Mar 3 (FT) SL’s outstanding Govt external debt rose to $ 37,663 million as at 31 December 2025, up by $ 425 million from $ 37,238 million recorded at end-September. This is according to the Quarterly Debt Bulletin – Dec 2025 released by the Treasury recently, Total outstanding public debt (gross), which includes central Govt debt, Govt-guaranteed SOE debt and Provincial Council and Local Govt debt, amounted to $ 103. 6 billion at end-2025, compared to $ 106.8 billion in the September quarter. more..

Mar 3 (DN) Vijitha Herath met with Oana Toiu during his official visit to Romania, holding discussions on strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. During the meeting, the two ministers recalled that diplomatic relations between SL and Romania were established in 1957, noting that the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties will be marked next year. Discussions focused on further expanding what both sides described as excellent bilateral relations into new areas of cooperation. more..

Mar 3 (DM) Besieged coach Sanath Jayasuriya has found himself trapped or poised to backtrack after telling the media he will throw in the towel after the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan last Saturday and then deciding to stay on for talks with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) that has become the fiefdom of a chosen few headed by Shammi Silva who is now into his seventh year at the helm, years longer than the term of the Head of State. more..

Mar 3 (ST) Bar Association of SL (BASL) will confer the distinguished title of Honoris Causa on Upul Jayasuriya, PC, in recognition of his exceptional and courageous service to the association and to the country’s legal system during some of its most turbulent years. The proposal, put forward by the incumbent president of the BASL, Rajeev Amarasuriya, received unanimous approval. Mr Jayasuriya’s presidency coincided with one of the most contentious constitutional episodes more..

Mar 3 (SO) A by-law passed by the Point Pedro PS concerning military-run businesses in its jurisdiction has sparked controversy on social media in recent days, with claims circulating that the local authority had imposed a ban on the public from patronising Army-operated establishments. However, a member of the Point Pedro PS has rejected those claims as misleading. Social media posts say that the Council had passed a new law prohibiting the public from engaging in any business activities more..

Mar 3 (DN) Madushani Herath the 20-year-old jumper once again came to the fore when she established a new SL Record in women’s Triple Jump event with a distance of 13.68m representing Sri Lak Athletic Club at the first selection trial held at Diyagama Stadium over the weekend. The undergraduate from Kelaniya University Madushani broke Vidushani Lakshsni’s National Triple Jump record of 13.66m set up in 2019. more..

Mar 3 (FT) Court of Appeal has delivered a significant judgment in favour of Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC, ruling that the company should be classified as a Holding Company rather than an Investment Company for corporate tax purposes under the Inland Revenue Act (IRA) of 2006. The decision arose from C.A. (Tax) 20/2022 and 21/2022, which centred on whether the company’s corporate structure and income profile warranted treatment as an Investment Company or more..

Mar 3 (FT) Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Group has ended FY2025 strongly, with substantial improvement in profitability. Profit After Tax (PAT) surged 221% versus the previous year to Rs. 10 billion, compared to Rs. 3.1 billion in FY2024, sustained through cost savings, reduced finance costs, and steady revenue growth for fixed and mobile segments. Group revenue grew 3% to Rs. 114.2 billion, with SLT contributing a 2% increase and Mobitel reporting a stronger 5% growth. more..

Mar 3 (NW) Under the provisions of the Inland Revenue (Amd) Act of 2026, a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) certificate will become a mandatory requirement for several key services and transactions in SL starting April 1, 2026. This regulation empowers the Commissioner General to issue these certificates to any person or entity assigned a TIN, ensuring a formalized tax registration process for essential activities. Act specifies that the following tasks cannot be more..

Mar 3 (FT) Home Lands has secured an over 3-acre premium mixed-use land parcel at Port City Colombo in a landmark transaction valued at $ 40.1 mil (Rs. 12.5 bil), marking one of the most significant single investments made by a SL developer within the country’s most ambitious urban development project. With this milestone, Port City Colombo joins hands with Home Lands, SL’s market leader in real estate, consecutive 3-time Best Developer SL award winner at PropertyGuru Asia Awards, more..

