Oct 5 (TM) The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is reviewing around 6,000 registered medicines as part of an ongoing process to set Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) for all medicines registered in the country. NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said that the MRP would be assigned to brands when the NMRA issued or renewed their report licences and/or registration licences. more..

Oct 5 (FT) In a landmark verdict, the Right to Information Commission (RTIC) has ordered Royal College, Col 7, to immediately hand over hidden accounting records detailing an alleged multi-million rupee fraud involving short-banked match ticket sales. The ruling delivers a stinging rebuke to school authorities who insisted that their elite alumni body operated beyond the reach of State audit laws. The controversy traces back to the First XV rugby seasons of 2017 and 2018 more..

Oct 5 (FT) Sri Lanka’s banks have built up their foreign currency holdings abroad while cutting what they owe overseas, and private companies have continued to repay more foreign debt than they take on, the Central Bank of SL’s (CBSL) External Sector Bulletin for August 2026 showed. The banking sector’s foreign assets, which include deposits and placements with banks abroad and holdings of foreign securities, rose to $ 6.6 billion by end-July from $ 5.5 billion at end-2025. more..

Oct 5 (FT) Govt’s Budget returned to surplus in August, posting a cumulative surplus of Rs. 35.4 billion for the first eight months of 2026, after deficits in June and July had pushed the balance into the red, the Finance Ministry’s latest Fiscal Review Report showed. The turnaround implies a surplus of around Rs. 145 billion for August alone, against a cumulative deficit of Rs. 109.72 billion at end-July. more..

Oct 5 (FT) As tourism increasingly moves beyond conventional leisure experiences, SL is seeking to turn its rich wetland ecosystems into destinations for wellness, conservation and community-based economic activity, with an int'l summit opening in Kotte on 9 Oct. Wellness in Wetlands Int'l Conference (WIWC) 2026, scheduled from 9 to 12 Oct in the historic Kingdom of Kotte, will bring together 34 int'l experts from 15 countries, including environmental psychologists, ecologists more..

Oct 5 (Island) GS1 Lanka marked its 10th Annual General Meeting with a focus on the next stage of product identification in SL, as businesses prepare for the wider adoption of 2D barcodes and the growing demand for trusted product information. Addressing the AGM, GS1 Lanka president Revan Fernando noted that GS1 has been giving SL products a globally recognised identity for more than 30 years. He pointed to the shift from traditional barcodes to 2D barcodes as the next major more..

Oct 5 (Island) Proposed SL Cricket Bill addresses an important question: how can SLC be governed without making its Board overly dependent on the politics of its membership-based electoral system? Its answer is a 14-member Board: seven Elected Directors chosen by SLC voting members and seven Independent Directors nominated through a separate committee. The Bill also sets eligibility and disqualification requirements and establishes specialist committees. more..

Oct 5 (FT) The Govt has made compliance with Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) mandatory for imported passenger car tyres and pneumatic tyres for three-wheeled motor vehicles, effective 1 January, 2027. The regulations were promulgated by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969, and published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2508/27 more..

Oct 5 (TM) Sri Lanka’s fuel import bill has surged by 61.6% to $4.07 billion in the first eight months of this year, increasing the country’s import expenditure on fuel by $1.55 billion compared to the same period last year. The sharp increase comes despite the Govt’s continued efforts to manage fuel consumption and expenditure, with the latest figures showing that the pressure on the country’s import bill has intensified rather than eased as more..

Oct 5 (FT) Govt has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to secure a concessional loan of $ 35 million from ADB, together with a grant of Euro 15.4 million from the European Union (EU) ($ 16.94 million) and a grant of $ 5.5 million from the Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JFJCM). Energy Ministry in collaboration with Electricity Distribution Lanka Ltd (EDL) and Lanka Electricity Company Ltd (LECO), will implement the project from 2026 to 2030 in support of the Govt’s more..

Oct 4 (FT) Establishing a university is a monumental undertaking that tests the limits of traditional leadership. The creation of a higher education institution requires a delicate synthesis of academic vision, bureaucratic navigation, administrative foresight, and financial sustainability. It is a decade-long endeavour so complex that it routinely eludes even seasoned corporate executives and veteran administrators. For an individual whose entire life has been forged outside more..

