Sep 17 (NF) SL wants to use the economic stability achieved through IMF programme as a strong foundation to take the country towards a transformative era, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said when he met the visiting IMF team on Thursday. An IMF delegation is in SL for the 7th review of the country’s EFF programme and the 2026 Article IV Consultation. “Prez said recent economic indicators clearly demonstrate that more..

Sep 17 (NF) The driver of the car involved in the fatal road accident that claimed three lives in Mattakkuliya has been remanded until September 30. The order was issued after the suspect was produced today before the Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court No. 07. Police also confirmed that the driver had been under the influence of cannabis at the time of the accident. According to police, the finding was established through a medical examination conducted following the collision. more..

Sep 17 (NW) 34 new U.S. Peace Corps trainee volunteers have arrived in SL to begin training ahead of two years of service in the country. The volunteers will undergo intensive training in Sinhala or Tamil, SL culture and American English-language teaching before taking the Peace Corps Pledge of Service in November. Following their swearing-in, the volunteers will serve in the Northern and North Central provinces, working with SL teachers and students to expand English education. more..

Sep 17 (EN) SL’s Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs has approved the decision to call investment proposals to explore and develop petroleum resources in the country, parliament said. Last month, SL offered four offshore blocks in the Northwestern Mannar Basin for int'l investors to explore oil and gas in a fresh attempt to attract investments into the sector after an earlier attempt ended more..

Sep 17 (NW) SL has been assigned a 7.5% weighting in J.P. Morgan’s new frontier-market local-currency govt bond index, placing the country among the largest components of the benchmark. Govt Bond Index–Emerging Markets Edge, or GBI-EM Edge, is expected to be launched by the end of September and will track close to US$ 330 billion in govt bonds across 26 frontier markets. SL’s 7.5% share is just below the maximum country weighting of 8%. Vietnam, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, more..

Sep 17 (Island) LAWASIA, the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific, has stated that in court proceedings of exceptional constitutional significance, the basis upon which a Bench is constituted should be transparent and discernible and capable of maintaining public confidence in the institutional impartiality of the Court. The following is the text of the statement issued by LAWASIA regarding the proceedings on the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution: more..

Sep 17 (DM) Shiranthi Rajapaksa who left the country yesterday morning, is presently in Singapore undergoing a medical check-up at the elite Mount Elizabeth Hospital, sources said. Shiranthi left the island early yesterday, sparking controversy as she faces a summons to appear before the FCID on Sep 24 over alleged financial irregularities linked to the Siriliya Saviya Foundation. While in Colombo last week, the former First Lady had reportedly been admitted to a private hospital and more..

Sep 17 (NW) Authorities have uncovered a major haul of illegal electronic cigarettes inside a suspicious container in Peliyagoda, with officials seizing more than 1,400 devices along with refilling accessories and cosmetic products, Police said. The inspection was carried out by the Colombo Central Division Criminal Investigation Unit, assisted by SL Customs, Police Narcotics Bureau, and police sniffer dogs, after information was received by the Police Superintendent of the division. more..

Sep 17 (ICC) Sonal Dinusha has been named the ICC Men's Player of the Month for August 2026. This marks Dinusha being crowned with the accolade for the first time in his career. Having played only three Tests for SL coming into the ICC World Test Championship series against India, the left-handed batter was the leading run-getter in the two-match series. Dinusha finished with 420 runs, averaging a spectacular 140, more..

Sep 17 (DM) PM Harini Amarasuriya has stressed that universities have a moral responsibility to prevent and control ragging and ensure that students subjected to such incidents have confidence in the investigative procedures in place. She made the remarks at a meeting of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, convened under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, held at Parliament under more..

Sep 17 (NW) Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday ordered that the warrant issued against former cricketer Aravinda de Silva and his wife be recalled. The couple had stood surety for Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake, wife of the late SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, in connection with the Airbus bribery case involving an alleged USD 2 million payment. The warrant had been issued earlier in the day by Magistrate Pasan Amarasena after the couple failed to more..

