil society organisations, Gamini Viyangoda flayed the NPP govt for the delay in taking action against Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, after the Supreme Court declared the 2019 presidential pardon granted to him by Prez Maithripala more..

Oct 6 (FT) Govt is set to establish 1,050 official email accounts covering 350 courts across SL as part of measures to accelerate the digitalisation of the country’s judicial system. The accounts will operate under the official courts.gov.lk domain, while the initiative will also introduce voice-to-text technology and video conferencing facilities to support court proceedings and administration. Cabinet has approved the proposal presented by Minister of Justice and National Integration to more..

Oct 6 (FT) Container volumes at the Port of Colombo rose 10.3% year-on-year (YoY) to 5.99 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first eight months of 2026, driven by transshipment, although domestic container traffic contracted sharply in August. A TEU is the standard unit for measuring container capacity, equal to one 20-foot shipping container. Total container handling at Colombo grew 4.7% YoY to 776,300 TEUs in August, from 741,124 TEUs a year earlier, more..

Oct 6 (NW) A Rs. 91.21 million feasibility study is to be carried out to identify measures to reduce traffic congestion around Lotus Junction, the Port Access Elevated Highway and the Marine Drive Connector Road in Colombo. Cabinet has approved awarding the consultancy services contract to M/s Master Hellie’s Engineering Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, based on the recommendation of the Cabinet-appointed Consultancy Procurement Committee. The contract comprises a local component of Rs. 52.44m more..

Oct 6 (EN) Sri Lanka has awarded contracts valued at over 4 billion rupees for several road infrastructure improvement projects, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. Bids were called from contractors, and following evaluation of the bids, the Cabinet approved the proposals to award contracts as follows: Asset Engineering (Pvt) Ltd was awarded a 744.68 million rupee contract to improve the Blackpool-Ambewela-Pattipola-Horton Plains Road (12+500km to 18+000km) (B512). more..