Jan 10 (FT) Sri Lanka Expo 2026, returning after a 14-year hiatus, was officially launched yesterday by the Export Development Board (EDB) as a flagship national initiative aimed at accelerating export growth, industrial transformation, and global engagement, with strong backing from both the Govt and the private sector. The four-day exhibition will be held from 18 to 21 June at the BMICH in Colombo. Speaking at the launch, EDB Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe said SL Expo 2026 more..

Jan 10 (NW) Construction activities at the Ambuluwawa Environmental Zone have been ordered to be suspended until further notice, pending a technical assessment by experts, the Ministry of Environment said. In a statement issued on January 9, the ministry said it has instructed the Central Environmental Authority to halt all construction on the Ambuluwawa mountain until a formal report is obtained from specialists and a determination is made on the level of risk in the area. more..

Jan 10 (FT) SL must stay the course with the IMF program, invest decisively in tourism-related infrastructure, and cut regulatory red tape for foreign investors if it is to convert recent economic stabilisation into sustained and inclusive growth, speakers said yesterday at a policy discussion held alongside the launch of the report Sustaining transformative growth in SL, 2025–2030 by the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) and ODI Global at SL Foundation Institute in Colombo. more..

Jan 10 (FT) Consulate General of SL in Guangzhou, in partnership with the SL Tourism Promotion Bureau, successfully hosted the Sri Lanka Is Ready networking evening. The event attracted over 60 senior executives and key industry figures, including representatives from the Guangzhou International Travel Fair, leading outbound tour operators from Guangzhou and Shenzhen, prospective Chinese travellers, and prominent Chinese media and social media influencers, alongside more..

Jan 10 (FT) SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam announced that it will launch a comprehensive tourism leakage survey towards the end of this month to accurately assess how much of tourist spending remains within the domestic economy. Hewawasam said the survey will examine how much of the revised average daily tourist spending of $ 148 actually stays in SL. The announcement builds on SL’s largest-ever tourism research initiative unveiled on 27 Nov 2025, more..

Jan 10 (FT) Minister Sunil Handunneththi confirmed that SL’s export revenues exceeded $ 17 billion in 2025, highlighting the resilience of the country’s exporters and the impact of coordinated policy support, strategic market development, and targeted capacity-building initiatives. Addressing the official launch of Sri Lanka Expo 2026, Minister congratulated the export community, Export Development Board (EDB), and all partner institutions for achieving the milestone, more..

Jan 10 (DM) Ministry of Education has suspended distribution of the newly printed Grade 6 English language module after discovering that it contained an incorrect website reference, sparking broader questions about the quality control mechanisms governing new education reforms. While some critics have sought to assign blame to PM and Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. It would be unreasonable to hold the Minister personally responsible without a comprehensive investigation more..

Jan 10 (Island) PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has revealed in Parliament that as many as 65 court cases, withdrawn during previous govts, have been refiled since the current administration came to power. Attorney General’s Department and the CIABOC had withdrawn those cases, she said yesterday in answer to a question raised by an Opposition MP. In this country, govts are notorious for perverting the legal and judicial processes to let lawbreakers among their members off the hook. more..

Jan 10 (FT) Sri Lanka is currently confronting a national crisis of exceptional magnitude. Recent natural disasters have inflicted damage that surpasses even the devastation caused by the 2004 tsunami. While a comprehensive assessment is still underway, preliminary estimates place the economic losses at approximately $ 5.6 billion. This shock has occurred at a particularly vulnerable juncture as the country is still in the early stages of recovery from a profound economic collapse, more..

Jan 10 (TM) For nearly 175 years, the Teaching Hospital (TH), Jaffna, has stood not simply as a cluster of wards and operating theatres, but as a quiet witness to the social, political and medical history of the Northern Province. From modest beginnings in the mid-19th Century to its present role as a major tertiary care and academic institution, the Hospital’s story is inseparable from that of the people that it serves, stretching from Jaffna to Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya & beyond. more..

Jan 10 (CT) In September of last year, security minister Ananda Wijepala informed Parliament that investigations into the 2009 assassination of prolofic journalist and human rights defender Lasantha Wickrematunge, has now been completed and handed to the Attorney General. The assassination of Wickrematunge constitutes a flagrant and prima facie case of egregious corruption, precipitating a profound crisis of confidence in SL’s justice system. more..

