Jan 7 (DM) The daughter of specialist neurosurgeon Dr. Maheshi Wijerathne of the Sri J'pura Hospital, who is charged with verbally abusing and threatening officers of the Bribery Commission and obstructing them in the discharge of their duties, pleaded not guilty before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama. The suspect, Hemali Wijerathne, who is the daughter of Dr. Maheshi Wijerathne, an alleged suspect in a corruption case involving the sale of neurosurgical equipment more..

Jan 7 (AD) Three Indian nationals have been arrested at the BIA with 50kg of Kush cannabis. The stock of narcotics valued at Rs. 500 million has been seized by SL Customs Narcotics Control Unit officers. The suspects, aged between 25 and 31, arrived at 11:07 a.m. on SriLankan Airlines flight UL 403 from Bangkok, Thailand. According to preliminary investigations by customs officers, drug traffickers had promised to provide the group with a Bangkok trip to smuggle the consignment. more..

Jan 7 (FT) Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe said that amendments to the Employees’ Provident Fund Act are being discussed at the tripartite National Labour Advisory Council, as the Govt examines whether EPF contributors should be given the option of receiving a regular pension instead of a lump sum upon retirement. He said the proposal is aimed at strengthening long-term retirement income security for private sector and semi-Govt more..

Jan 7 (DM) Govt has decided to hold off on finalising the specific tourism revenue targets for 2026, until the completion of a comprehensive data-gathering exercise under the Tourism Satellite Accounting framework. SLTDA Chairman Buddika Hewawasam emphasised that the future goals would no longer rely on assumptions or outdated metrics but would instead be grounded in a scientific model, once the full suite of surveys—including the critical leakage & domestic tourism data—is validated. more..

Jan 7 (ST) State university academics are threatening to intensify their protests over the UGC’s decision to revise the system of appointing deans and dept heads, a move they say undermines the autonomy of higher education institutions. In a letter to vice chancellors, the UGC urged them not to appoint new deans or department heads until further notice, while a proposed amendment to the system of appointments is pending. The academics launched a one-day token strike on Dec 30, more..

Jan 7 (DN) SL cricket team led by Dasun Shanaka is expected to rectify their previous mistakes and come back strongly with a winning mentality when they play their first T-20 of the three match series against Pakistan at Rangiri Dambulla Int'l Cricket Stadium today, commencing at 7 pm. The series will play for the Rhino Roofing Trophy. Head of Exports, Rhino Roofing Ranil Chandrasekara said that they are very happy more..

Jan 7 (FT) Cabinet on Monday approved awarding the procurement contract for the printing and supply of vehicle number plates to M/s South Asian Technologies Ltd, in a move aimed at resolving prolonged shortages and delays in the country’s vehicle registration system. The decision comes amid a surge in vehicle registrations following the lifting of import controls in 2025, which led to a sharp influx of new vehicles and exposed weaknesses in the existing system. more..

Jan 7 (FT) FACETS SL 2026, the country’s premier int'l gem and jewellery exhibition, on Monday concluded successfully at The Forum, Cinnamon Life – City of Dreams, receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from stakeholders, exhibitors, int'l buyers, and visitors. FACETS 2026 recorded over 4,500 registered visitors, including approximately 450 foreign buyers and int'l visitors, reaffirming its position as a key sourcing and networking platform for the global gem and jewellery trade. more..

Jan 7 (FT) SC Judge Arjuna Obeyesekere yesterday urged the legal profession against turning uncertainty around data protection into a wave of opportunistic litigation, warning that such an approach could weaken trust in Sri Lanka’s emerging digital framework. Addressing lawyers at the 2nd National Data Protection Symposium, he said that while breaches, disputes, and ambiguity are inevitable in a transitioning digital economy, flooding the courts with minor cases would more..

Jan 7 (DM) Singapore Airlines has commenced an additional afternoon flight service between Sri Lanka and Singapore, increasing its operations to three extra flights per week with effect from June 1, marking another milestone in its 52 years of service between the two countries by 2026. The airline has deployed a wide-body Airbus A350-900 aircraft to operate the new afternoon service every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from Singapore’s Changi International Airport to BIA, Katunayake. more..

