Sep 12 (ST) More than 1,500 statements have been recorded so far in the ongoing investigations into the recent riots in Negombo, Mahara, Kuruwita and Magazine prisons, while concerns over prison overcrowding and delays in drug-related cases remain unresolved. The investigations by the CID have led to the arrest of several inmates on various charges, including aiding and abetting violence and murder, police said. more..

Sep 12 (FT) SL’s policy-driven distortions in the vehicle market are reducing the country’s attractiveness to global automotive manufacturers, with authorised distributors warning investment decisions are increasingly being assessed against a market in which they effectively control only a fraction of total vehicle business. Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association (CMTA) representatives in a media briefing on Thursday, flagged the issue went beyond the immediate impact on distributors, more..

Sep 12 (FT) Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake outlined five priorities he believes should shape the logistics industry’s future agenda. Addressing the 9th Annual General Meeting of the SL Association of NVOCC Agents (SLANA) on Thursday, he urged the freight forwarders to build resilience, digitise, and get ahead of sustainability and policy demands before they become unavoidable. The five-point recommendations of Dissanayake include; more..

Sep 12 (FT) KOKO, a leading buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform, has partnered with Ceylinco General Insurance to introduce Sri Lanka’s first customised medical insurance offering designed exclusively around the needs of KOKO customers. The partnership marks a first for SL’s fintech and insurance sectors, bringing together Ceylinco General Insurance’s decades of expertise in health insurance with KOKO’s understanding of its customer community to create a medical more..

Sep 12 (FT) In a historic milestone for SL business media and entrepreneurial leadership, SL entrepreneur and business communicator Stefan de Alwis is putting the island nation on the international map through The 3i Show, hosting an exclusive, high-impact dialogue with globally renowned entrepreneur, investor, and mentor Jeff Hoffman. The engagement marks a defining moment where a homegrown Sri Lankan platform is directly engaging the world’s most prominent business leaders, more..

Sep 12 (FT) SL Ports Authority (SLPA) is set to launch a long-awaited logistics hub within the next two to three months, incorporating free-zone and bonded warehousing facilities and opening a new avenue for foreign direct investment, SLPA Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake said. He said the facility could fundamentally alter Colombo’s value proposition by allowing it to move beyond its 4-decade role as a transshipment more..

Sep 12 (Island) After the economic crisis of 2022, and the IMF programme that followed, some are of the opinion that stability was achieved, but followed by not out of danger yet. Where is the stability then? We know that the cause of the crisis was a lack of foreign exchange. However, IMF programme focused on the fiscal aspects, not one that enhanced export earnings. So, we are once again in a situation, facing the same problem, with the fiscal discipline thrust on us. more..

Sep 12 (ST) Situated in the heart of Galle, Kathiresan Koyil has housed a rich display of mural paintings since the late 18th century. Yet written histories have largely overlooked this site. Apart from the fact that these murals may be among the oldest surviving specimens of Hindu mural painting in Sri Lanka, their stylistic characteristics reveal striking connections with Kandyan and colonial period Buddhist murals, as well as contemporaneous mural traditions in South India. more..

Sep 12 (FT) The Nobel Prize for Economics was not one of the original prizes established by Alfred Nobel, which in 1901 included five awards, for: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. The Economics prize was created in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank, nearly seven decades after the original Prizes. The initiative came from Riksbank Governor Per Asbrink, an economist by training and powerful Social Democratic central banker who had more..

Sep 12 (DN) The political cartoon is not merely a newspaper feature intended to provide simple humour; it is a powerful medium of expression that reflects the conscience of a democratic society. In SL journalism, Winnie Hettigoda stands out as a visual artist who pursued a courageous ideological practice in the face of state censorship, political crises and the evolution of media technology. From his first exhibition, Saththwa Roopa (Animal Figures), through Sebaawe Sithuwama more..

Sep 12 (SO) SJB and UNP are moving towards an electoral alliance, with the two parties preparing to contest at the next election together while retaining their separate political identities. SJB General Secretary, MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said the two sides had already held discussions and reached a broad understanding on working together. He said an alliance was a more practical option than SJB members returning to the UNP, more..

