Sep 8 (DM) There is nothing wrong with wanting a modern police force. There is nothing wrong with giving police officers better uniforms, better equipment and better working conditions. But there is something uncomfortable about the timing. At a time when Sri Lankans are increasingly worried about shootings, organised crime and the ability of the police to keep people safe, Prez Anura Kumara has announced plans for a new police uniform designed by professional fashion designers. more..

Sep 8 (ST) The passing of the 40th Chief Justice GPS de Silva a few days ago leaves a sense of profound loss. This goes beyond the personal even though this Chief Justice epitomised three rare virtues; kindness, humility and integrity. Visiting him in retirement upon being gently summoned by a call, where a preening beautifully groomed Siamese cat occupied pride of place in the sitting room, I had often joked with Justice Silva, saying that he was the last of SL’s Honourable Chief Justices. more..

Sep 8 (TM) SL is moving to expand prison capacity through the relocation of several major prisons and the temporary reopening of unused facilities as chronic overcrowding continues to strain the correctional system. Meanwhile, delays in criminal proceedings and forensic examinations continue to keep large numbers of suspects in remand custody. Under the Dept of Prisons’ longer-term plans, Welikada Prison is to be relocated more..

Sep 8 (GV) The past few months have been challenging for SL’s govt as well as its people, at least those who are not rich or well connected. Farmers and others who are financially struggling have been protesting across the island. Workers in state-owned organisations from sugar factory employees to university lecturers have taken industrial action. Stark poverty continues to blight lives and while global economic problems largely resulting from US actions and IMF measures more..

Sep 8 (CT) Some sentences acquire a different meaning after their author is gone. These words belonged to Thiagarajah Selvanithy, Selvi, a poet, dramatist and women’s-rights activist studying Theatre and Dramatic Arts at the Uni of Jaffna. She was not a soldier or a politician. She was a young woman who wrote, acted and questioned. On 30 Aug 1991, members of the LTTE abducted her from her home in Jaffna. The following day, she was due to appear in a university play about more..

Sep 8 (SO) It was Tuesday morning, Sept 1. Supreme Court complex, usually a busy hub of legal activity, was unusually crowded. Hundreds of lawyers in black cloaks flocked at the premises, while prominent political, legal and civil society figures arrived in numbers. At the main entrance, journalists stood waiting, their cameras trained on those entering the building. The heightened security presence was equally noticeable. more..

Sep 8 (Island) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has embarked on a nationwide tour to drum up support for his govt, whose approval rating has declined, according to a Verite Research opinion survey. It is possible that he has launched his re-election campaign, the way his predecessors did, as some political commentators argue. The Opposition has claimed that the President has launched the ongoing campaign with an eye to a possible referendum on 22nd Amendment Bill. more..

Sep 8 (DM) Schools are central to communities. The next generation is socially and ideologically nourished in these spaces! However, nourishment is also a material process of eating and sustenance. The lack of it leads to malnourishment. I address here the provisioning of food through the School Meal Programme (SMP), which has hardly been discussed in the public sphere in recent times. Over the last few months, I was given the opportunity to do a rapid study on the implementation of more..

Sep 7 (TM) Following the recent revelation of shortages of cancer drugs at Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama, GMOA has urged the Ministry of Health to make maximum use of its budget allocation for pharmaceuticals. GMOA Secretary Dr. Udayabandara Warakagoda said the drug procurement process should be streamlined and fast-tracked to ensure medicines are available through the Medical Supplies Division (MSD), rather than relying on local purchases to address shortages. more..

Sep 7 (NW) Venerable Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera, who was arrested by the Batticaloa Police today, has been remanded until tomorrow (08). Police said the monk was taken into custody in connection with obstructing the duties of officers attached to the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau in Batticaloa. Following his arrest, Sumanarathana Thera was produced before the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court, which ordered that he be remanded until September 8. more..

Sep 7 (Island) Sri Lanka recorded its highest-ever number of blood donations, in a single year, in 2025, collecting 467,000 units, National Blood Transfusion Service Director Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe said. Edirisinghe made the remarks yesterday while serving as Chief Guest at a ceremony held at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital to honour blood donors and organisers of blood donation campaigns, in collaboration with more..