Jan 7 (WTC) Word has it that the first Arabica seeds planted on SL’s soil originated from Yemen and were brought to the island by Arabs via India in the early 1600s. The first ones to cultivate coffee were the Dutch who shipped plants from the Amsterdam botanical gardens. Crop was discovered as potentially profitable almost a century later by the Dutch East India Company, who controlled major coastal regions of SL at the time more..

Jan 7 (Island) When the NPP won elections in 2024, there was much hope that the country’s education sector could be made better. Besides the promise of good governance and system change that the NPP offered, this hope was fuelled in part by the appointment of an academic who was at the forefront of the struggle to strengthen free public education and actively involved in the campaign for 6% of GDP for education, as the Minister of Education. Reforms in the education sector more..

Jan 7 (GV) In the first quarter of 2026, CEB’s plan of increasing electricity tariffs by 11.57% has understandably sparked public anxiety around affordability. In a shaky economy, electricity prices are foremost on the minds of households, businesses and industry, and discussions about fairness are unavoidable. But tariffs are more than just prices. They are also signals. Yet, read side by side with the National Electricity Plan, the latest tariff proposal exposes something deeper than more..

Jan 7 (Island) Lessons of history often go unlearnt in SL politics, defined by policy contradictions and about-turns. NPP govt is planning to relaunch a risky mission that a powerful regime once had to abandon for fear of a backlash. Yesterday, Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe said that NPP govt had given thought to introducing a pension scheme for the private sector workers because the current lump-sum EPF payments did not help achieve the desired social security goals. more..

Jan 7 (CT) Deciding whether to plan or not has always been a complex question for urban and regional planners—yet after every natural disaster, it reemerges with renewed urgency. Planning is crucial to guide organised growth, protect lives, ensure access to services, safeguard the environment, and uphold quality of life. Without it, chaos ensues. However, disasters also expose the limitations of rigid, technocratic planning: plans that ignore lived realities, silence communities, more..

Jan 7 (CT) Looking back at 2025, it is clear that Sri Lanka’s 21 million citizens allowed the NPP–JVP alliance both time and political space to attempt a new model of governance. While translating rhetoric into results is never easy, the Govt entered the year’s final phase without having faced its most severe tests. That changed with a controversy surrounding a Grade 6 school textbook, which included links to external websites more..

Jan 7 (ST) SL’s tourism boom in 2025 ended not with fireworks, but with a tuk-tuk turmoil. While SL proudly celebrated over 2.3 million tourist arrivals during the year, the final weeks were overshadowed by ugly tuk-tuk chaos in several popular destinations. Organised groups of local tuk-tuk drivers were reported to have harassed tourists and clashed with drivers attached to ride-hailing platforms like PickMe and Uber. Protests against app-based transport services have steadily more..

Jan 7 (DM) Nature seems to beat war with a market-driven investment pattern, slowly decaying the means of survival for the masses. In many ways, this ecological pushback expressed through Cyclone Ditwah mirrors the 2022 people’s uprising, which sought to overthrow an entrenched political establishment. Just as that quest remains incomplete, nature is waging its own campaign against an economy dictated by self-interest. As the climate breaks, more decisive acts of more..

Jan 7 (TM) In the final two weeks of December, three-wheeler drivers at major tourist hubs such as Ella, Weligama, and Sigiriya renewed protests against app-based ride-hailing platforms, including PickMe and Uber, claiming that the rapid expansion of these services was steadily eroding their livelihoods. SL’s transportation sector has been lagging for decades, and with a large volume of three-wheelers in the island with little or more..

Jan 7 (CT) Sri Lanka’s record earnings of USD 7.8 billion from foreign employment last year have been presented as a moment of national achievement, and in purely numerical terms, they are. At a time when the economy remains fragile and recovery continues to feel uneven, remittances from overseas workers once again appear as a financial lifeline. Yet numbers, however impressive, rarely tell the full story. Behind this figure lies a reality that demands closer scrutiny, because more..

