Apr 28 (EN) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake and top officials at the island nation’s Dept of Inland Revenue discussed ways to broaden the tax net, maximise tax compliance, and recover outstanding tax arrears. Sri Lanka’s tax revenue reached a record high last year and the govt has been in the process of increasing it further this year in line with the IMF target. “During the meeting, attention was focused on programmes aimed at enhancing more..

Apr 28 (FT) WindForce said it has secured a loan facility of up to $ 18 million from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), in a move expected to strengthen its renewable energy expansion pipeline and funding structure. Company said its Board, by resolution dated 20 April, approved entering into the loan agreement, structured in two phases. The first tranche of up to $ 10 million will be utilised to finance WindForce’s equity contribution to a 100MW solar park project more..

Apr 28 (FT) In a decisive step towards sustainability and operational resilience, Paradise Toys Ltd, a leading SL manufacturer and exporter of baby educational soft toys, has successfully deployed a state-of-the-art 60 kWp hybrid solar power system at its Kobeigane facility, enhancing energy stability across its operations in Wattala and Madurankuliya. Delivered in partnership with Regen Renewable, this milestone initiative goes beyond a conventional energy upgrade, representing more..

Apr 28 (FT) SL concluded a successful participation at Techtextil 2026 and Texprocess 2026, marked by strong international engagement, valuable business connections, and enhanced global visibility, represented by one leading company. The exhibitions featured over 1,700 exhibitors from 54 countries, highlighting innovation and advancements across the textile and garment processing industries. Thousands of trade visitors, including global buyers and industry professionals, more..

Apr 28 (FT) Embassy and Permanent Mission of SL in Bangkok, Thailand, SL actively participated in the 82nd session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, held from 20 to 24 April, reaffirming its commitment to advancing inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development across the Asia-Pacific region. A key highlight of SL’s participation was the invitation extended to the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of SL to ESCAP Wijayanthi Edirisinghe more..

Apr 28 (ST) Sri Lanka will host two high-profile foreign leaders next month: the Maldives’ President, Mohamed Muizzu, and Viet Nam’s President, To Lam, who is also the Secretary General of the country’s Communist Party. The Maldivian leader who will be in SL on May 4-5 will be accompanied by four ministers and will hold bilateral talks that will cover areas such as education, health and agriculture sector cooperation. more..

Apr 28 (Island) The ongoing peace march by a group of international Buddhist monks has captured the sentiment of Sri Lankans in a manner that few public events have done in recent times. It is led by the Vietnamese monk Venerable Thich Pannakara who is associated with a mindfulness movement that has roots in Vietnamese Buddhist practice and actively promoted among diaspora communities in the US. The peace march by the monks, accompanied by their mascot, the dog Aloka, has generated more..

Apr 28 (ST) It has certainly not been an auspicious start to the Sinhala and Hindu New Year for the JVP govt. Suddenly they have become like cats on a hot tin roof, forced to confront a plethora of financial issues which cast questions on their competence and, apart from throwing aspersions on their much-hailed integrity, shed doubts on their responsibility to exercise due diligence as the elected and answerable custodians of the public coffers. Last week’s resignation of Energy Minister more..

Apr 28 (Island) JVP-NPP govt has painted itself into a corner and provided another rallying point to its political opponents, who are on the offensive, using the latest scandal as a bludgeon to beat the ruling party leaders with. The last few days have seen Opposition protests against the diversion of Treasury funds to a rogue account. The protesters would have the public believe that it is the biggest-ever theft of state funds, and the govt has no moral right to remain in power. more..

Apr 28 (GV) Think about a closed community with high security where management is obsessed with the conduct of people who live there. They have a system where they hire security teams to monitor the streets, ready to arrest anyone who uses prohibited terms or someone who shares a false report in the public areas. Meanwhile, the digital back gates of the community where their principal databases are left unsupervised, allowing third party contractors to copy and sell the personal data like more..

Apr 28 (CT) Theepachelvan Pratheepan was born and raised in war-torn northern SL. He completed his primary and secondary education at Kilinochchi Central College before pursuing higher studies at the Uni of Jaffna and later at the Uni of Madras. He describes himself as a teacher by profession, while also being actively engaged in writing for over two decades. “I write in multiple forms, including poetry, novels, and articles. more..