Sep 7 (Island) Former Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday accused the govt of seeking to undermine SL’s democratic system and weaken the Opposition. Addressing a ceremony at Sirikotha, to mark the party’s 80th anniversary, Wickremesinghe said the country’s democratic system was facing a serious threat. He traced SL’s constitutional and political development since Independence in 1948, noting that the Republican Constitution had been introduced in 1972. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Department of Motor Traffic has clarified that green-background number plates issued for electric vehicles are legally valid, amid concerns over the use of such plates on vehicles. Commissioner General of Motor Transport, Thushara Fernando, said green number plates are legally issued for electric vehicles and that there is no issue with vehicle owners using them. He said the Dept is taking steps to ensure that all electric vehicles are issued with green-background number plates. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Govt is to launch mega development work across all districts next year, with Rs. 2 trillion allocated for capital expenditure and Rs. 2 billion provided for each district secretary to address priority of local development needs, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. A series of public rallies attended by Prez began yesterday under the theme, Two years strong. Progress for all. The first phase focused on the Kalutara District, more..

Sep 7 (NW) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has outlined a series of measures aimed at accelerating Sri Lanka’s digital transformation, including plans to make around 80% of govt services accessible from home through mobile phones. Addressing a public meeting in Bulathsinhala, Prez said Rs. 30 billion would be allocated in next year’s Budget for digitalisation, while the govt also plans to expand nationwide 4G coverage. Here are seven key updates announced by the President: more..

Sep 7 (NW) Minister Bimal Rathnayake revealed that the property used for service area on the southern expressway was leased for 99 years at an annual rent of Rs. 10,000 during the previous Rajapaksa administration. Rathnayake made the remarks while responding to concerns over poor maintenance, cleanliness and high food prices at the facility. He said only one service area is currently operating across the 312-km expressway network, while another facility is being developed in more..

Sep 7 (NW) Colombo Magistrate’s Court has rejected a request by the CID to impose overseas travel bans on racing driver Dilantha Malagamuwa and three others over an alleged land fraud involving forged deeds. Colombo Additional Magistrate Lahiru Silva instead directed the CID to take steps to name the four individuals as suspects in the investigation before seeking travel restrictions against them. CID told court that the four were being investigated over an alleged large-scale scheme involving more..

Sep 7 (DM) The Supreme Court today granted permission to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Yoshitha Rajapaksa to withdraw an appeal challenging the Court of Appeal decision to dismiss a revision application relating to a money-laundering case. Supreme Court permitted Yoshitha Rajapaksa to withdraw his appeal, allowing him to reserve the preliminary issues he raised through this appeal if he files an appeal in the future. The Supreme Court 3-judge-bench comprised more..

Sep 7 (AD) PM Harini Amarasuriya stated that certain comments made on social media, particularly those targeting a child, a vulnerable person or a woman, clearly demonstrate the need for a cultured human being in society. PM emphasized that a cultured person is not merely someone who possesses knowledge acquired through books or is capable of presenting memorized information. Rather, a cultured person is one who more..

Sep 7 (DM) The Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to conduct a comprehensive study into the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah has questioned senior Sri Lanka Police officers who were involved in responding to the disaster. The Committee, which is tasked with reporting its findings to Parliament and submitting proposals and recommendations, held the questioning recently at Parliament under the chairmanship of Minister Nalinda Jayatissa. more..

Sep 7 (NW) A special 5‑day national dengue eradication programme covering 62 MOH divisions will be launched from Sept 14 to 19, according to Director of the National Dengue Eradication Programme Dr. Kapila Kannangara. He said the initiative is being introduced to control the possible spread of dengue with the onset of the northeast monsoon rains. Programme will target high‑risk areas in the Northern, Eastern, North Central, Western, Southern, Central, Sabaragamuwa more..