Oct 5 (Island) Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) has held several media briefings during the past several months to highlight a host of unresolved issues affecting the university system, but the govt seems to be unconcerned. Addressing the media, the FUTA raised those problems once again, pointing out that all state universities had been left with only about 5,000 teachers because a large number of academics had already left the country, mostly for economic reasons. more..

Oct 4 (TM) Sri Lanka spent US $ 4,072.1 million on fuel imports between January and August this year, according to the Central Bank. That is 61.6% more than in the same period of 2025, an additional US $ 1,551.5 million. August alone cost US $ 450.6 million, up 76.5% on a year earlier. For a country that only recently emerged from a punishing foreign exchange crisis, these are not statistics to be filed away. They are a warning that we keep ignoring. The timing makes it worse. more..

Oct 5 (SO) For 309 days, an unfamiliar, suffocating silence hung over the historic platform of the Peradeniya Railway Station. The brass bell remained mute, the signal arms stayed frozen against the misty hill country sky, and the iron rails. Normally polished to a mirror shine by the relentless grinding of daily express trains, the rails slowly succumbed to a dull, rusted sheen. On Friday that heavy silence was finally shattered. more..

Oct 5 (ST) Actors of various shades have operated in relative obscurity for decades, avoiding direct public gaze, to try to claim a piece of the priceless natural resource that Sri Lanka has in surplus – fresh water. This wealth has been SL’s oil for thousands of years and has continued to be surveyed from within and by external financial interests, multilateral development banks, and development finance institutions. It is a foundational resource that Sri Lankans broadly believe more..

Oct 5 (GV) As the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) met in September, the situation in Sri Lanka was on the agenda as the state again tried to fend off concerns about its patchy record. The government was also represented at the UN General Assembly, which met amid stark tensions between leaders of superpowers, along with countries under their patronage, and much of the rest of the international community. It made occasional useful points, yet sent out mixed messages. more..

Oct 5 (ST) Minister Vijitha Herath was in New York this week attending UNGA. While there, he met with outgoing UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Mr Guterres’s term as UN Secretary General is set to expire on Dec 31 this year. During his discussions with the UN Secretary General, Minister Herath was pleasantly surprised to learn that he was quite knowledgeable on SL. Mr Guterres is Portuguese & served two terms more..

Oct 5 (ST) Gnanasara hamuduruwaney, I thought I must write to you even though, at the time of writing, we are unaware of your exact whereabouts. Instead, we have been told that a warrant has been issued for your arrest. After a period of relative quiet, you have again become the talk of the town – and I daresay for all the wrong reasons. Of course, controversy is nothing new to you. You seem to thrive on it. You have been charged, first with drunken driving and then trespassing, more..

Oct 5 (GV) We have lost a dear friend and comrade. Basil Fernando died in Hong Kong on Sept 30 aged 81. He was a lawyer, jurist, poet, philosopher and Marxist and he never made peace with injustice. Asia has lost one of its bravest defenders of human dignity. Those of us who knew him have lost a man of rare warmth, wit and moral courage. Basil was born in Wattala on Oct 14, 1944. He came from a poor fishing village and overcame the barriers of caste and class to become a firebrand more..

Oct 4 (TM) The CIABOC has identified approximately 34,000 individuals who failed to submit their asset declarations and fines will be strictly enforced against all defaulters. CIABOC Director General Ranga Dissanayake revealed the enforcement action at a meeting of the COPF held last week. Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development Department of National Budget Additional Director General more..

Oct 4 (TM) A backlog of 678,000 driving licences awaiting printing at the Dept of Motor Traffic (DMT) is likely to take until around the end of the year to clear, based on figures presented to Parliament, even after new printing machines are installed in mid-October. The figures were revealed by the DMT during a recent meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Infrastructure and Strategic Development, chaired by MP S.M. Marikkar. Deliberations at the meeting disclosed a critical bottleneck more..

Oct 4 (SO) All document preparation for seeking the release of Sivarasa Anojan, who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, under a Royal Pardon has been completed, his family has been informed. These efforts are being carried out through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A four-member delegation, including two President’s Counsels, is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia tomorrow to hold discussions on commuting the death sentence imposed on Anojan Sivarasa. more..

