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Home » NewsLanka’s cricket diplomacy: Indo-Pak bhai-bhai
Cricket is not just a game; it is more than a passion in the South Asian subcontinent. The high-octane India-Pakistan clash in a packed stadium, electrified by fan emotions and patriotic fervor, makes every encounter between the two arch rivals unforgettable. The picture shows an Indian fan and a Pakistani fan making a friendship gesture [...]
Unprecedented security cordon for India-Pakistan clash
President orders tough measures at NSC meeting for arch rivals’ T-20 encounter; thousands of security personnel to secure stadium and surrounding areas By Damith Wickramasekara Unprecedented security measures are in place for today’s high-profile T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity [...]
President to attend India-AI summit; to hold talks with world leaders
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will be among 20 world leaders who will be attending the India–AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi from tomorrow till Friday. President Dissanayake will attend the summit on Thursday and Friday, while an advanced team led by Dr Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy, will head [...]
Wolverhampton Uni. yet to respond to CID queries
Ranil’s case By Ranjith Padmasiri Mail sent by the Criminal Investigations Department to the Wolverhampton University in the United Kingdom, seeking information about former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to the university, has failed to draw a response so far. The CID sent a set of questions by email on February 4 and also by airmail [...]
New tax holidays up to ten years for investors
The government has announced fresh tax holidays ranging from six to ten years for new investors in tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, and educational technologies, according to a new Treasury circular. Under the circular issued by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, potential investors are expected to invest [...]
UK Deputy PM here on Tuesday
The United Kingdom’s Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, will on Tuesday make a whistle-stop visit to Sri Lanka, where he will meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. He will also sign an agreement on the Charter for the Global Campaign on Children’s Care. Mr Lammy will arrive [...]
Two killed, three injured in shooting incidents yesterday
Two people were killed and three injured in two separate shooting incidents in Colombo and Kalutara last evening, police said. In one incident four people were shot and injured inside a saloon in Jinthupitiya. One succumbed to his injuries. The other three were in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National [...]
Move to recover retired Judge’s ‘commuted pension’ is a violation of his fundamental rights, says SC
By Ranjith Padmasiri The Supreme Court (SC) has determined that the fundamental rights of a retired Supreme Court Justice had been violated by the move to recover his ‘commuted pension.’ Accordingly, the court has ruled that all steps, decisions, including Cabinet decisions and Parliamentary Resolutions, to recover ‘commuted pension’ from retired judges of superior [...]
UN experts raise alarm over draft PSTA Bill
By Tharushi Weerasinghe Multiple Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations have responded to the government’s call for comments on Sri Lanka’s revised anti-terrorism bill that is set to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act by expressing “deep concern” over the continuation of “substantive deficiencies” that make the bill fall “significantly short of conformity with international [...]
Refurbished Supreme Court complex to become best in region: CJ
By Ranjith Padmasiri Sri Lanka’s newly refurbished Supreme Court complex will shortly be turned into one “which will not be second to any other court system in the region,” Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena said. Speaking during the ceremony held recently to hand over the refurbished Supreme Court complex at Hulftsdorp, CJ Surasena noted that [...]
Love is a funny business
Pix Priyanka Samaraweera and Eshan Fernando Customers were seen purchasing flowers at roadside florists across Colombo yesterday, as Valentine’s Day was marked with the customary exchange of roses and floral bouquets. Vendors noted that red roses were the most sought-after choice among buyers looking to mark the occasion.
Mechanised beach seine method and related issues get closer scrutiny
By Sajeniya Sathanandan Groups of beach seine fishers have ended their Satyagraha following undertakings of further studies to find a balanced solution to the use of tractor-mounted winches for ma-del (beach seine) fishing. Talks involving relevant parties are to begin on Monday, according to the President’s Media Division. A meeting was held on Friday at [...]
Debate pulls camps further apart
Fishing has not only helped people in Negombo to maintain their main livelihood but also changed their lifestyles physically, spiritually and socially while attracting tourists with ma-del (purse seine) fishing. Ma-del fishing, with its own set of problems such as bycatch, has triggered protests over the use of winches and tractors to pull nets ashore. [...]
“Any erosion of judicial independence harms not only the judiciary, but society itself”
Justice Gihan Kulatunga’s address at the ceremonial sitting to welcome him to the Supreme Court By Ranjith Padmasiri Judicial independence is not an abstract ideal, nor is it a privilege conferred upon judges. It is, at its core, a constitutional guarantee owed to the people who come before our courts seeking justice, The observation was [...]
Downing the scalpel to wield the willow
Surgeons from across the country take to the field to play the gentleman’s game By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Strange bedfellows – a cricket bat and hard ball alongside a scalpel, a needle holder, a pair of needles and sutures! This was the image on the screen in the charming auditorium of the College of Surgeons of [...]