Sep 12 (Island) Killings are reported with monotonous regularity in this country. Two children were killed in a grenade attack on a house in Dehiwala in the early hours yesterday. Their father, who sustained serious injury in the attack, is receiving treatment in hospital. The attackers came, lobbed the grenade and fled in a trishaw. The police have blamed an underworld gang for the attack, claiming that the attackers had mistaken the victims’ house for the residence of an associate more..

Sep 12 (TM) Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s 3-day visit to SL this week is strategically more significant than the relatively modest value of the agreements signed in Colombo might suggest. Since the visit of K C Pant 38 years ago, in the troubled aftermath of the Indo-SL Agreement and the notice given to Indian troops stationed in the North and East in 1987-90, this is the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister. It comes at a time when India is increasingly defining security in Indian Ocean more..

Sep 12 (TM) There was a time when a ship could determine the fate of a port simply by refusing to call there. For centuries, Galle was Ceylon’s principal maritime gateway, a familiar stopping place for the great steamship lines and an important coaling station on the routes to the East. Colombo was a less impressive proposition, an exposed roadstead whose limitations were obvious to mariners. Yet, within a generation, more..

Sep 12 (GV) A dimly lit stage comes into view, otherwise completely empty. A young man with his hair tied back rushes down the staircase. He speaks without a voice, crying out in silence, while our eyes remain fixed upon him. Slowly, the empty stage begins to fill. A graceful young woman appears and opens a large, white, shelf-like box on display. From it she pulls out a red cloth and carries it to the young man. The man asks us, seated in our red theatre chairs, how we are. more..

Sep 12 (CT) There are newspapers that record history. There are others that merely follow it. And then there are those rare publications that become part of history themselves—not because they command imposing buildings, printing presses or great financial resources, but because they possess the courage to publish what others would prefer to leave unsaid. Colombo Telegraph (CT) belongs unmistakably to that final category. On 12 Sept 2026, CT completes 15 years of publication. more..

Sep 11 (DM) The Forest Conservation Dept has denied reports that more than 2,000 kumbuk trees were destroyed in a fire at the old Eluwakkulam Nelum Wewa bordering the Wilpattu National Park. Department said reports claiming that over 500 kumbuk trees had been destroyed in an alleged arson attack were baseless. Recent reports had said that a fire that initially affected the roots of a century-old kumbuk tree had spread across the area, destroying more than 2,000 kumbuk trees, more..

Sep 11 (NW) Parliamentary Business for the next Parliamentary Week, scheduled to be held from Sept 22 to 25, has been decided at the meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business held yesterday under the chairmanship of Speaker, Jagath Wickramaratne. On each day that Parliament meets, the period from 9.30 am to 10.00 am has been allocated for Parliamentary Business specified under Standing Orders 22(1) to 22(6). The period from 10 am to 11 am has been allocated more..

Sep 11 (NW) Deputy Minister T.B. Sarath has responded to criticism over photographs showing him holding the hands of young girls, saying he was attempting to prevent the children from bowing before him. Deputy Minister said the photographs were taken during events to open newly constructed houses, where children had welcomed him with betel leaves before attempting to bow in respect. more..

Sep 11 (DM) Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of SL (TRCSL) is preparing to introduce stricter regulations for the issuance and use of mobile SIM cards amid a rise in criminal activities involving illegally obtained and untraceable connections. TRCSL Director General Bandula Herath said new SIM cards are expected to require live photograph verification from later this year. He said the move follows requests from law enforcement authorities, including SL Police, more..

Sep 11 (TM) Around 300 hectares (ha) of forest have been damaged by wildfires amid the dry weather conditions caused by El Niño, with authorities also reporting an increase in wild elephants entering villages in search of food and water, Environment Minister Dr Dammika Patabendi said. Making a statement in Parliament yesterday, he said around 90 to 100 forest fire incidents had been reported during the drought, prompting intervention by the Forest Conservation Department. more..

Sep 11 (Island) Catholic Bishops’ Conference of SL (CBCSL) has called for an impartial investigation into the alleged mass graves in the Chemmani area of the Jaffna Peninsula, stressing the need to establish the truth and ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed during the country’s long civil conflict. In a statement issued yesterday following its Plenary Session held from Aug 18 to 20, CBCSL said the ongoing more..