Jan 10 (GV) The govt enters its second year with mixed reviews. While gaining points for action on the anti-corruption front and turning away from the elite old political guard, it has earned brickbats for inaction on human rights issues and addressing the concerns of minority communities. There are no concrete moves to deal with the causes that led to the 26 year civil war nor to bring justice to victims of war related crimes. The country is awaiting a firm date for Provincial Council elections. more..

Jan 10 (CT) 17 years after the brutal assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge, SL stands at a grim crossroads. On 8 Jan 2026, family members, colleagues, and fellow journalists gathered at the Borella Cemetery to mark the death anniversary of the founding Editor of The Sunday Leader. Flowers were laid, candles were lit, and familiar questions lingered in the air. Who ordered his killing, and why has the State still failed to deliver justice? Lasantha Wickrematunge was not merely a journalist. more..

Jan 10 (CT) What began as an admission of a serious blunder in a Grade 6 English language module grew into a full-blown political storm by the end of the week, one that exposed not only flaws in institutional safeguards, but also the deep fault lines shaping SL’s current political moment. Govt moved quickly, at least in words, to concede error. The assurance that the controversial material would be completely removed from the Grade 6 English module was presented as a corrective act, more..

Jan 10 (DM) Our Foreign Minister – Vijitha Herath -- was in a jubilant mood over the past few days. He announced foreign exchange remittances from Sri Lankan migrant workers had increased by nineteen percent. He boasted that the remittances at the end of December 2025 stood at a massive US$ 7.8 billion. Central Bank reports at March 2025 showed that while our total export trade amounted to US$ 1,242million, migrant worker remittances amounted to US$ 693 million. more..

Jan 10 (DM) It is not clear how many people in this country can understand the ongoing row over the proposed education reforms which the govt initially planned to implement from this month. The only thing one can very clearly understand is that people are divided on political party lines and not on the merits and demerits of the reforms. Interestingly and importantly, only a small number of them on either side of the divide seems to be acquainted of these reforms. more..

Jan 9 (NW) According to the notice issued by Met Dept today at 4:30 pm, a warning has been issued regarding a deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal for the next 24 hours. The deep depression was located about 150 km east of Batticaloa at 3:30 pm on 9 Jan. The department said it is very likely to move northwestwards and cross SL coast between Trincomalee and Jaffna tomorrow afternoon. The path of the deep depression has changed and it is now moving in a northwesterly direction. more..

Jan 9 (DM) The Economic loss from consumption of alcohol and tobacco in SL amounts to Rs. 241 billion annually which is one-fifth of the total economic loss caused by cyclone Ditwah and 40 percent of the total budget allocated by the govt for healthcare, as per the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC). ADIC says that 19.4% overall (3.2 million adults), 36.2 percent of men, and 4.9% of women currently use tobacco and tobacco smokers spend Rs. 520 million on cigarettes per day more..

Jan 9 (EB) Int'l Living magazine has identified the five most affordable places to live or retire in 2026, which scored the highest in the cost-of-living category of its 2026 Global Retirement Index. It evaluated retirement destinations across climate, healthcare, visa and lifestyle, along with cost. SL ranked top of the list due to affordable local transportation and easy-to-obtain retirement visas. A couple can live extravagantly on $2,200 a mo more..

Jan 9 (AD) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that between 20,000 and 25,000 new houses are expected to be constructed during the reconstruction activities following the damages caused by Cyclone Ditwah. Prez made these remarks today during the inauguration of the project providing Rs. 5 million each to those who lost their homes due to the recent deadly cyclone. The event was held at Galnewa-Handungama in Anuradhapura under the patronage of Prez Dissanayake. more..

Jan 9 (EN) Sri Lanka Expo 2026 with 750 exporters and investor forum is targeting 1,500 foreign participants including buyers, investor and the media, Export Development Board Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe said. Expo Sri Lanka is aiming to showcase exporters, promote SL has as a investment hub, build confidence among global investors to boost SL’s exports to 36 billion dollars by 2030. SL is estimated to have earned US$ 17 billion from goods & services exports, he said. more..

