Oct 28 (Island) As the US pushes for new commercial opportunities for their businesses across the Indian Ocean, American Ambassador in Colombo Eric Meyer yesterday addressed port stakeholders from SL, Bangladesh, India, and Maldives at a U.S. Embassy-hosted regional workshop showcasing how trusted, secure American technology could transform maritime trade. Bringing together regional port decisionmakers and 11 American technology companies, more..

Oct 28 (TM) Some people displaced by Cyclone Ditwah are reluctant to leave relief camps where they continue to receive Government assistance, despite ongoing efforts to relocate them to safer housing, an official from the Defence Ministry said. Additional Secretary (Disaster Management Division) at the Ministry, Dharmathilaka Gamage said that the Government continued to provide necessary facilities to camp residents while working to provide permanent housing solutions. more..

Oct 28 (CI) England arrived in Pakistan this month hopeful that the dynamics of a tri-series would give them the chance to experience the pressure of knockout games ahead of next year's World Cup. Instead, Thursday's fixture against SL will evoke unwelcome memories of the 2023 edition, when they finished the tournament with a series of dead-rubbers after an early exit. That is what happens when you manage to come out on the wrong side of an unloseable game - and not just once, more..

Oct 28 (NW) Former Minister Johnston Fernando has informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court that he pleads guilty to charges of possessing a luxury BMW vehicle imported into SL without paying the required taxes and committing tax fraud. Fernando conveyed his position to the court through his lawyers in connection with the luxury vehicle that was found abandoned at a private hotel in Colombo. The former minister was arrested by the CID on Oct 23 more..

Oct 28 (NW) SL Police has rejected reports claiming that the Police Media Spokesperson stated that a suspect arrested with ICE narcotics in Homagama died due to an illness that occurred during a drug raid. In a statement, Police clarified that the reports circulating in the media had falsely attributed such remarks to the Police Media Spokesperson. The clarification relates to the death of a 29-year-old suspect arrested by Homagama Police officers with ICE at Pitipana Junction on Oct 25, 2026. more..

Oct 28 (DM) Plantations and Community Infrastructure Minister Samantha Vidyarathna has called for research-based solutions to increase productivity in Sri Lanka’s coconut industry and address challenges faced by coconut growers. The Minister made these remarks during an inspection tour of the Coconut Research Institute in Lunuwila on October 27, where discussions were held on the institute’s research activities and future development programmes for the coconut industry. more..

Oct 28 (TM) Though Sri Lanka has made progress on realising transition towards renewable energy, transmission capacity, market design, financing channels and digital infrastructure have not kept pace with the ongoing renewable energy (RE) capacity additions; necessitating an integrated system to absorb RE additions, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Research Fellow Dr Erandathie Pathiraja said. Presenting a chapter in the IPS State of the Economy report titled; more..

Oct 28 (Island) India International Centre (IIC), Delhi in collaboration with the Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo launched the SAMHiTA (South Asian Manuscript Histories and Textual Archive) Palm-Leaf Manuscript Digitisation Project at the Gangaramaya Temple, on Friday (23). The Project is undertaken with the financial assistance from the Indian govt. Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha attended the launch ceremony and a site visit at the Temple. Venerable Dr. Kirinde Assaji Thera, more..

Oct 28 (NW) Central Bank has extended its list of prohibited pyramid schemes to 27, following the addition of Max App Media Ltd and its affiliated companies. CBSL announced that investigations had determined that Max App Media Ltd, together with its affiliates Max LK (Pvt) Ltd and Max Media Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, had engaged in, conducted and promoted a prohibited pyramid scheme. The determination was made under Section 83(C) of the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988, as amended. more..

Oct 28 (NW) A SriLankan Airlines flight from Colombo to London Heathrow has departed on a replacement aircraft after a suspected bird strike forced pilots to abandon take-off earlier today. SriLankan Airlines said flight UL503, scheduled to depart BIA at 12:55 p.m., experienced a suspected bird strike affecting one of its engines during take-off. The pilots rejected the take-off as a precaution, and the aircraft was subsequently taxied back to the parking stand. more..