Oct 4 (SO) Major capacity building initiatives in the Govt Analyst’s Dept within the past few months have eased congestion in remand prisons to a considerable extent with the Govt ensuring more timely upgrades to the Dept’s human resources and technology. Govt Analyst’s Dept has issued 17,506 reports within August and Sept alone, mostly relating to cases backlogged since 2025, thus bringing down the number of remand inmates more..

Oct 4 (DM) Police and the Urban Development Authority (UDA) have launched a joint initiative to strengthen security and maintain law and order across 24 UDA-managed housing complexes in and around Colombo. The high-level discussion was held at the Colombo DIG’s Office under the direction of IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya and chaired by Colombo Division DIG Nishantha de Zoysa. The initiative is aimed at protecting the lives and property of residents living under more..

Oct 4 (AD) GMOA has called for amendments to several Sections of the recently proposed Elimination of Rabies and Registration of Dogs Draft Bill. GMOA Media Spokesperson Dr. Lasitha Kannangara made these remarks during a press conference held yesterday (2). Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Govt has taken steps to introduce the Elimination of Rabies and Registration of Dogs Draft Bill, aimed at eradicating rabies in SL and registering dogs. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Veterinary surgeons have expressed their opposition to a recent statement by the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) calling for amendments to several Sections of the recently proposed Elimination of Rabies and Registration of Dogs Draft Bill. Speaking on the matter, founder of the Association of Veterinarians for Humane Management of Animal Population, Dr. Chamith Nanayakkara, said they were concerned about the statement made by the GMOA. more..

Oct 4 (CB) In a game dictated by bowlers, Tharindu Ratnayake's counter-attacking 65 became a big difference as Sri Lanka downed Bangladesh to secure the bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026. Sri Lanka were in dire straits at 54 for 5 in the 11th over when Ratnayake and Sahan Arachchige combined forces for a blazing 93-run stand. It powered Sri Lanka to 165/9 after which Bangladesh were bundled out for 102, with Ratnayake among four bowlers to pick two wickets each. more..

Oct 4 (Island) The national cricket team is bracing for a major shake up, with several new faces set to be drafted into the national set up as officials begin plotting a course towards next year’s World Cup. The national team has endured a wretched two months across all three formats and several prominent players are now in the firing line ahead of the tour of Pakistan, one of the longest assignments undertaken by a SL side more..

Oct 4 (TM) Asian Games men’s javelin throw Gold medal-winning athlete Rumesh Tharanga has reportedly been presented with a brand new luxury Honda Vezel car worth over Rs. 20 million by the SL Automobile Association in Japan (SLAAJ), along with contributions from Sri Lankans domiciled in Japan. The handsome prize was handed over to Tharanga following his historic throw covering a distance of 88.55 m, which saw him clinch Gold in the men’s javelin throw event at the ongoing more..

Oct 4 (EN) Deloitte SL brought together board directors and business leaders for Cyber Resilience Starts at the Top: The Board’s Strategic Role in Building a Resilient Organization, a discussion on how boards can better prepare organisations for complex cyber disruption. The programme explored organisational resilience, cyber readiness, risk quantification and crisis response, and included an interactive cyber wargaming exercise designed to simulate a real incident and more..

Oct 4 (Island) SL’s track and field team may have failed to match the medal haul of the previous edition at the Asian Games, but athletes from the 24-member squad finished among the top eight in at least seven events, a feat few countries managed. Those performances did not receive the recognition they deserved, as the spotlight fell on Rumesh Tharanga’s historic javelin gold. ‎At the 2023 edition in China, SL won one gold, one silver & two bronze medals. This time, team won only one gold. more..

Oct 4 (DM) IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya identified combating organised crime, curbing the drug menace and maintaining traffic discipline as the three main challenges currently facing the SL Police. He made these remarks while speaking at the opening of the new official residence for the OIC of the Buttala Police Station in the Monaragala Police Division. IGP said the Police Dept was also facing a shortage of around 38,000 to 40,000 personnel, as between 2,000 and 2,500 officers retire more..