Jan 9 (AD) PM Harini Amarasuriya has stated that the Academic Advisory Board of the National Institute of Education (NIE) has ordered that no web links be included in future modules prepared for the second and third terms under the govt’s education reform program. Delivering a statement in Parliament today, PM further clarified that the websites and other online sources currently referenced in the modules are accessible more..

Jan 9 (AD) SLPP MP D.V. Chanaka has challenged Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody to a public debate on any media platform regarding the allegations of corruption in the coal tender process. MP stated that he is prepared to prove that the coal tender transaction is entirely corrupt and called on the Energy Minister to respond openly to the allegations. Chanaka accused the current government of engaging in corruption and fraud from the early days of its administration. more..

Jan 9 (EN) Central bank lending to banks hit 48 billion rupees on Jan 8, up from 19 billion rupees a day earlier, with market participants saying state banks were in a severe cash crunch. SL’s govt had built a so-called domestic buffer by over borrowing from bonds and depositing in banks, when public debt was under the control of the central bank, apparently in a scheme to control market interest rates. However, analysts have warned that it is not possible to build domestic buffers to keep more..

Jan 9 (NW) The govt has not taken any decision to replace Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) benefits with a pension scheme, Labour Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando said on Thursday. Issuing a media statement yesterday, the Minister dismissed reports suggesting that the govt was preparing to introduce a pension system in place of EPF and ETF contributions, describing such claims as false. He stressed that EPF and ETF funds belong to more..

Jan 9 (NW) A person by the name of Thilini Ranasinghe says she has requested information from the Police under the country’s Right to Information law regarding a visit by officers to an English university linked to an ongoing case involving a former president. Speaking to reporters, Ranasinghe said she visited the SL Police to confirm facts related to reports that officers travelled to England in connection with a case involving the imprisonment of SL’s 8th executive prez. more..

Jan 9 (EN) As Julie Chung, U.S. Ambassador to SL, prepares to depart SL on next week after nearly four years, her tenure stands out as one of the most active and influential in recent diplomatic history. Arriving in Feb 2022, just as SL plunged into its worst economic crisis since independence, Chung navigated a landscape of protests, political upheaval, and recovery efforts. Her approach blended high-level engagements, more..

Jan 9 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered an amendment to a bail condition previously imposed on the former Mayor of the Moratuwa Municipal Council, Saman Lal Fernando, who is appearing in court as a suspect in a corruption case. The case was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama. During the proceedings, the attorney representing the suspect informed the court that his client had been requested to visit the Moratuwa Municipal Council to more..

Jan 9 (DM) A rising number of injuries to the fingertips of dominant hands have been reported among men while attempting to clean their brand-new motorcycles, Colombo National Hospital’s Plastic and Surgery Department has warned. Dr. Ganidu Madhava said most victims are young men aged 20 to 30. He noted a recurring pattern of injuries linked to unsafe chain-cleaning practices. “Motorcycle manufacturers advise cleaning chains after a certain number of kilometers. more..

Jan 9 (Island) SJB MP spokesman Mujibur Rahuman wants the Catholic Church to exert pressure on the NPP govt to have an arrest warrant issued for Pulasthini Mahendran aka Sara Jasmine, wife of Katuwapitiya suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun. He said that the Catholic Church should throw its weight behind the SJB’s call for an open warrant and pressure the govt to ask for Interpol assistance to track down the fugitive. more..

Jan 9 (NW) Opposition MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has slammed the slander campaign against Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Harini Amarasuriya. In a statement on social media, MP Ponnambalam acknowledged that he and his party, the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), have some very serious policy differences with Harini Amarasuriya not only in her capacity as PM and a leading member of her party but also as the education minister. more..

Jan 9 (DM) Contracts have been given to set up seven power plants across the country without calling for tenders, an opposition MP revealed in Parliament yesterday. MP Mujibur Rahman said one contract had been given to two famous SL cricketers while another had been given to a company which was formerly owned by the Minister of Power & Energy Kumara Jayakody. “Where is transparency pledged by the govt?” he questioned. He said the contracts for a 100mw plant in Ottamavdai, more..