Feb 7 (FT) Former SL captain Angelo Mathews who retired from Test cricket recently will make his debut as a cricket commentator during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The ICC media release states: “Making their ICC TV commentary debut are 2014 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup winner Angelo Mathews and 2025 ICC World Test Championship-winning captain Temba Bavuma.” “Cricket is woven into the very fabric of both India & SL, and Men’s T20 World Cup more..

Feb 7 (CI) Pramod Madushan has replaced Eshan Malinga in SL's T20 World Cup squad. Malinga's participation in the tournament was cast in doubt after he had dislocated his shoulder during the second T20I against England at home earlier this month. The injury took place when he bowled the first ball after a rain interval in the match. He clutched his non-bowling shoulder after releasing the delivery, fell to the floor during his follow-through, and missed out on the third T20I as well. more..

Feb 7 (ST) SL Grama Niladhari National Union (SLGNNU) has raised serious concerns over the govt’s plan to establish Praja Sanwardana Sabhas (Community Development Councils), claiming the initiative could weaken the traditional village-level administrative system in favour of political interests. However Minister Upali Pannilage strongly rejected the allegation. He said the initiative was designed to empower more..

Feb 7 (ST) The proposed National Electricity Policy raises concerns over the abolition of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) for Renewable Energy Developers, potentially undermining investments, industry experts say. The Renewable Energy Developers Association (REDA) urged immediate govt intervention and supportive policies to retain energy security. The proposed removal of the FIT system, which currently supports approximately 92% of renewable projects under 10 MW, is seen as more..

Feb 7 (KP) If you’re in the mood to enjoy street snacks with a twist, Jaffna is the place to be. Jaffna’s most distinctive aesthetic feature is its use of pink throughout its indoor and outdoor spaces. The wooden seating creates a warm environment. The chefs cook right in front of you in the indoor space while you eat, creating an immersive sensory experience. At night, the space reminds you of a lively, neon-lit food market. This mini Sri Lanka in Nepal offers an authentic taste of SL through more..

Feb 7 (FT) Serious concerns over environmental compliance, land ownership, and public safety linked to the proposed Ambuluwawa cable car project have come under renewed scrutiny following a joint inspection and discussion led by Environment Minister Dr. Dammika Patabendi. The inspection was conducted in response to complaints lodged by environmental organisations and members of the Gampola PS, particularly in more..

Feb 7 (ST) South Asia watchers are mourning the passing of two veteran members of their tribe in the second week of January. Both were veteran journalists with storied careers, a vast network of sources and independent minds. The first name is that of N Sathiya Moorthy, a prolific writer on Sri Lanka and the Maldives, who passed away in Chennai on Pongal day on January 15 at the age of 71. Back in the 2000s, he was perhaps just one of 2 Indian journalists (other was Jyoti Malhotra, more..

Feb 7 (FT) Colombo’s expanding real estate market is increasingly commodifying proximity to nature, placing growing pressure on wetlands, paddy fields and peri-urban landscapes, and driving up property prices by an estimated 30 to 40% annually, according to a new report by the Centre for a Smart Future. The study, titled Shifting Grounds: Unpacking the Tensions Between Real Estate Development and Nature in Colombo, authored by Medhini Igoor and Senith Abeyanayake, examines more..

Feb 7 (FT) Ceylon Federation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has called for urgent structural reforms to the country’s lending and regulatory framework, warning that flawed policy responses during successive national crises have disproportionately harmed small businesses while enabling excessive profit accumulation within the financial sector. Federation outlined a clear path forward, centred on corrective measures to address what it described as unjust interest recovery more..

Feb 7 (FT) Abans Group Chairperson and Founder Aban Pestonjee was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the inaugural SLID–ACCA National Corporate Director Awards 2025, hosted by the SL Institute of Directors (SLID), in partnership with ACCA on 28 Jan at the Cinnamon Grand. Event sought to recognise and celebrate outstanding corporate directors who have demonstrated leadership, integrity, and governance excellence, while shaping future of the SL business. more..

