Sep 5 (NW) The Court of Appeal today issued an interim order temporarily halting proceedings in the case against Public Security Ministry Secretary Ravi Seneviratne at the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court. Seneviratne, a retired Senior DIG, faces charges stemming from an Oct 2023 traffic incident in which he was accused of drunk driving and related offences. His lawyers petitioned for the case to be transferred to another court, arguing that the Mount Lavinia Magistrate had more..

Sep 5 (AD) The first round of Political Consultations between Sri Lanka and Italy, co-chaired by Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra and Italy’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi, successfully concluded today (4) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism in Colombo. MoU on the Establishment of a Political Consultations Mechanism was signed by the two Deputy Ministers before commencing the Consultations, more..

Sep 5 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama instructed the CID to submit 40 pounds of gold jewellery, seized from Shadhika Lakshani, the wife of alleged underworld figure 'Backhoe Saman' to the National Gem and Jewellery Authority for evaluation and to obtain a report. The magistrate further directed the CID to submit a comprehensive investigation report relating to money laundering allegations against her. more..

Sep 5 (Island) Term of office of Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela, Chief Custodian of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, is scheduled to end on Sunday (7). The tenure of a Diyawadana Nilame is ten years. Dela was first elected to the post in 2005, and was re-elected for a second term in 2015. According to the provisions of the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance, from 8 Sept an Acting Diyawadana Nilame must be appointed, and within 3 months a formal election more..

Sep 5 (TM) Court of Appeal (CA) has dismissed a petition filed by organised crime suspect J.A. Ruwan Kumara alias Midigama Ruwan, through his attorney, seeking an order to remove the officers of the STF from activities such as the internal inspections of the Boossa High-Security Prison. The CA issued this decision after considering the submissions made by Additional Solicitor General Shanil Kularatne, appearing for the Attorney General, that the relevant petition could not be maintained. more..

Sep 5 (TM) Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has considered a proposed supplementary estimate of monies to settle unpaid bills owed to the China EXIM bank, with regards to the Kandy North Pathadumbara Integrated Water Supply Project and for the completion of resolution on Sri Lanka and The UAE, meant for the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments. This was discussed at the meeting of the Committee on Public Finance Chaired by Dr. Harsha de Silva on 2 Sept. more..

Sep 5 (EN) Prophet Muhammad’s teachings were based on the principle of equality that no person is superior or inferior to another on the basis of race, caste, or colour, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said. “His commitment to abolishing social divides and instilling equality in the hearts of humanity stands as a timeless guide as we work today to create a lawful, ethical and virtuous society amidst contemporary social challenges,” Prez said in his message to mark Milad-un-Nabi. more..

Sep 5 (Island) SL’s Cherry Barb (Rohanella titteya), a freshwater jewel revered by aquarists around the world, is at the heart of an explosive scientific controversy involving allegations of flawed research and illegal specimen smuggling. A 2025 study led by Yu-Hui Tao and colleagues in China has drawn sharp criticism from SL experts, who accuse the authors of violating SL law and undermining decades of local taxonomic more..

Sep 5 (FT) Inland Revenue Dept (IRD) announced that starting 1 Sept, all applications for both temporary and permanent VAT registration must be submitted exclusively through its online e-Services platform. Dept stated manual submissions will no longer be accepted after 31 August, making the digital platform the sole channel for VAT registration going forward. Individuals and businesses seeking VAT registration have been instructed to complete the process via IRD’s official website. more..

Sep 5 (DN) I just kept calm and gave of my best to reach the target said Kamindu Mendis who was adjudged player of the match in SL’s first winning T-20game against Zimbabwe at Harare We had to adjust to the situation to get success and the plan was well executed under tremendous pressure. Chasing the target of 176 SL made a solid start of 96 by openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis but fell 5 wickets in quick session putting tremendous pressure at 125 for 5 after 15.3 overs. more..