Sep 17 (NW) The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered that Renuka Perera, former Chairman of the National Transport Commission, be remanded until Sept 29 following his arrest by the Bribery Commission in connection with a corruption allegation. The order was issued by Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama after considering submissions made by Bribery Commission officials and the suspect’s lawyers. more..

Sep 17 (NW) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, engaged in a series of tourism‑related programmes in Bangkok aimed at learning from Thailand’s approaches to destination promotion, product development, and heritage‑based tourism. According to the Embassy of SL in Bangkok, hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), led by Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool, the Minister joined a curated heritage walk through Bangkok’s historic Songwat neighbourhood. more..

Sep 17 (DM) A well-grown leopard cub that had wandered into a house in Dedugala, Bulathkohupitiya, was safely rescued by wildlife officials following a coordinated operation. The rescue operation was launched on September 15 after the Bulathkohupitiya Wildlife Office received information that a leopard had entered a residence in the area. Wildlife officers, acting on veterinary advice, rescued the animal and subsequently attempted to reunite it with its mother. more..

Sep 17 (FT) A SL creator can build a TikTok following in the millions, produce content that performs as well as anything coming out of Los Angeles or London, and earn nothing directly from the platform for it. That is not an exaggeration. It is policy. TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program remains limited to selected eligible regions, and Sri Lanka is not one of them. Neither is much of South Asia, much of Africa, and much of the Middle East. YouTube, by contrast, has offered SL creators a clearer and more..

Sep 17 (FT) My caption this week is an obvious echo of Winston Churchill’s characterisation at a nodal point in WWII, that it was not yet the beginning of the end, but only the end of the beginning. Later in the war, he announced the beginning of the end. There is usually an interregnum between the two, but sometimes the transition is short, and at others, the end of the beginning marks the beginning of the end. Why Prabhakaran Will Lose was the title of an article by me (then in my late-40s) more..

Sep 17 (Island) The US Embassy in Colombo declined to comment on a special police probe into the recent narcotics detection, jointly made at China-managed Colombo Int'l Container Terminal (CICT) by the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Delhi Country Office and SL Police. US Embassy spokesperson said that the mission wouldn’t add to their press release, issued on 2 Sept, in the immediate aftermath of the raid. more..

Sep 17 (AD) Despite several railway trade unions launching a 48-hour strike from midnight yesterday, all office trains are presently operating as usual, SL Railways said. Railway trade unions launched the 48-hour strike, based on several demands including the removal of the current General Manager of Railways. Commenting on the ongoing trade union action, Chairman of the Railway Station Masters' Association Sumedha Somarathna said several trains had been cancelled yesterday more..

Sep 17 (NW) Two people were killed and four others seriously injured in a road accident involving a car, three three-wheelers and four motorcycles in Mattakkuliya, Colombo, on Wednesday night. The accident occurred when a car collided with several vehicles travelling along the road. According to reports, the car struck three three-wheelers and four motorcycles, leaving six people injured. All six were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, where two later succumbed to their injuries, more..

Sep 17 (PMD) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that Sri Lanka’s health sector is being strengthened under three key areas to ensure healthy lives for all citizens. President pointed out that bringing free healthcare service closer to the people, introducing the world’s most advanced medical equipment as well as medical practices and establishing a systematic management system are the three key areas. more..

Sep 17 (DN) Sri Lanka Tourism has concluded its Australia and New Zealand Roadshow Series in Perth, bringing together more than 85 Australian travel agents and tour operators for a day focused on business-to-business engagement, industry networking and the promotion of Sri Lanka as a preferred holiday destination. Perth programme, the final stop of the roadshow series, provided a platform for SL tourism representatives and members of the Australian travel trade to more..

Sep 17 (DN) Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep said that SL’s coconut industry generated US$614 million in export revenue during the first half of this year, up from US$530 million during the corresponding period last year. Addressing the SL Coconut Awards 2026 organised by the Coconut Development Authority, Deputy Minister Pradeep said the growth reflected strong performance across the sector. CEO of the Export Development Board (EDB) Mangala Wijesinghe said more..