Feb 7 (FT) SL’s economic recovery remains vulnerable due to persistent policy instability and weak growth foundations, economists warned, cautioning that recent macroeconomic stabilisation will not translate into durable revival without long-term structural reform and policy continuity. Speaking yesterday at the opening of the 40th Annual Sessions of the SL Economic Association (SLEA), SLEA President Prof. Sirimevan more..

Feb 7 (Island) If elephants are truly to be given freedom in Udawalawe, the solution is not simply to open gates or redraw park boundaries. The map itself tells the real story — a story of shrinking habitats, broken corridors, and more than a decade of silent but relentless ecological destruction. “Look at Udawalawe today and compare it with satellite maps from ten years ago,” says Sameera Weerathunga, one of SL’s most consistent and vocal elephant conservation activists. more..

Feb 7 (DM) Sri Lankans appear to be obsessed with Constitutional reforms, said Professor Deepika Udagama, the former Head of the Dept of Law at Peradeniya Uni at a special event on Constitutional reforms held at the BMICH on Tuesday. “It is a national obsession because we believe all our ills can be solved through Constitutional reform which is hardly the case,” she noted in her speech. The event was organised by One Text Initiative, a multi-party platform as its inaugural open discussion more..

Feb 7 (Island) It is popularly said in this country that when one has power one has no brains, and when one has brains, one has no power—bale thiyanakota mole ne, mole thiyanakota bale ne. However, some present-day politicians have proved that they have neither power nor brains. Painful knocks they and their parties received from a disillusioned public in the 2024 elections do not seem to have had a sobering effect on them if their misplaced priorities are any indication. more..

Feb 7 (ST) Sitting down to write this week’s column on an unusual topic: coffee, I was reminded of the song On the road again by American country music legend Willie Nelson. What is the connection here? Well……coffee appears to be making a comeback since the days, many moons ago, when coffee was SL’s (then Ceylon) main export commodity until replaced by tea. The idea for this week’s topic came during a conversation last week with Shifty Silva, the always-inquisitive IT expert. more..

Feb 7 (TM) On 1 Oct 2025, as Sri Lanka marked World Children’s Day under the theme Nurture with Love – To Lead the World, the Homagama High Court delivered a judgment that starkly exposed the distance between celebration and reality. High Court Judge Navaratna Marasinghe sentenced a former Police officer to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting him of sexually abusing a child under the age of 16, more..

Feb 7 (CT) They could not remand the master, instead they went after the disciple. Still there is no explanation as to why they did it. Saman Ekanayake, former Prez Ranil Wickremasinghe’s Secretary served as his Secretary when he was PM too. Saman’s association with Ranil goes a long way. Apparently they were close enough to serve the country as master and disciple more than two terms when the master was in power. Such associations could be traced to JR Jayewardene and more..

Feb 7 (CT) Freedom of expression in SL is again under strain, not because of open constitutional change but through the quiet normalisation of practices that undermine it. A recent statement by the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) serves as a stark warning that the space for dissent, scrutiny and journalistic work is narrowing in ways that should concern every citizen. Commission said it was deeply concerned by a growing pattern in which law enforcement authorities have more..

Feb 7 (CT) Sri Lanka marked its 78th National Independence Day with a renewed call to rebuild the country on the foundations of unity, sovereignty, the rule of law and sustainable development, as Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered a wide-ranging address reflecting on the nation’s past struggles and future direction. Addressing the national celebrations, the Prez recalled the historic significance of 1948, when SL gained more..

Feb 7 (TM) South Asia’s tourism is evolving fast. Last year (in 2025), Sri Lanka welcomed 2.3 million visitors, with India leading at 531,000 arrivals. Indian travellers now account for roughly 22–25% of inbound tourism, yet, questions remain about spending, strategy and the long-term appeal. On Kaleidoscope is BW Businessworld India CEO and hospitality innovator behind BW Hotelier and BW Travel, Bhuvanesh Khanna, who was in Sri Lanka last week. more..