Sep 5 (FT) Senior Economic Adviser to the Prez Duminda Hulangamuwa last week warned that SL’s plantation industry faces an urgent need for structural reforms if it is to remain sustainable in the face of declining output and a shrinking labour force. Delivering the keynote address at the 171st AGM of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon last Friday, Chief Guest Hulangamuwa stressed that the plantation sector remains a backbone of the economy, more..

Sep 5 (FT) SL Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), in collaboration with the Department of Samurdhi Development, has launched the Sathkaraye Shrama Sena – Hotel operations multitasker program, a nationwide initiative aimed at creating a multi-skilled workforce to serve SL’s growing tourism and hospitality sector. The official launch, held at the SLITHM Auditorium, marked a milestone in vocational training through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. more..

Sep 5 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday ended the holiday-shortened week on a mixed note amidst moderate turnover. ASPI gained by 16 points whilst the active S&P SL20 was flat. Turnover was Rs. 5.6 billion involving 306.7 million shares. During the week, ASPI and S&P SL20 lost 0.03% and 1.19% respectively, whilst recording an average daily turnover of Rs. 8.22 billion. The market exhibited high levels of intraday volatility with the ASPI ultimately closing at 20,992, up 16 points. more..

Sep 5 (FT) Pagariya JBN Power Conclave, an exclusive international summit for JITO’s Chief Patrons (CPs) and leading Jain business leaders, was held from 15 to 17 Aug at the ITC Ratnadipa in Colombo. Hosted by JBN Apex and JITO Chennai Plus Chapter, the 2.5-day conclave brought together over 600 influential entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders from India and across the globe. The gathering was designed to enable high-level networking, sectoral collaboration, and more..

Sep 5 (FT) National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), in collaboration with Southern Agriculture Entrepreneurs Development Centre, successfully organised a special delegation to the Southern Province to strengthen partnerships between exporters and regional producers. The event attracted over 75 suppliers, producers, and aspiring exporters from the region. They were joined by 25 NCE member companies, who engaged directly with them to explore opportunities for sourcing, more..

Sep 5 (DN) Today marks the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) – founder of Islam and one of the greatest reformers in human history. The commemoration, known as Meelad – un – Nabi, falls on the twelfth day of Rabi – ul – Awwal, the third month in the Islamic lunar calendar. Around two billion Muslims worldwide observe this occasion, honouring his noble character, compassion, and more..

Sep 5 (TM) Since 2019, male-to-male transmission has become the leading mode of HIV transmission in Sri Lanka and given that anal sex carries the highest risk for HIV transmission, it is pivotal to direct targeted preventive measures toward men who have sex with men (MSM) within the 15-24-year age group. These concerns were raised and recommendations were made in an editorial on A silent surge of HIV infection among SL’s youth which was authored by Community Physician, more..

Sep 5 (DM) Despite being the apex institution to ensure law and order in the country, most citizens look down upon the police force due to its way of dealing with citizens for minor offences. In most instances, police officers are seen arguing with people who have violated traffic laws. Some even go to the extent of twisting existing laws to impose fines just to prove that they are above ordinary citizens. There was a time when the uniform itself spoke volumes about the entire police force but more..

Sep 5 (Island) State-owned Sevanagala sugar factory remains embroiled in a protracted crisis, with sugarcane farmers and transporters demanding their overdue payments. Farmers’ associations have accused the govt of trying to close the sugar factories owned by the state by allowing the country to be flooded with imported sugar at the expense of the local sugar industry. They have also claimed during their recent protests that a large stock of locally produced sugar remains unsold more..

Sep 5 (CT) Govt recently announced a Seiri Week to revitalise the State institutions. Under the umbrella of the Clean Sri Lanka initiative, the programme was carried out in the first week of September with the aim of enhancing efficiency and productivity in public service. Seiri alone might not ring that many bells, but it is neither a new concept nor is it the first time it has been implemented in Sri Lanka. It is the first ‘S’ of the world-famous Five S Concept, which originated in Japan. more..

Sep 5 (CT) The plight of children in SL is once again under the spotlight. Dept of Probation & Child Protection has revealed that around 14,834 children have been reported to be living in unsafe conditions across the island. Behind that staggering number lies a deeper story of institutional neglect, weak coordination, and systemic failure—one that has allowed thousands of vulnerable children to slip through the cracks of the welfare system. more..