Mar 3 (FT) Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) came under sustained and unusually direct scrutiny last week as some of the country’s most senior capital market lawyers and jurists publicly questioned whether the regulator’s expanded enforcement powers under the new SEC Act are adequately balanced by constitutional safeguards, structural separation, and institutional capacity. The debate unfolded at the BASL more..

Mar 3 (Island) Sri Lankans had to languish in long queues outside filling stations for days on end in 2022, when the country was short of foreign exchange for fuel imports. JVP/NPP leaders made the most of that situation; they condemned the govt of the day, instigated protests and shored up their electoral prospects. Today, winding queues have appeared again outside filling stations due to panic buying and hoarding triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict though the CPC has assured more..

Mar 3 (Island) Time has, by and large, stood still in the business of academic staff recruitment to state universities. Qualifications have proliferated and evolved to be more interdisciplinary, but our selection processes and evaluation criteria are unchanged since at least the late 1990s. But before I delve into the problems, I will describe the existing processes and schemes of recruitment. The discussion is limited to UGC-governed state universities (and does not include recruitment more..

Mar 3 (FT) A customised capacity-building program for 10 aquaculturists from the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA) under the Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Ministry of SL, was organizsed from 2 to 13 Feb at the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Bhubaneshwar, India - the premier research institute for freshwater aquaculture in India under the aegeis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The program encompassed technical sessions on more..

Mar 3 (SO) The long-shadowed diplomatic winter of the Middle East has officially morphed into a scorching firestorm. In the early hours of February 28, 2026, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) launched Operation Shield of Judah, a massive pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure. Within minutes, the geopolitical landscape shifted fundamentally as US Prez Donald Trump confirmed from Mar-a-Lago in Florida that US had joined the fray with Operation Epic Fury, more..

Mar 3 (TM) SL’s plantation wage debate has once again surfaced at the highest levels of Govt, but this time the dispute is no longer only about how much an estate worker should earn at the end of the day. The debate has evolved into a wider confrontation over public finance discipline, legal authority, labour market distortions, and the future structure of the plantation economy – with a parallel Govt push to reclaim unused fertile land, more..

Mar 3 (GV) Before the expulsion of the Northern Muslims in 1990 by the LTTE, Muslims and Tamils of the North lived in harmony with one another. An exhibition testifying to this co-existence was held recently, with photographs—most of them in black and white—displaying images of buildings, ornaments, items of clothing and people, while some captured ruins where once-thriving structures stood. Together, these images served as a poignant reminder that the way of life captured in more..

Mar 3 (CT) Panic buying surged across certain parts of the island following escalated attacks in the Middle East, while tensions reached a critical point when Iranian State media confirmed the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the wake of Israeli & US airstrikes, threatening widespread regional destabilisation. Potential global impact of these attacks cannot be understated. Entire region has transitioned beyond an energy supplier, into a global hub for business connecting the East & West. more..

Mar 3 (SO) Life in Colombo increasingly feels like a crawl through exhaust fumes. Buses idle, vehicles surge forward and stop again, and a fine layer of dust settles on clothes even before we get to school or work. Children cough, many reach into their bags for inhalers – these are common sights now in any city across Asia. In Sri Lanka, people usually consider asthma and allergies to be dust problems or more..

Mar 3 (DM) People who have lost their homes are all over my social media feeds. But they are from Gaza, not from SL. The pictures are horrific and the stories are heart rending. But we’re not doing much for them beyond putting flags on our profiles. As social animals, we are programmed to sympathize. Those who do not are called sociopaths. Close to home. In addition to the many innocents who have lost their homes in West Asia, we also have many close-to-home who had homes in November but more..

Mar 3 (DM) On 28 Feb as peace negotiations were ongoing between the US and Iran in a sneak attack the US and its partner Israel, attacked multiple locations in Iran, including the home of Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Among other locations targeted by the US and Israel was a girls kindergarten. Over a hundred little children were killed in the attack. Ayatollah himself was meeting with a number of military commanders at his residence. The Iranian leader, at least five more..

Mar 2 (NW) Sri Lankan govt has launched a series of special measures to ensure the safety and welfare of foreign tourists in the country and SL migrant workers overseas amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and Gulf region. The decisions were taken at a special meeting held Sunday at the President’s Office, chaired by Deputy Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe and Prez’s Secretary Dr. Nandika Kumanayake. more..