Sep 17 (FT) Cabinet has approved the implementation of the Mudun Ela Storm Drainage and Environment Improvement Project, a large-scale initiative aimed at resolving chronic storm water drainage problems affecting the Peliyagoda and Kelaniya areas within the Mudun Ela sub-catchment zone. The project, proposed by the SL Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), will be implemented in phases over period 2027 to 2036, at an estimated total cost of Rs. 46,190.6 mil. more..

Sep 17 (FT) Central Bank of SL’s (CBSL) Business Condition Index eased to 101 in the second quarter of 2026, from 104 in the first quarter, as heightened macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from the conflict in the Middle East weighed on firms’ sentiment. The Business Condition Index, compiled from the balance of opinion among around 100 surveyed firms selected in line with the composition of Sri Lanka’s GDP, captures firms’ assessments of current and future business conditions. more..

Sep 17 (TM) More than 8.6 million Sri Lankans aged 15 and above were outside the labour force in 2025, accounting for 50.6% of the population in that age group, according to the Labour Force Survey 2025. The survey recorded 8,625,859 people outside the labour force, while the overall labour-force participation rate stood at 49.4%. Women accounted for the overwhelming majority of those outside the labour force. more..

Sep 17 (DM) Addressing the 37th Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries in Rome, Sri Lanka called for evidence-based policies, digital innovation, and targeted support for small-scale fishers. Ministry Secretary Dr. Kolitha Jinadasa emphasized regional collaboration across the Bay of Bengal, post-harvest loss reduction, and strong enforcement against illegal fishing, urging international frameworks to account for the unique socio-economic realities of developing coastal nations. more..

Sep 17 (DM) The wildlife veterinary surgeon who attempted to save a hill country leopard caught in a wire trap had a harrowing experience this morning when it sprang at him causing him Injuries. When Dr. Akalanka Pinideniya from Randenigala veterinary hospital approached the trap and attempted to tranquilise the leopard it broke away from the trap, sprang at him and ran into the jungle. Veterinary surgeon received minor injuries. He said the leopard was a well grown animal and that it had not more..

Sep 17 (TM) Sri Lanka is set to launch the National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) next week, as a central mechanism to help businesses and investors resolve issues involving state agencies, as a part of the economic transformation needed to further develop the economy, Senior Additional Secretary to the Prez Seevali Arukgoda said. Arukgoda said: “We are planning to start the NBFC by next week, 22 Sept as planned, where the Govt has determined that the country must undergo more..

Sep 17 (FT) In a strategic move to expand SL’s export footprint, SL Export Development Board (EDB), in collaboration with SL High Commission in the Maldives and key private sector partners, organised a dedicated SL Country Pavilion at the Food and Hospitality Asia Maldives (FHAM) 2026 held from 7 to 9 Sept, in Hulhumalé, Maldives for Giftware and Lifestyle products sector. SL country pavilion featured the exclusive/ niche products of the 10 selected SMEs under Creative SL 2030 more..

Sep 17 (TM) As SL is yet to finalise on its tariff agreement with the US, with 90% of the paperwork involving the agreement through with, it must reckon with the marked shift of the US administration’s interests in trade, from focusing on it though multilateralism to leveraging it as a strategic geopolitical tool, former Ambassador of SL to the US Mahinda Samarasinghe said recently. “I would say that we have finished 90% of the content more..

Sep 17 (TM) India topped Sri Lanka’s largest source market by a significant margin, as SL’s tourism sector has surpassed the 1.6 million arrivals threshold for 2026, making 25.3% of the 1,609,759 arrivals Sri Lanka has seen so far in the year. India was followed by the UK with 155,798 tourists, and China with 105,294 tourist arrivals, the report stated. During the first 14 days of September, India led all markets by delivering 22,541 arrivals, representing a 30% share of total tourist entries, more..

Sep 17 (EN) Sri Lanka Customs has reached Rs. 2 trillion revenue this year through September 15, its spokesman said, as the revenue-collecting body’s performance shows potential of exceeding the target for the second year. SL Customs have reached 2 trillion rupee revenue on Tuesday (15). Customs’ 2026 revenue target was set at 2,207 billion rupees for this year. However, the revenue-collecting body collected over 90% of the target through Sept 15. It has exceeded the monthly targets more..