Apr 28 (DM) Sri Lanka occupies a position on the global map that is disproportionate to its physical size. Often described as a teardrop off the coast of India, a more strategic assessment reveals it to be the unsinkable aircraft carrier of the Indian Ocean. While the nation has recently weathered the storms of economic bankruptcy and political upheaval, its fundamental geographic, ecological, and strategic foundations remain not only intact, but unparalleled. To understand why more..

Apr 28 (DM) Bullying is a term usually reserved for schools. Many of us have experienced some kind of bullying at school, but it doesn’t stop there, extending to our institutions of higher learning. The dreaded ragging phenomenon so prevalent in our universities is a kind of extreme bullying. Does it stop there? I’m afraid not. It’s common in public life. One can come across bullies in the bureaucracy, the police and security services, in politics, from the higher echelons to the low. more..

Apr 28 (TM) SL’s long-running battle over plastic pollution has returned to the Supreme Court, with environmentalists alleging that millions of rupees collected daily from consumers through plastic bag charges are not being channelled into conservation, waste management, or plastic reduction efforts as originally promised under an earlier court settlement. Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) has filed a fresh FR petition more..

Apr 28 (TM) While the average SL family is forced to reconcile their monthly survival with the crushing weight of the cost-of-living crisis that refuses to abate, a cool $ 2.5 million has simply evaporated from the national coffers. It did not vanish through a complex market fluctuation or a sudden shift in global trade. It was, quite literally, emailed away. As of late April 2026, the investigation into this missing fortune is moving with the typical, ponderous slowness of a bureaucracy trying to more..

Apr 28 (TM) The Colombo Fort Railway Station is merely a transport hub; it exposes a daily trial of human endurance. For the thousands of public sector employees, schoolchildren, and traders who cram into rusted carriages, the railway is not a choice but a lifeline. Yet, as the recent double derailment of the Sagarika Express has shown, this lifeline is fraying to the point of collapse. What we are witnessing is not just a series of mechanical hiccups; it is the systemic derailment of more..

Apr 27 (AD) A coordination meeting on the construction of interim shelters for communities affected by the Cyclone Ditwah was held at the Army Headquarters under the patronage of the Deputy Minister of Defence, Aruna Jayasekara. The discussion focused on reviewing progress and expediting the implementation of interim shelter projects in the worst affected districts of Kegalle, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla. Primary objective of the program is to temporarily resettle more..

Apr 27 (EN) 10 SL ICT companies were able to enter the Japanese market, generate over 300 leads and networking outcomes at Japan IT Week 2026, EDB said. “The programme created significant future business potential estimated at over USD 2 million, along with multiple partnership and joint venture opportunities,” EDB said. “It served as a strong market exposure and relationship building platform, strengthening SL–Japan ICT collaboration and laying a solid foundation for future business more..

Apr 27 (CT) Police have launched expeditious investigations into two separate incidents in which 10 dogs were killed, suspected to have been poisoned a few days earlier, in the Tambuttegama and Ipalogama Police divisions in the A'pura District. The incidents, which have sent shockwaves through local communities and animal welfare circles, have prompted parallel investigations in Tambuttegama and Ipalogama, where similar more..

Apr 27 (AD) The Free Lawyers Organisation has stated that although five days have passed since the alleged cyberattack involving a USD 2.5 million Treasury transaction, the relevant facts have not yet been reported to a Magistrate’s Court. The organisation further claimed that, to date, investigators have not recorded statements from the suspended officers involved. Accordingly, it has directed 22 open questions to Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Cabinet, emphasizing that more..

Apr 27 (NW) SLC has decided to dedicate the Major Club Women’s 50-Over Tournament in memory of the late Gwen Herat, the founding president of the SL Women’s Cricket Association. This decision has been made in recognition of the outstanding service rendered by Mrs. Herat towards the founding of Women’s Cricket Association in the country. It was under her leadership that the SL Women’s Cricket Association was established in 1997, where she served as its founding president. more..