Oct 28 (SLN) The musical bands of the Indian Navy and SL Navy performed a joint ensemble at the Galle Face Green in Colombo today (27). The event was held in conjunction with the ongoing visit of the Indian Navy's First Training Squadron (1TS) ships to SL. Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Harsha De Silva, and officials from the High Commission of India in SL attended the event, which aimed to enhance maritime cooperation and mutual understanding between the two nations. more..

Oct 28 (NW) PM Harini Amarasuriya and US Ambassador to SL Eric Meyer have held discussions on strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism, maritime security and education. The discussions took place at Temple Trees on Tuesday, during a meeting between the PM and the US Ambassador, accompanied by a delegation. Both sides explored opportunities to expand bilateral trade and economic relations, strengthen cooperation in the tourism sector and promote SL more..

Oct 28 (NW) Minister of Health Nalinda Jayatissa, has been elected a Vice-Chair of the Fifth Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference (MC-5), which commenced in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. The conference, held at the UN Conference Centre (UNCC), is jointly organised by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Royal Thai Govt. Representing SL, Minister Jayatissa addressed the conference, highlighting the slowdown in global progress towards achieving more..

Oct 28 (AD) Former Chairman of the National Youth Services Council (NYSC), Lalith Piyum Perera, has been granted bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court. He was arrested by the CIABOC over financial malpractice allegations. He is accused of preparing sublease agreements by misrepresenting a land and the buildings located on it in the Samapura area of Ampara as state property, and subsequently obtaining the property on lease from the National Youth Services Council. more..

Oct 28 (FT) The World Bank has said what many SL taxpayers have long felt. In a recent interview, World Bank Senior Economist Jakob Engel said Sri Lanka’s tax system should be progressive and simple, and focused primarily on taxing those who can most afford to pay. He also called for broadening the base, widening the tax net, and moving from indirect taxes towards direct taxes. The timing matters. As Budget 2027 approaches, the question is no longer whether SL needs more revenue. more..

Oct 28 (FT) On 21 October, the developers of PHP – the engine behind around 70% of the world’s websites – disclosed 2 severe flaws, since nicknamed PHP2Shell, that could let a stranger with no password take control of the computer behind a website. The US National Security Agency then told organisations unable to fix their systems to take them offline, and the South African Presidency, the Finnish Govt and the UK Govt did exactly that within hours, if not days. more..

Oct 28 (Island) SL’s electricity supply security has come under renewed scrutiny after a generating unit at Norochcholai Lakvijaya coal power plant complex was taken offline for maintenance, just two days after all three units were reported to have returned to the national grid, following the Oct 17 countrywide blackout. Latest shutdown of Unit 2, reported on Oct 26, has raised questions about maintenance planning, the reliability of more..

Oct 28 (AD) A total of 21,218 people belonging to 5,696 families have been affected by prevailing adverse weather conditions across the country, according to the DMC. The latest situation report issued by the DMC stated that residents in 109 Divisional Secretariat divisions across 17 districts have been affected by heavy rains and gusty winds. The adverse weather conditions have claimed one life and left five people injured, while three others remain missing, the DMC noted. more..

Oct 28 (EN) Central Bank is building foreign currency reserves without exerting any pressure on the rupee, Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. SL’s Reserves have been growing at a slow pace and it has to build around US$8 billion by end of this year, as committed to the IMF. The latest number shows reserves have been stagnant around US$ 6.9 billion as of the end of September. “We build reserves without creating volatility in the market,” Weerasinghe said. more..

Oct 28 (NW) Five player managers have signed MOUs with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) under a newly introduced policy aimed at regulating player management and preventing outside interference in cricket affairs, according to information received by Newswire. However, despite the introduction of the new accreditation system, only existing player managers have qualified so far, according to SLC Cricket Transformation more..

Oct 28 (NW) SL has stepped up efforts to attract British investment and expand export opportunities through a series of recent business engagements in London and Dover ahead of SL EXPO 2027, scheduled to take place in Colombo from Jan 14 to 17. SL High Commission in London organised the programme recently, bringing together British investors, business leaders and representatives of key trade organisations. The main event, UK–SL Trade and Investment Forum, was held at more..