Mar 2 (DM) As tensions escalate between Israel and Iran, Sri Lanka has launched a broad set of diplomatic, aviation, economic and welfare measures to manage potential fallout and safeguard both its citizens and visitors. Although the conflict is unfolding far from its shores, Sri Lanka’s strong labour, trade, tourism and aviation links with the Middle East mean developments in the region carry direct implications for the country. Here is how Sri Lanka is responding. more..

Mar 2 (DN) CPC Chairman Janaka Rajakaruna stated that with current reserves and incoming shipments, SL possesses sufficient fuel stocks to meet national demand for over a month. He added that there is no justification for public panic, noting that CPC has completed a comprehensive assessment of available reserves and confirmed adequate stocks of all major fuel categories for the coming weeks. “If we combine the stocks already in SL with shipments now nearing arrival, more..

Mar 2 (ST) Sri Lanka is bracing for impacts on multiple fronts as yesterday’s joint military attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States and Iran’s retaliatory strikes aimed at US bases in West Asia threaten to unleash a wider war across the region. Israel and the US struck cities across Iran, including targets in the country’s capital, Tehran, yesterday. Iran retaliated by launching missiles at Israel & at Arab states that house more..

Mar 2 (CT) Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Israel, Nimal Bandara, has expressed concern over the tense situation in Israel amid the escalating conflict in the region. The Envoy said there are over 29,000 Sri Lankans currently residing in Israel, among a large number of foreign nationals employed there. “It’s not only Sri Lankans who are in Israel; a large workforce from the Asian region is currently residing in Israel. Among them, about 29,000 are Sri Lankans,” he said. more..

Mar 2 (AD) Ministry of Defence of the UAE has confirmed that civilian casualties were reported following recent missile and drone attacks linked to Iran. One or more SL nationals were among those who sustained minor injuries during the incidents. In an official statement, the ministry said three individuals — nationals of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh — were killed in the incidents. A total of 58 people sustained minor injuries. Those injured include nationals of Pakistan, Nepal & B'desh more..

Mar 2 (DM) Israel-Iran war has entered a historic and volatile new phase after Iranian state TV confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint US and Israeli air strikes. The confirmation followed earlier claims by US Prez Donald Trump that Khamenei had been eliminated during large scale strikes on Tehran. Iran had initially denied those claims before officially announcing his death on Sunday. His killing marks the most significant leadership change in Iran more..

Mar 2 (DN) The 96th Battle of the Maroons three-day big match between Ananda and Nalanda ended in a draw yesterday while batsmen dominated from both schools during the three days at the SSC grounds. Ananadian opener Nethula Edirimanne stroked highest individual total of the series on the first day scoring 165 which guided them to build up 353 for 8 wickets declared in their first innings. Nalandians made a strong reply posting the highest team total of 424 for 8 declared in their first innings. more..

Mar 2 (TM) SL’s air links with the Middle East were thrown into turmoil yesterday as all SriLankan Airlines flights scheduled for 1 March were cancelled amid sweeping airspace closures across the region. Civil Aviation Authority of SL said a special operational plan has been activated under the leadership of CEO Daminda Rambukwella to facilitate passengers and manage aircraft movements in light of the prevailing situation. more..

Mar 2 (ST) Amidst persistent questions regarding the quality of South African coal imported via Trident Chemphar for the Lakvijaya plant, Lanka Coal Company (Pvt) Ltd (LCC) has enlisted a second laboratory in South Africa to test the 13th and 14th coal shipments at the load port, Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RCBT). Meanwhile, LCC this week floated an emergency tender to purchase 300,000 MT of coal—that is, five shipments—and invited its 26 registered suppliers to send in bids. more..

Mar 2 (TM) Though confidence in the SL financial system among its market participants remained positive in the short term, between December and January, confidence in the medium term declined in the same time period, likely due to uncertainties related to natural hazards and geopolitical tensions, the Central Bank of SL’s (CBSL) Systemic Risk Survey for H1 2026 has found. “Perceptions of survey respondents indicate that market participants’ confidence in the financial system remained more..