Failed tests and confidential documents: Heat over South African coal
By Namini Wijedasa Internal documents from the Lakvijaya coal power plant show that samples from three consecutive shipments of South African coal, bought through India’s Trident Chemphar Ltd, failed quality tests. The official data proves that each coal shipment registered Gross Calorific Values (GCV)—which represents the heat released upon combustion—well below levels required to generate [...]
Law College students march in solidarity with US peace walk
The Law Student’s Buddhist Brotherhood of Law College, Colombo organised a march in support of the peace march by a group of Buddhist monks who walked 108 days to Washington DC, in the US. The students’ march took place on Tuesday from the junction near the Guna-sinhapura statue to the college.
Pigeon smugglers set fire to destroy evidence, 50 birds perish
Text and pix by Loha Thayalan Suspects who had smuggled in 144 pigeons from South India into the country and were hiding them in a house in Pungudutivu, Jaffna had set fire to the house along with the pigeons to avoid detection, police said. A few days earlier Kayts police had arrested three people [...]
6 schools in the East get new buildings
By Gnanasiri Hettiarachchige Six buildings in 6 schools built at a cost of Rs 138 million in the Dambana and Ampara education zones were handed over to the students, by Eastern Province governor Jayantha Lal Rathnasekara and Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community, Wasantha Piyathissa. Higurana Vidyalaya, Hagoda Sri Indrasara Vidyalaya, Saddathissa [...]
UK-based Lankan doctor helps Sigiriya student after house fire
Pix and text by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa A Sri Lankan consultant living in the UK has reached out to help a schoolgirl in Sigiriya who recently lost all her schoolbooks and other belongings when a fire occured in her home. On seeing a news report the doctor had contacted the journalist who reported the incident [...]
BASL convenes special meeting over attorney shooting
By Ishu Bandara Following the fatal shooting of attorney-at-law Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife inside their vehicle at a supermarket car park in Akuregoda, Thalangama on Friday, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) called a special general meeting of its membership today to discuss the issue. BASL Secretary Chathura Galhena told the Sunday Times [...]
Cremation, burial within Colombo city to be free
Colombo Municipal Council Mayor Vraie Cally Balthazaar has approved cremation of bodies free of charge at crematoriums within city limits. This decision was taken during the council meeting held on Tuesday, February 10, in response to a request by United National Party council member Alfred Sampath. Accordingly the four crematoriums at Borella, Madampitiya, Jawatte and [...]
Upali Wijewardene remembered with pooja at Kelaniya temple, other events
The 43rd anniversary of the disappearance of one of Sri Lanka’s most high-profile business entreprenuers of yesteryear, Upali Wijewardene, who went missing while on a flight from Malaysia to Colombo in his private Lear jet was marked on Friday at the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara with a Bodhi Pooja and Pahan Pooja organised by the [...]
Dozens of Maspanna families await Ditwah damage payouts
Text and pix by K.R. Rajamanthri in Maspanna, Uva Paranagama Nearly three months after the November 27 Cyclone Ditwah disaster that triggered unprecedented floods and landslides, the villagers in Maspanna are trying to come to terms with the devastation, and the government-promised assistance is still trickling in. A story also emerged from the village that a [...]
Easing sand mining restrictions imperils Gal Oya bridge
Text and pix by Wasantha Chandrapala A controversial decision by the current government to reduce restrictions for sand mining around the Gal Oya bridge is posing a risk to the bridge. A decision was taken 15 years ago to maintain a buffer zone of two kilometres to prevent any sand mining in the area, but the [...]
Wanathavilluwa’s renowned cashew industry hit by climate change and lack of official redress
By Hhiran Priyankara Jayasinghe Wanathavilluwa cashew cultivators are moving away from their traditional crops due to disease and more recently climate change affecting their harvests. For the past decade, farmers have invested heavily in efforts to protect their yields from various diseases. However, they say that erratic weather patterns are now dealing the final blow. [...]
Portrayal of ‘lived realities’ of CC & health
2025 Report of the Lancet Countdown launched on February 2 By Kumudini Hettiarachchi What can we do as individuals and what can we do together with regard to Climate Change (CC) and follow-up action? This was the critical point raised by the Founding Director of the Center for Planetary Health (CePH) Prof. Tharanga Thoradeniya at [...]
Road rebuilding continues; dozens more contracts to be awarded
By Ishu Bandara Only three important impassable road sections remain to be rebuilt out of the 316 roads damaged by Cyclone Ditwah, while the most difficult and costly part of the recovery is slope protection, as stabilising slopes requires specialised advice and designs from the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), which takes time to coordinate,” [...]
Widow suspicious of journalist husband’s ‘traffic accident’ death
By Dilushi Wijesinghe The Free Media Movement has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), urging that the investigation into the mysterious death of Trincomalee District journalist Priyan Malinda be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), citing serious concerns over initial enquiries. In a letter to the IGP, the activist group, which [...]