Mar 4 (TM) A dispute has emerged between the Education Ministry and the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) over the issue of schools collecting money from parents, with the union alleging that existing circulars effectively permit the practice despite official assurances to the contrary. The controversy follows the Ministry’s recent statement that there is no need to issue a new circular to prevent schools from collecting funds from parents. However, the CTU claims that two circulars more..

Mar 4 (DN) Renowned Swedish Master Chef and celebrated television personality Per Morberg, together with famous Swedish Master Baker Martin, visited SL on a special culinary and trade mission aimed at strengthening ties between SL and the Nordic region. The duo, who have jointly authored 14 cookery books published in Sweden, are widely respected culinary figures across Scandinavia. During their visit, they entered into a strategic partnership with a SL company to produce more..

Mar 4 (Island) Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament that special police intelligence units had been established in every province to detect irregularities and corrupt dealings, involving police officers, and to ensure swift disciplinary action. Minister said the units operating under the Police Special Bureau, were tasked with compiling regular intelligence reports on key officers while monitoring their conduct. more..

Mar 4 (TM) International postal services from SL have been disrupted due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, with consignments already collected now stranded amid widespread flight cancellations. Postmaster General S.R.W.M.R.P. Sathkumara confirmed that several consignments accepted on 27 Feb remain undelivered as a result of the ongoing crisis in the region. He said the situation in the Middle East has led to restrictions on the dispatch of goods to certain destinations, more..

Mar 4 (DN) SL’s champion javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga secured another victory in Australia, winning the Hobart Track Classic gold medal with a throw of 80.12m recently. Just two weeks earlier, the 22‑year‑old opened his season with an impressive 83.07m throw to claim the Perth Track Classic title and he has shown his continues form to perform well. With a personal best of 86.50m, Tharanga was among the top 8 at last year’s World C'ships and is currently ranked 9th in the world. more..

Mar 4 (ST) SL’s tourism sector saw tourist arrivals rise in 2025, but average spending per tourist dropped, according to official data released by the CB. This dilemma demands scrutiny of marketing strategies, strengthening regulatory mechanisms and introducing new products while ensuring sustainability, experts say. Tourist arrivals increased to more than 2.3m in 2025 from 2.05m in 2024, reflecting a y-o-y growth of 15.1%. more..

Mar 4 (TM) Unit Trust Association of SL (UTASL) has outlined key tax provisions affecting unit trusts under a proposed amendment Bill to the Inland Revenue Act, calling for measures aimed at improving transparency and administrative clarity. Under the proposed framework, unit trusts would be required to issue detailed income certifications to investors. These certifications must specify income earned, exempt amounts, withholding taxes deducted, and any additional information required by more..

Mar 4 (FT) Escalating tensions following the March 2026 Iran conflict pose near-term risks to SL’s inflation trajectory, external balances and financial markets, but could also open selective opportunities depending on the duration and intensity of the war, First Capital Research said in a report assessing the immediate and emerging consequences for the economy. “Ongoing disruptions across Gulf maritime corridors and widespread airspace closures have pushed up freight rates, insurance premiums more..

Mar 4 (GV) For most of the year, Kachchathivu is little more than a windswept patch of coral rock in the Palk Strait – dry, uninhabited and geopolitically sensitive. Naval patrols monitor the surrounding waters. Fishermen measure distance carefully. Diplomats cite agreements signed half a century ago. But for two days each year, the island transforms. Nearly 4,000 pilgrims from India crossed the narrow stretch of sea to attend the feast of Anthony of Padua, beloved patron saint more..

Mar 4 (FT) A lot has been said since SL’s losses to England and NZ in their Super Eight matches that has resulted in their failure to secure a place in the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals. Usually when a team fares badly as SL has done, the critics are waiting to pounce like hounds calling for wholesale changes to the team, the captain, coach, selectors, the establishment etc. This has been the trend after each and every World Cup and will continue until SL lays its hands on another more..