Sep 7 (NW) Colombo High Court today ordered that the further examination of evidence in the corruption case filed by the Bribery Commission against former Minister Kumara Jayakody be taken up again on Oct 5. The case was heard before High Court Judge Rashantha Godawela. During proceedings, former Chairman of the Lanka Fertilizer Company, Buddhika Madihahewa, testified under direction of Assistant Director General more..

Sep 7 (TM) Rural Development, Social Security & Community Empowerment Ministry unveiled plans to establish a retirement resort village in Pannala, Kurunegala, aimed at accommodating 400 elderly citizens. The initiative is part of a broader effort to improve retirement conditions for senior citizens, with the village set to be the first of its kind in the country to feature modern facilities. Deputy subject Minister Wasantha Piyathissa said that the Govt is actively working towards developing more..

Sep 7 (NW) The Irrigation Department has reported that the total water capacity stored in reservoirs across the country has dropped to around 47.3% due to prevailing dry weather conditions. Irrigation Director (Water Management) H.M.P.S.D. Herath said that the major reservoirs under the department’s control currently hold 34.4% of capacity. He noted that reservoirs in the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee are at particularly low levels, averaging around 20%. more..

Sep 7 (NW) Newly registered vehicles will now be issued their number plates within one week of registration, Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, Retired Air Vice Marshal Thushara Fernando announced. Addressing the media, he explained that the production of number plates for vehicles registered between June 10 and August 31 this year has already been completed, and going forward, the process will be streamlined to ensure plates are delivered promptly. more..

Sep 7 (ST) Sri Lanka and India will sign three fresh defence-related MoUs during Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s three-day visit, which begins on Tuesday. Besides the MoUs, the two sides will also review the India-SL Defence Cooperation MoU that was signed during Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visit to India on April 5 last year. One of the fresh MoUs will cover the supply of Indian air-defence guns, while the others will be to enhance ties between cadet corps of the two countries more..

Sep 7 (ST) Attorney General has advised the CID to obtain a statement from former NSB Chairman Pradeep Kariyawasam over an incident where Rs. 1 million had been deposited to a bank account maintained by Siriliya Saviya Foundation following a request for a donation to help purchase a PET scanner for the Maharagama Apeksha Cancer Hospital. AG has advised the CID to record a statement from more..

Sep 7 (NW) Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has taken legal action against a company in Seethawaka, Avissawella, and its Director, for producing and distributing bottled drinking water using a fake Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) mark and a false brand name. The case was heard before the Avissawella Magistrate’s Court after CAA officers raided the company on Aug 21, seizing more than 8,500 bottles of water labelled Aquachill instead of the Ministry of Health‑approved name more..

Sep 7 (DN) The second depot under SL’s Metro Bus Service began operations in Kadawatha today, marking another step in the expansion of the country’s modern public transport network. The newly established depot is located next to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Depot along the Kadawatha–Ganemulla Main Road in the Gampaha District. The first Metro Bus depot was opened in Talangama, Battaramulla, on Sept 4. Four depots are planned under the first phase of more..

Sep 7 (NW) Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) President Steven Thiru has raised several concerns over procedural fairness, transparency and public confidence arising from the Supreme Court proceedings challenging SL’s proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. In a report dated Sept 7 following his visit to SL, Thiru said he attended the second day of the Supreme Court hearing on Sept 2 as an observer more..

Sep 7 (AD) A 46-year-old man known as Bhootha Kaluwa, the brother-in-law of alleged organized crime figure Kos Malli, has been hacked to death in Dehiwala early this morning, police stated. The attack took place at around 1:45 a.m. today at the victim’s residence in Orban Place of Dehiwala. Police said a group of four men arrived at the house in a three-wheeler, broke down the door and entered the premises. The assailants then attacked the victim, who was asleep in bed, more..

Sep 7 (DM) SriLankan Airlines has cancelled its scheduled Colombo-Jakarta services today due to volcanic ash from Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatoa affecting airspace in the region. The airline said flights UL 364, operating from Colombo to Jakarta, and UL 365, from Jakarta to Colombo, were cancelled as a precautionary measure following the spread of volcanic ash. Indonesian aviation authorities have also suspended operations at several airports, including Jakarta’s more..