Jul 25 (FT) Delegation of the European Union in SL Deputy Ambassador Lars Bredal recently said that aligning with EU standards on sustainability and due diligence is essential for boosting exports and attracting more European investments into the country. “European investors are looking for stable, transparent, and ethical environments. By meeting these standards and credibility, SL can strengthen its export more..

Jul 25 (ST) Sri Lanka’s motor industry was, once again, urged to set up a Single Window Platform that would address all issues also connecting to banks and related parties. Bingumal Thewarathanthri, Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, speaking at the Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association (CMTA) 105th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Colombo recently, that the automobile industry has been advocating for the creation of a Single Window platform for years. more..

Jul 25 (ST) In a judgment carrying wide-ranging implications for governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a fundamental rights petition filed by K. Goonewardena, who challenged the Central Bank’s decision that effectively ended his tenure as Chairman and Director of Lankaputhra Development Bank Ltd (LDBL). The judgment highlighted not only a procedural flaw in the appointment but also drew attention to lapses in regulatory conduct, more..

Jul 25 (FT) IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack confirmed that the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s EFF program is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2025. She made these remarks responding to a question posed during a media briefing yesterday. 2025 IMF/WB Annual Meetings is scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C. from 13-18 Oct. This follows the successful completion of the fourth review on 1 July 1, which secured SDR 254 million (about $ 350 million), more..

Jul 25 (Island) SL politicians are notorious for feigned amnesia. Their memory is as sharp as a hawk’s vision at noon when they delve into past incidents that they can use to their advantage. The UNP has forgotten its barbaric counterterror operations, torture chambers, abductions, and ubiquitous tyre-pyres in the late 1980s. But its current members and their erstwhile chums in the SJB, etc., often hark back to the JVP’s second uprising characterised by mindless violence. more..

Jul 25 (SO) The world recently turned its attention to a ground-breaking innovation hailing from our very own shores. Dr. Nadeesha Chandrasena, a brilliant Sri Lankan, and her team, Urban Inventors, clinched a prestigious global award for their ingenious Smart Drain concept. This isn’t just a win for Dr. Chandrasena; it’s a testament to Sri Lanka’s burgeoning potential in addressing global challenges through innovative solutions. more..

Jul 25 (FT) The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has announced that registrations are now open for the SL Economic and Investment Summit 2025 (SLEIS), taking place on 2 and 3 December at the Shangri-La Colombo. This year’s event introduces an enhanced format that builds on the Ceylon Chamber’s flagship Sri Lanka Economic Summit, introducing a stronger investment focus to reflect current national priorities. Under the theme Gateway to Growth: Asia’s Emerging Opportunity, SLEIS 2025 more..

Jul 25 (CT) Marking a significant step in its continuous efforts to rid corruption and ensure accountability and transparency in State operations, Govt recently appointed a Special Presidential Investigation Committee to probe alleged offences committed between 2010 and 2025 at SriLankan Airlines and Airport & Aviation Services (SL) (Pvt) Ltd. Appointing the committee, the Prez emphasised that the lack of a proper investigation into past irregularities had significantly undermined more..

Jul 25 (Island) PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, who is also the Minister of Education and Higher Education, has said the aim of reforms that the govt is planning to introduce is aimed at reducing the burden of education. This is a welcome attitude, but it has to be done with utmost care, for enough damage has already been done by ill-conceived changes brought about by people with vested interests. Education, like health, is crucial for the future development of the country and more importantly to produce more..

Jul 25 (ST) Last week was a busy and inspiring time for us at CEPA, as we launched a new book titled Sustaining Transformative Growth in Sri Lanka 2025–2030 and hosted a series of seminars across various venues to discuss its key themes. The book is the product of an Independent Growth Study Group, developed under the auspices of ODI Global (UK) and the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) in SL. One of the most notable gatherings took place at the residence of Dutch Ambassador to SL, more..