Apr 27 (AD) Locomotive engine drivers will strictly adhere to prescribed speed limits in future, Locomotive Operating Engineers’ Union has announced while warning that this may result in delays to rail services. President of the Union Jeeva Gunawardena said the decision was taken following the suspension of the staff of the Sagarika Express train, which recently derailed at the Wadduwa Railway Station. more..

Apr 27 (NW) Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama today ordered that the female lawyer arrested in connection with allegations of aiding and abetting the murder of underworld figure Ganemulla Sanjeewa, be remanded until May 7. The suspect lawyer was produced before the court by the CID today. She is accused of providing a copy of the Penal Code to the accused Ishara Sewwandi to conceal and carry the pistol used in the killing. The lawyer was arrested by CID on Oct 28, 2025 more..

Apr 27 (EN) Sri Lanka and China have agreed on a raft of joint initiatives to boost the tourism industry under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the South Asian island nation’s Foreign Ministry said. Two countries reached consensus on the initiatives during an official visit by Deputy Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe to Sichuan Tourism College in China last week. The visit concluded with a cooperation symposium, where both sides reached preliminary consensus on several joint initiatives, more..

Apr 27 (AD) Investigations have been initiated into an incident involving several saffron-robed individuals arrested with narcotics at the BIA, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala stated. He emphasized that all individuals are equal before the law and that no distinction will be made between the powerful and the vulnerable in legal proceedings. He stated that the relevant facts regarding the incident have already been submitted to courts and that further legal action more..

Apr 27 (AD) A Supreme Court justice has today recused himself from hearing an appeal filed by former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen against a Court of Appeal ruling in a case concerning alleged deforestation and resettlement activities in forest areas near the Wilpattu reserve. The appeal was listed before a three-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Justices A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Sampath Abeykoon, and Gihan Kulatunga. At the commencement of proceedings, more..

Apr 27 (TM) Colombo Port City looks forward to increasing local footfall from the current permitted single visit allowed within the year, to allowing two visits for each arrival within the year, Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) Director of Finance Ruwan Karunaratne told the COPF at its last meeting. Addressing regulatory concerns, Karunaratne explained the reasoning behind the proposed changes to visit limits. more..

Apr 27 (NW) Digital Trust Alliance, together with a coalition of professional organisations in SL, has called on the government to strengthen cybersecurity governance and institutional resilience across the public sector following recent incidents involving govt financial systems. Addressing Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a letter dated April 27, Alliance noted that investigations are underway into the diversion of USD 2.5 million after a breach of Finance Ministry systems. more..

Apr 27 (CT) SL Working Journalists’ Association (SLWJA) has condemned an alleged incident involving Presidential Media Division, claiming that two journalists from the State-owned Sunday Observer newspaper were intimidated while covering the Ehipassiko Peace Walk. In a letter addressed to Prez Dissanayake last week, SLWJA alleged that Presidential Media Division adviser Chandana Sooriyabandara had intimidated the journalists, including personnel from more..

Apr 27 (DM) SL’s tourism sector recorded a massive resurgence in investor confidence in 2025, with realised investments reaching their highest level since 2019. Driven by a record-breaking influx of tourists, the sector saw approved investment projects surge to USD 196.18 million, representing a nearly fourfold increase from the US$ 41.72 million recorded in the previous year. A deeper analysis of the investment data reveals more..

Apr 27 (CT) Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha, inspected the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory (KKS Cement) yesterday (25) with a view to reviving the factory operations, which have been inactive since the 26-year civil war. This was consequent to a site visit to the Factory in March last year by Minister Sunil Handunnetti, Deputy Minister Harshana Suriyapperuma, and Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar. Deputy Minister Dr Jayantha stated that steps would be taken to transform more..

Apr 27 (NW) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has invited the UNP to join the SJB May Day rally, calling for unity in protecting workers’ rights and advancing national prosperity. In a special statement for International Workers’ Day, Premadasa said the SJB seeks to take the foremost step toward safeguarding the rights of working people while steering the country forward through social democracy and a social market economy. He emphasized the need to move away from more..