Mar 4 (Island) Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Propaganda Secretary Duminda Nagamuwa has said that establishment of self- governing regions, bicameral legislature consisting of two Houses and recognition of upcountry Tamils as Sri Lankans would be necessary to solve the national issue. Nagamuwa declared that the FSP was ready to spearhead the fight to achieve those objectives. Nagamuwa, a senior member of the more..

Mar 4 (Island) If you want to understand why SL keeps leaking value even when arrivals hit record numbers, stop staring at SLTDA dashboards and start talking to the people who face tourists every day: the tour guides. They are the unofficial ambassadors of SL tourism, and they are the weakest, most neglected, most dysfunctional link in a value chain we pretend is functional. Nearly 60% of tourists use guides. Of those guides, 57% are unlicensed, untrained, and invisible to more..

Mar 4 (FT) Amana Bank delivered a landmark year of performance in 2025, with PBT growing by a robust 47% to close at Rs. 4.1 billion while PAT grew by 40% to reach Rs. 2.4 billion, marking its highest recorded profitability since inception in 2011. Operating Profit Before All Taxes rose by 45% YoY to Rs. 5.5 billion. The bank’s aggregate tax contribution of Rs. 3 billion accounted for a significant 55% of its Operating Profit Before All Taxes. On the bank’s top-line performance, more..

Mar 4 (Island) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday spoke in Parliament about the worsening Middle East conflict and its impact on SL. Sidestepping the hot-button issue of unprovoked US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, he called upon all parties concerned to resolve the conflict peacefully. There was a time when the JVP would openly market its anti-American rhetoric, but under Prez Dissanayake’s leadership, it is wary of more..

Mar 4 (TM) As tensions escalated in the Middle East this week following direct attacks between the US-Israeli forces and Iran, anxiety travelled quickly to SL. Within hours of the first reports of missile strikes and retaliation, queues began forming at fuel stations across parts of the country. The fear was clear. Many Sri Lankans, still scarred by the crippling shortages of 2022, worried that another global crisis could once again disrupt fuel supplies. For a public that spent days and nights in queues more..

Mar 4 (TM) How a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity. The words, spoken by former Ambassador of the UK Mission to the United Nations (UN) Matthew Rycroft at a 2015 Security Council debate on children and armed conflict, resonate far beyond the chambers of the UN. In SL, they carry particular weight. Children remain among the most vulnerable in society, yet the systems designed to protect them more..

Mar 4 (ST) It was the night that Britain’s fight to promote free speech died in the Oxonian and Camrian dust. The night bells tolled for a spirit fled, an indomitable spirit that had doggedly remained in residence within both unions’ debating halls. Why the spirit – whose ancestry can be traced back to the 1820s – took flight from its hallowed shrines was its unwillingness to reside in either of the union’s halls, since it had yielded its time-honoured principle to promote free speech more..

Mar 4 (DM) On Feb 28th, Donald Trump, America’s president, delivered a death blow to the theocratic regime of Iran that a succession of his predecessors over the last five decades hesitated to authorise. In the very first hour of the combined American-Israeli military action against Iran, America killed Iran’s octogenarian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and most of the military leadership. Among the regime-affiliated political heavyweights who perished included former hardliner prez more..

Mar 4 (CT) Asanga Abeyagoonasekera is a SL geopolitical analyst, strategic affairs expert, and author known for his work on Indo-Pacific security, Sri Lanka’s foreign policy, and the evolving power dynamics between China, India, and the US. He has served in several key policy and think tank roles, including as Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS) of SL, where he contributed to national security discourse more..

Mar 4 (CT) For more than a decade and a half, Ceylon Today has woken up with the country. Each dawn, we gathered the fragments of a restless world and placed them gently at your doorstep. In an age glutted with information, and even more so with misinformation, we tried and struggled, sometimes against the tide, to hold fast to the accuracy, fairness, and ethics that make journalism more than a mere journalism, but a public trust. We might not have been the loudest in the room, but more..