Jan 7 (TM) The recent military operation conducted by the US in Venezuela, resulting in Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro being taken into US custody and presented before the US legal system, has triggered serious int'l controversy. Beyond the immediate political shockwaves, the incident raises fundamental questions about int'l laws and legal order, the limits of state power, and the responsibilities of global actors, particularly those entrusted with upholding international peace more..

Jan 6 (DM) Bids have been invited under the National Competitive Procurement Procedure for the printing and supply of vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic. A total of four bids were submitted in response to the tender. Following an evaluation process, the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board recommended awarding the contract to M/s South Asian Technologies. Accordingly, Cabinet Ministers has approved a proposal more..

Jan 6 (NW) Chief Inspector Niyomal Fernando of the Cinnamon Garden Police Station has formally apologized to journalist Kalpa Gunaratne, following allegations that his fundamental rights were violated during an unlawful arrest and torture, a case that was brought before the SL Human Rights Commission. It is reported that on Oct 3, 2024, during the International Book Fair at the BMICH, Gunaratne was arrested while intervening in and recording an incident in which a customer more..

Jan 6 (NW) SL Police say it is suspected that illness linked to illicit liquor consumption is the cause of the death of five individuals in the Thambaravila area of the Wennappuwa Police Division today. According to the Police, the incident came to light this morning (6), following information relayed to the 119 Police emergency hotline. Investigations revealed that a group had consumed illicit liquor at their workplace on Sunday more..

Jan 6 (AD) The low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, to the southeast of Sri Lanka is likely to intensify into a depression during the next 24 hours, Dept of Meteorology has warned. The system is expected to move towards the east coast of the island in the next few hours, the Met. Department added. Accordingly, showery conditions over the island, particularly in the Northern, Northcentral, Eastern, Uva and Central provinces are expected to increase from Thursday (8). more..

Jan 6 (Hindu) The family of a fisherman, who is currently held in Jaffna prison by the SL Navy for allegedly crossing the Int'l Maritime Border Line, has submitted a petition with the District Collector Simranjeet Singh Kahlon requesting the govt to take immediate action for his release. They highlighted that the fisherman suffers from mental health issues and requires regular medication. On Dec 30, three fishermen—Prabhu, 49, Nagaraj, 47, and Ruben, 45—who set out for fishing more..

Jan 6 (TS) For months after his father was beaten to near death by a group of armed assailants while visiting his home village in SL, Ganesh Subramaniam was left asking himself: who would do such a thing, and why? It took more than a year for SL authorities to offer a shocking theory: the attack on Ganesh’s father — who founded the Sri Ayyappan Hindu Temple in Scarborough more than 40 years ago — was allegedly ordered on more..

Jan 6 (TM) The death toll from the tragic house fire in Galenbindunuwewa has risen to three following the passing of the suspect’s wife while undergoing treatment. The incident occurred at around 2 a.m. today in the Padikaramaduwa area of Nuwaragam Colony. A 43-year-old man set fire to his own residence using petrol following a domestic dispute. The man and his 13-year-old daughter died at the scene. Police confirmed that the suspect’s 36-year-old wife, who had been hospitalized with more..

Jan 6 (DM) The Cabinet has approved the purchase of 350 housing units at the Harbour View Residencies project in Colombo 13 for officers serving in the SL Police. The housing project, located on Cyril C. Perera Mawatha, Colombo 13, comprises 452 units across 14 floors and was developed to provide accommodation for officers in govt and semi-govt institutions. Under the approved plan, UDA will also construct sufficient vehicle parking facilities for the units. more..

Jan 6 (DM) Cabinet has approved a resolution submitted by the President to promptly finalize the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board, incorporating proposed amendments. Established under the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963, National Lotteries Board (NLB) is set to undergo legal updates to meet the current demands of the lottery market, nearly 62 years after the original law was enacted. Recognizing the need to modernize the legislation, the Cabinet had approved more..

Jan 6 (CT) Election Commissioner General H.R.P. Peiris said that all necessary arrangements have been made to ensure that the 2026 voter registration process was carried out without causing disadvantage to any eligible voter. He stated that the Election Commission would take steps to safeguard the voting rights of individuals who had lost their homes due to the Ditwah disaster or other reasons. Accordingly, Peiris said that instructions were currently being issued to Grama Niladharis more..