Oct 28 (DN) The Parliamentary Select Committee of Parliament to look into and report to Parliament on the matter of selecting the Electoral System under which the Provincial Council Elections should be held and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard, obtained the views and proposals of several political parties. This took place when the Select Committee met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath recently. more..

Oct 28 (TM) Cabinet has approved submitting amended regulations governing the licensing of tea brokers to Parliament for approval. Amendments were published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2501/68 dated 12 Aug, following Cabinet approval granted on 22 June. They amend the 1979 regulations governing the licensing of produce brokers dealing in tea, issued under Licensing of Produce Brokers Act, No. 9 of 1979. Latest decision authorises submission of amended more..

Oct 28 (PTI) Indian Navy's First Training Squadron, comprising two warships and a Coast Guard vessel, arrived in SL on Monday for a three-day goodwill visit aimed at boosting bilateral maritime cooperation, according to the Indian High Commission. The visit is part of a long-range training deployment that also includes calls at Port Victoria in Seychelles and Male in the Maldives before the squadron returns to its base port in Kochi. The squadron provides initial sea training to more..

Oct 28 (DN) SJB and Opposition MPs state that the refusal to debate a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) brought by the Opposition against Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne constitutes a severe blow to the rights of the Opposition within a democracy. SJB says that it will not be a party to any govt scheme to amend or withdraw the serious allegations against the Speaker to suit the govt’s own agenda and maintains that Speaker should either resign more..

Oct 28 (TM) The shortage of about 250,000-300,000 domestic liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders caused by the three and a half-day delay in the arrival and unloading of a gas shipment is expected to be resolved within seven to eight days, Deputy Minister R M Jayawardena said, adding that the CAA would be asked to investigate reports of cylinders disappearing from the market soon after being released. He said that an LPG shipment had arrived around two days later than expected, more..

Oct 28 (TM) Twenty-five SL multi-day fishing vessels stranded in waters near India due to adverse weather conditions were granted permission yesterday to enter Indian waters for safety reasons. The permission was granted following a special request made by the SL Govt to the Indian Govt through the Indian High Commission in Colombo. Fisheries, Aquatic & Ocean Resources Ministry has taken this step to ensure the safety of the fishing vessels remaining in waters near India more..

Oct 28 (DN) SL bodybuilder Madhavan Rajkumar, professionally known as R.K. Rajakumaran, has achieved a significant milestone by winning the prestigious IFBB Pro Card at the LYFT Oman Pro 2026, bringing pride to SL. Hailing from Labukale in the Nuwara Eliya District, Rajakumaran began his bodybuilding journey at the age of 16. Despite facing numerous defeats, hardships and humiliating experiences, he remained committed to his ambition. His latest success is the result of nearly a more..

Oct 28 (NW) Navy Lt Commander Piyumi Kathriarachchi has earned a master’s degree with honors from US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in California, achieving an outstanding GPA of 3.98 out of 4.0. US Ambassador to SL Eric Meyer presented her degree at a ceremony held at the American Center Colombo on Oct 26, recognising her academic achievements and contribution to military education. Kathriarachchi completed the Defense Logistics Management programme more..

Oct 28 (FT) The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), Sri Lanka’s oldest and leading conservation organisation, had initiated legal action in the Court of Appeal to halt the State-issuance of firearms to civilians, which is driving an unprecedented surge in the slaughter of the country’s wild elephants. The writ application seeks urgent judicial intervention to stop the escalating killing of elephants both within more..

Oct 28 (ST) Attorney General has notified the Colombo Fraud Bureau (CFB) that for the time being, no suspects can be named in the case involving the fraudulent lease of a building in Dehiwala belonging to the trade union National Workers’ Congress (NWC). CFB informed Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court on Friday that the AG had notified them that the persons whose names were uncovered during the investigation involving the forged land deed cannot be named as more..

Oct 28 (ST) Two lawyers appearing on behalf of former State Minister Premalal Jayasekara, alias Chokka Malli, who has left the country while having a notice to appear in courts, have been ordered by the Supreme Court to show cause as to why action should not be taken against them. The court, while reprimanding lawyers Asanka Sandaruwan and Vajira Ranasinghe, issued a warrant for the arrest of the former state minister. The Supreme Court also ordered that more..