Mar 4 (DM) After four years, winding queues for fuel have emerged again outside filling stations in many parts of the country due to panic buying and hoarding, following the sudden tensions in the Middle East triggered by the unprovoked attack on Iran by the US and Israel last week. Once bitten, twice shy, so the proverb goes. People had to undergo unprecedented difficulties due to months-long fuel shortages in 2022 when an unprecedented economic crisis befell the country. more..

Mar 3 (CT) Currently, there are no disruptions to ships scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka. However, several cargo vessels have requested certain facilities at the Ports of Colombo and Hambantota, and arrangements are being made to provide the necessary support, Ports and Civil Aviation Minister Anura Karunathilaka said. He also said, Maritime navigation in the Middle East and Gulf regions has been disrupted, which is expected to impact exports to these areas. more..

Mar 3 (NW) Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath met with Romania’s Minister of Economy, Digitization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Ambrose‑Irineu Darau, during his official visit to Romania. At the meeting, Minister Herath noted that bilateral trade between SL and Romania in 2025 amounted to only USD 42 million and emphasized the need to expand trade ties between the two countries. “I informed Minister Darau that SL recorded the highest tourist arrivals in 2025 more..

Mar 3 (NW) Govt of SL has invited businesses to register on its official e-procurement platform, promise.lk, offering free registration for a limited period and free training on the bidding process. According to a public notice issued by the Govt, the promise.lk portal now facilitates procurement of goods under the Shopping Method, covering procurements up to Rs. 25 million per procurement using local funds and up to Rs. 40 million more..

Mar 3 (Island) Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has called for the immediate establishment of a dedicated service category, titled the Sri Lanka Medical Service, to resolve the long-standing crisis within the country’s health sector. In a media release, following a crucial General Committee meeting, the Association emphasised that while strengthening the free health service is a primary responsibility of any govt, the current administration is deliberately evading this duty. more..

Mar 3 (NW) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa convened a meeting today at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament with party leaders and MPs representing the opposition to discuss the impacts of the ongoing Middle East conflict on SL. In a statement, Premadasa said that during the meeting, extensive discussions were held on the military crisis unfolding in the Middle East region. Special focus was placed on SL’s significant imports and exports linked to Iran more..

Mar 3 (AD) A total of 205 flights — 107 arrivals and 98 departures — have been cancelled due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, Anura Karunathilaka stated. A special meeting was held today at the Ministry premises to assess the current impact on the aviation sector. According to the Minister, steps have been taken to extend visas for tourists stranded in SL, covering the duration of their stay. more..

Mar 3 (NW) JVP General Secretray Tilvin Silva met with Cuba’s newly appointed Ambassador to SL, Patricia Pego Guerra, this morning at the party’s head office. During the meeting, discussions focused on further strengthening the longstanding friendship between SL and Cuba, as well as enhancing ties between Cuban Communist Party and JVP. Ambassador Pego Guerra expressed Cuba’s willingness to explore cooperation in key sectors including health, education, sports & more..

Mar 3 (NW) The Sri Lanka Core Group on Tuesday called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and urged stronger action on accountability and human rights reforms, delivering a joint statement at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The statement, delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders on behalf of Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia and the UK, extended condolences to Sri Lanka for lives lost in Cyclone Ditwah in November. more..

Mar 3 (DM) The govt is planning to present a motion in Parliament next week to extend the state of emergency, considering the prevailing situation in the country, such as fuel queues, following the outbreak of war in Iran and the Middle East region, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said yesterday. He told this while responding to a question at a special press briefing, whether the government will extend the state of emergency, considering the current situation in the country, more..

Mar 3 (NW) Sri Lanka’s upcoming white-ball series against Afghanistan in the UAE is in doubt following escalating tensions in the Middle East. The series, scheduled from March 13 to 25, comes after Iranian strikes across parts of the region following reports of the death of Iran’s supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli attacks. Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva said the board is closely monitoring developments before making a final decision. “We are supposed to go to Dubai on March 10. more..