Sep 5 (CT) I stood in Chemmani exactly a month ago watching THE EXCAVATION in operation. Bodies had been exhumed, cleaned, and labelled and packed for further processing. An extremely arduous and laborious task. I saw around judges, lawyers, human rights commissions, universities, civil society activists, police and security, students, professionals and relatives of the missing trying to resolve the puzzle: Who are the buried ones and who buried them? more..

Sep 5 (GV) The issue explored in this article is the extent to which the narrative of debt trap diplomacy accurately explains the relationship between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Sri Lanka’s foreign policy autonomy. The BRI, launched in 2013, is China’s global development strategy aimed at enhancing trade and economic growth by connecting Asia, Europe and Africa through investments in infrastructure projects, including ports, highways and energy facilities. more..

Sep 5 (TM) 2nd half of 2025 has turned into one of the most turbulent periods for SL’s public services in recent memory. From undelivered letters to abandoned train stations, strikes and protests have disrupted daily life across the island. The economic toll of these disputes is mounting, measured in lost revenue and also in fractured trust, productivity slowdowns, and the long-term erosion of public confidence in State-run services. more..

Sep 5 (TM) One of SL’s long-standing failures in governance was its inability to act rationally, responsibly, and decisively on the bloated state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which have over decades grown to hemorrhage valuable taxpayer rupees, which could have otherwise been put to good use. It is indeed ironic that the NPP Govt, with the JVP as its core element, is today strapped with the governance responsibility of pushing through a reform agenda that they had stubbornly more..

Sep 5 (Island) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited Kachchativu on Tuesday amidst a campaign by some TN politicians to pressure India into seeking control of it. Among them is TVK Leader and popular actor Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar popularly known as Vijay. TN film stars, given to melodrama and known for their ludicrous celluloid stunts that not only insult human intelligence but also defy every known law of physics, bellow anti-SL rhetoric to gain political mileage. more..

Sep 4 (AD) Shanudi Amaya of Ambalangoda Devananda secures highest marks in scholarship exam. According to the results of the 2025 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination, Shanudi Amaya Ashwini, a student of the Sri Devananda College in Ambalangoda, has secured first place in the island. She obtained 198 marks in the exam. Meanwhile, Anandhasothi Lakshan, a student of the Jaffna Hindu Primary School, obtained the highest marks in the Tamil medium. He obtained 194 marks more..

Sep 4 (AFP) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake did not endorse an investment scheme in the country's largest oil company, contrary to social media posts and fabricated articles that shared a video falsely claiming he announced the moneymaking opportunity. Audio was dubbed and the false posts direct users to a website of a purported Philippine investment advisory firm. "Said could not speak a word in English. Now that's over too," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared on more..

Sep 4 (EN) SL’s renewable power generation hit 73% in June 2025, up from 62% last year, helped by sharply higher hydro power generation by the CEB and solar and other private renewable. In June 2026 CEB’s hydro generation grew 33.8% to 626 GigaWatt hours, making up 33.8% of energy, overtaking coal. Private renewable power made up solar, wind and mini hydro grew 28.7% to 413 GWh. CEB’s own wind plant more..

Sep 4 (NW) Minister Bimal Rathnayake met with Eng. Suliman bin Khalid Al-Mazroua, President of the Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI), on the sidelines of the 2nd Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference in Jeddah. Talks focused on strengthening maritime and port cooperation between the two countries, including strategic collaboration between key ports in SL and Saudi Arabia. Minister Rathnayake highlighted SL’s political stability and economic progress, more..

Sep 4 (EN) SL has completed the construction of a key transmission line funded by Japan which was delayed due the island’s debt default. Habarana-Veyangoda Transmission like funded with a yen loan of around 65 million Us dollars, was opened at a ceremony attended by Japan’s Ambassador Akio Isomata. “This project is a significant milestone as it is the first yen-loan project which has been completed and handed over to SL since the disbursement of eleven suspended yen-loan more..