Jul 25 (CT) Sri Lanka’s prison system, long plagued by overcrowding, understaffing, and poor conditions, now finds itself at the centre of an unprecedented corruption scandal. What began as a routine release of inmates under Prez Amnesty on national holidays has, according to investigations by the CID, become a cover for illegal mass releases orchestrated by a high-ranking official. Suspect at the heart of the controversy is more..

Jul 25 (TM) The fallout from SL’s largest recorded marine ecological disaster, which came from the Singaporean flagged MV X-Press Pearl wrecking, passed a milestone yesterday (24) with the the Supreme Court (SC) ordering non-state parties comprised of the X-Press Pearl group made up of the Singapore ship owner, operators and local agent of the vessel to pay $ 1 billion in compensation for the environmental and economic damage caused due to the fire onboard the vessel. more..

Jul 25 (DM) Sri Lanka is at the forefront of the human-elephant conflict (HEC), with 130 people and 380 elephants dying as a result last year. This is the highest HEC death toll reported from anywhere. But we are not the only country affected by this issue, and this is an attempt to take a comparative look at other affected countries. We can start with neighbouring India, with an estimated 27,000 wild elephants. The northeastern state of Assam is the worst-affected. more..

Jul 25 (TM) A longstanding financial crisis in Sri Lanka’s rural areas, particularly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, is continuing to worsen as microfinance borrowers face mounting pressure from debt recovery actions. The use of the parate execution law by banks and financial institutions has led to an increase in land seizures and legal notices being issued to low-income borrowers, many of whom are women. more..

Jul 25 (DM) The Govt of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is planning many reforms to make education in the country a pleasant and rewarding experience. This is what we gather when we read about what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Premier Harini Amarasuriya have to say about education reforms through our browsing of newspapers. We are made to understand that the govt is planning to change the education system from being an exam related one to a module based system. more..

Jul 25 (DM) Sri Lankans, at least those who engage with the esoterica of lawmaking, appear to think highly of independence from political influence. The 17th Amendment to the Constitution which was forced on Prez Kumaratunga by the JVP in 2001 introduced the novel institution of the Constitutional Council. The independence of certain designated officeholders (e.g., judges of the superior courts) and commissions (e.g., the Elections Commission) was to be assured by making appointments more..

Jul 24 (TM) The health authorities cautioned that accidents during the rambutan season (June–July) have reached a concerning level this year and are higher than last year. This was discussed during a press briefing held yesterday by the Health Ministry, where it was highlighted that falling from rambutan trees is the most common type of accident, while cases of electrocution caused by electric lights and sound equipment installed on trees to repel animals have also been reported. more..

Jul 24 (NN) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressed Parliament today during the adjournment debate on proposed education reforms, urging lawmakers to overhaul SL’s education system amid rising dropout rates and under-enrolled schools. Prez stressed that significant reforms are needed to ensure no child leaves school before completing 13 years of education. He cited troubling data: school dropouts increased from 16,673 in 2019 to 20,759 in 2022, with a slight decrease 20,755 in 2024. more..

Jul 24 (NN) Sri Lanka is making progress in establishing nuclear infrastructure and has already identified potential new-build sites as it embarks on the development of its nuclear power programme, according to an Int'l Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review mission. The follow-up Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission, conducted at the request of the govt of SL, took place from 14 to 18 July. more..

Jul 24 (DM) Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa says more specialist doctors who have completed training abroad are now choosing to stay in SL instead of leaving the country. He made this comment during a visit to the Eravur Hospital in the Eastern Province. During the visit the Minister had a special discussion with the hospital staff and management to look into the challenges the hospital is facing. "Earlier, many specialist doctors who were sent to remote areas like the N&E after more..

Jul 24 (Island) Resentatives of the local sugarcane producers associations met the Leader of the SLMC and MP Rauff Hakeem, on Tuesday, at the Parliament Complex, to discuss issues faced by sugarcane farmers in Hingurana in the Ampara District. During the meeting, they had an in-depth discussion with MP Hakeem on the various issues faced by sugarcane farmers. Following the meeting, representatives of the associations also held a special discussion with Minister Sunil more..