Feb 7 (DM) Trade union (TU) action launched by the GMOA is entering its third week. The action is mainly about increasing of allowances paid to doctors, the establishment of a special service category titled the SL Medical Service and alleged political interference by the Ministry of Health. More recently medical specialists too, have commenced a TU action of their own. These doctors, all of whom have hypocritically taken the Hippocratic Oath, have commenced a new and deadly form of trade union action. more..

Feb 6 (NW) The Madras High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on MDMK general secretary Vaiko’s appeal against a tribunal order upholding the ban on the LTTE. The matter was postponed to Feb 16 after the Union govt sought more time ahead of the next hearing. A division bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C. Kathir Kumar heard the case, and counsel for the Union government requested the adjournment, citing the need for the additional solicitor general to appear. more..

Feb 6 (EN) SL will not see another sovereign debt crisis and the island nation will start the repayment of unpaid external debts as scheduled, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. He rejected 2028 phobia claimed by some with a narrative that the govt and Central Bank will not be able to meet the debt service payments which could lead to another debt restructure. Governor stressed that SL, historically, has maintained a strong reputation for meeting its debt obligations up until 2022, more..

Feb 6 (Island) Chairman of the Valvettithurai Urban Council and a kinsman of late Tiger Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, M.K. Sivajilingam, has formally thanked members of the US Congress for their recent intervention on behalf of the Eelam Tamil people and appealed for the US to assume a leadership role in restoring the Tamil nation’s legitimate sovereignty. Appeal was made in a letter sent to members of US Congress, more..

Feb 6 (CT) SL’s banking sector recorded an extraordinary Rs 762 billion in profits before tax in 2023–2024, while the Govt earned Rs 295 billion in taxes from banks, even as thousands of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) collapsed under interest rates that surged to nearly 30%, Ceylon Federation of MSMEs has revealed. In an analysis titled From Crisis to Windfall: How SL’s Banks Profited While MSMEs Collapsed, Federation argues that the post-2022 economic shock more..

Feb 6 (SCMP) A South Korean governor has sparked outrage after he proposed importing Sri Lanka and Vietnamese virgins to help stem the population decline in provincial areas. Jindo county Governor Kim Hee-soo made the suggestion during a town hall meeting in South Jeolla to discuss an administrative merger of nine cities and counties in the province with Gwangju Metropolitan City. “Of the 89 regions facing declining populations nationwide, 20% are in South Jeolla province. more..

Feb 6 (NW) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised that the objective of the present Govt is to bring to an end the era in which the country’s economic gains were concentrated among a few families and a corrupt circle surrounding them and to ensure that the benefits of all economic achievements flow to the people who are at the very bottom of the country’s economy. Emphasising that the law will be enforced against all more..

Feb 6 (AD) In a historic first, a total of twenty newly-recruited female bus conductors have officially received their letters of appointment from the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB). The appointment ceremony was held today at the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Centre. The event was attended by Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, MP Samanmalee Gunasinghe, and SLTB Chairman, Sajeewa Kanakarathna. A new uniform was also introduced for the newly more..

Feb 6 (AD) The Supreme Court has determined that no provision in the Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Bill is inconsistent with the Constitution, and that it can be enacted by Parliament with a simple majority, Speaker of the House Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne stated. Announcing the Supreme Court’s decision, he added that the bill had been reviewed in accordance with Article 121(1) of the Constitution and was found to be fully consistent with constitutional provisions. more..

Feb 6 (DM) Sri Lanka has strengthened its preparedness to detect and respond to a potential outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus (NiV) with health authorities stepping up surveillance and laboratory readiness amid growing regional concerns. Medical Research Institute (MRI), the country’s premier laboratory, has upgraded its testing capacity with the latest technology to detect the Nipah virus, enabling early identification of suspected cases, according to an informed source at MRI. more..

Feb 6 (DM) A meeting to study the feasibility of introducing skydiving activities in Sri Lanka was held at the Ministry of Defence yesterday by Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd) and a group of representatives of Skydive Sri Lanka. During the meeting, representatives of Skydive Sri Lanka made a detailed presentation introducing skydiving, highlighting its potential benefits as an adventure tourism activity, along with proposed operational aspects. more..