Sep 11 (DM) A significant number of swimming pools in Sri Lanka are not adequately safe, with the absence of properly trained lifeguards identified as a major concern, a senior Health Ministry specialist said. Specialist Dr. Samitha Siritunga, Chief Specialist of the Accident Prevention Division of the Non-Communicable Diseases Unit of the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, said every swimming pool should have lifeguards to ensure the safety of swimmers. more..

Sep 11 (AD) Former Minister Priyankara Jayaratne, who is currently serving a prison sentence over a corruption charge, has been produced before the Colombo High Court today (11) in connection with another corruption case filed against him by the CIABOC. The case has been filed against the former minister over allegations that he caused a loss of Rs. 128,520 to the govt by unlawfully printing Vesak cards while serving as the Minister of Civil Aviation in 2013. more..

Sep 11 (NF) Supreme Court ordered today to call the appeal petition filed by former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, on Oct 9. He has requested to be acquitted from the case filed by the Bribery Commission regarding the 2012 Greek bonds case. This case was filed before the Trial-at-Bar of the High Court over causing a loss to the govt by investing Rs. 1.8 billion in Greek bonds. The appeal petition challenging this was called today before a Supreme Court judge bench more..

Sep 11 (AD) The father of Shiran Basik, a suspected major drug trafficker who was recently brought back to Sri Lanka from Dubai, has been arrested by the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) in connection with an investigation into a property worth approximately Rs. 30 million. Accordingly, Abdul Razak Mohomed Basik has been arrested on charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. According to reports, investigations have revealed that Shiran Basik had purchased more..

Sep 11 (FT) Brandix Lanka CEO Ashroff Omar called for a system of Customs pre-clearance directly from manufacturing plants to eliminate waiting time in the supply chain, warning that SL’s current tariff advantage over regional competitors is not guaranteed to last and that infrastructure, logistics costs, and efficiency remain the areas within the country’s control. Omar said rapidly changing customer expectations were reshaping more..

Sep 11 (NW) SL Navy has facilitated the transport of heavy machinery and essential supplies to Delft Island in Jaffna, supporting ongoing infrastructure development aimed at transforming the island into a sustainable tourism destination. Naval vessels under the Northern Naval Command carried the cargo from the Kurikadduwan jetty on Pungudutivu Island to Delft on 6 and 10 Sept. The consignments included machinery and materials required for improvements to drinking water facilities, more..

Sep 11 (NF) Former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa has arrived at the FCID. He was summoned to record a statement regarding an investigation into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the procurement of MiG fighter aircraft for the SL Air Force. Yesterday, former Air Force Commander, Marshal of Air Force Roshan Goonetileke, also recorded a statement with the FCID for over five hours regarding this matter. In 2006, a transaction was carried out involving the purchase and refurbishment more..

Sep 11 (TMZ) Ne-Yo’s team is firing back at the lawsuit over a canceled concert in Sri Lanka … denying a promoter’s claims that it shelled out $300K and got no show in return. A spokesperson for Ne-Yo tells TMZ, “The claims made by Brown Boy Presents are categorically fraudulent and misleading. Brown Boy Presents isn’t owed money by NE-YO—the promoter owes NE-YO answers regarding its misconduct.” more..

Sep 11 (AD) Minister Anura Karunathilaka stated that there are no plans to request an increase in electricity tariffs for the upcoming quarter. Speaking in Parliament, Minister said that higher-than-expected rainfall in recent times had enabled the authorities to manage electricity generation costs to a certain extent. He stated that an increase in electricity tariffs is therefore not necessary for the upcoming quarter and that there are no plans to submit a request for a tariff increase. more..

Sep 11 (NW) The weight of schoolchildren’s bags is expected to be significantly reduced under SL’s new education reforms, with a module-based learning system set to be introduced for Grade 6 from 2027, PM Harini Amarasuriya said. Responding to a question in Parliament on measures being taken to reduce the weight of school bags, the PM said the activity-based learning process introduced under the reforms would reduce the number of books students need to carry between home and school. more..