Jul 24 (Island) A powerful alliance of Buddhist clergy, conservation scientists, animal welfare advocates, and corporate representatives has called on the govt to abandon ad hoc animal control strategies and adopt science-backed, humane, and sustainable policies to protect SL’s animals and ecosystems. Speaking at a landmark press conference in Colombo, Venerable Pagoda Janithawansha Thera delivered more..

Jul 24 (DM) Sri Lanka National Men’s Team will tour England in September 2026 for a white-ball series, the Sri Lanka Cricket said. The tour will include three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and three ODIs. The series is set to begin with the T20I matches, starting on 15th September 2026 in Southampton. The second T20I will be played in Cardiff on 17th September, followed by the third in Manchester on 19th September. The match time for the third T20I is yet to be confirmed. more..

Jul 24 (NF) Lt General Syed Aamer Raza, Chief of General Staff of the Pakistan Army, arrived in SL on July 22 for an official visit aimed at enhancing bilateral defence cooperation. During his visit, Lt General Raza paid courtesy calls on Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd) and Defence Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd) in separate meetings. He was accompanied by Colonel Muhammad Farooq, Defence Advisor to the HC of Pakistan in SL. more..

Jul 24 (NW) A SL bus conductor’s act of honesty has left a lasting impression on a Spanish tourist couple after he returned a valuable smartwatch they had accidentally left behind on a local bus. The couple, who were traveling onboard a bus from Nuwaragala to Mahiyanganaya, only realized the watch was missing after reaching their hotel. The timepiece, had been gifted by a family member, the couple said. With the help of hotel staff, they contacted the bus company. more..

Jul 24 (PMD) A meeting with the group of business community supporting the implementation of the Dream Destination project, which aims to modernize 100 railway stations across the country, was held yesterday (23) at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake. During the discussion, Dr. Kumanayake emphasized the importance of collective national development and noted that the current govt has established an more..

Jul 24 (AM) Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, stated in Parliament that certain individuals have taken funds from SL and established companies in the British Virgin Islands. He assured that details regarding these individuals would be revealed in the near future. Minister made these remarks while participating in the second reading debate of the Companies (Amd) Bill. He noted that although the previous Cabinet had more..

Jul 24 (EN) Sri Lanka’s financial market and education sector officials have discussed including capital market content into the proposed financial literacy curriculum under its new education reforms, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Financial literacy is one of 16 core skills essential for students in the 21st century, and comprises knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours necessary for making informed financial decisions, SEC Chairman Hareendra Dissabandara said. more..

Jul 24 (SM) Former Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has raised concerns about the legality of removing Deshabandu Tennakoon from his position as IGP in light of the Supreme Court ruling that Tennakoon’s appointment had been unlawful. Rajapakshe has pointed out that if Deshabandu Tennakoon was not legally appointed as the IGP, it isn’t hard to comprehend how he is to be removed. Rajapaksha pointed out that it is a conflict between judicial and legislative powers in the current scenario. more..

Jul 24 (AM) Supreme Court delivers landmark judgment in MV X-Press Pearl disaster, orders USD 1 billion compensation and blasts failures by authorities In a landmark ruling, SC has issued a comprehensive judgment on the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster, holding the vessel’s owners and operators jointly and severally liable for SL’s worst marine environmental catastrophe, and ordering an initial compensation payment of US$ 1 b. more..

Jul 24 (AD) The govt of Japan has signed an agreement to continue its scholarship programme for executive-level govt officials in Sri Lanka. Since 2010, the government of Japan has been offering scholarships on a grant basis through the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resources Development Scholarship (JDS) Programme. The programme is funded by the Govt of Japan under the Official Development Assistance and implemented through Japan Int'l Cooperation Agency (JICA). more..

Jul 24 (PMD) Five newly appointed ambassadors and one high commissioner to SL officially presented their credentials to Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat this morning. Notably, among the diplomats who presented their credentials was Mr. Sergey Viktorov, the newly appointed Ambassador for Kazakhstan. This marks a significant milestone in diplomatic relations between SL and Kazakhstan, as it is the first time an embassy for Kazakhstan has been established in SL. more..