Oct 31 (EN) Six Sri Lanka supermarket operators have said they will start charging customers for disposable bags provided when purchasing goods at their outlets from November 1. “In line with govt efforts to reduce single-use plastic, we are required to charge for shopping bags,” they said in a joint statement. Softlogic Glomark, Spar, Cargills Food City, Laugfs, Arpico and Keells said the following charges will now apply: Medium handle bag – Rs. 3; Large handle bag – Rs. 5. more..

Oct 31 (NW) A special training programme on Artificial Intelligence (AI) was conducted at the Northern Provincial Chief Secretary’s Office this week (27) to promote the use of AI among public officials. The training program titled AI for Transforming Public Service was conducted by the Presidential Secretariat, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Economy. The program seeks to foster innovation and reform within the public sector through digitalization and AI technology, more..

Oct 31 (DM) SL is the second most expensive SAARC country to live with cost of living for an individual being $506 or Rs. 153,899 excluding rent to live a comfortable life according to Numbeo, a user-generated cost-of-living statistics website. For a family of four living in the city of Colombo, the monthly costs are Rs. 570,997 excluding rent to live comfortably. This includes the cost of childcare, groceries, outings, dining, school fees, more..

Oct 31 (DM) SL Navy received a set of firearms for Onboard Security Teams (OBST), as part of its maritime security operations project to provide services and facilities to foreign Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs). The formal handover took place at the OBST Armoury Complex in Galle, where the Navy accepted firearms, ammunition, and associated equipment, in accordance with Gazette Extraordinary dated 13 Aug 2025. Under agreements with local PMSC representatives, more..

Oct 31 (DM) MP Ravi Karunanayake has alleged that the govt is preparing to purchase 1,775 new double-cab vehicles while bypassing the standard international tender procedure. He claimed that a previous proposal to import 2,000 double cabs for Members of Parliament, which was earlier shelved, has now re-emerged in a different form. “There was a proposal from the government to bring in 2,000 double cabs for MPs. At that time, I said MPs don’t need vehicles. But if you want to give these more..

Oct 31 (TTW) As of today, int'l travelers do not need any more to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization or ETA for SL ETA applications prior to embarking on a journey to SL. The order comes just a few weeks after the order dated Oct 15th went into effect. Ever since then, Directorate General of SL Immigration and Emigration has instituted the policy which clearly highlights the reason for travel does not need more..

Oct 31 (NW) Ambassador Cup 2025 International Uni Badminton Championship commenced today at the Uni of Colombo Indoor Stadium, with a friendly exhibition match between Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha and Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong marking the ceremonial opening. The match, played in a spirit of camaraderie and goodwill, symbolized the strengthening of sporting and diplomatic ties between SL and China. The opening ceremony was held under the patronage of Deputy Minister more..

Oct 31 (NW) Former chairman of the SL State Trading Corporation (STC), Hussein Ahamed Bhaila, has been arrested by the Bribery Commission for allegedly causing a loss of Rs. 99,679,799.70 to the govt in 2015. According to the Bribery Commission, he is accused of having imported 50 temporary warehouses without any need during his tenure, causing a loss to the govt and a gain equivalent to that amount to external parties. Ahmed Bahila was arrested by the Bribery Commission today more..

Nov 1 (CT) Another elephant has fallen victim to a speeding train. Another majestic life reduced to a lifeless form beside a railway track. It is a story that repeats itself with tragic regularity across Sri Lanka’s landscape, which was once celebrated for the gentle coexistence between human and elephant, now marred by negligence, bureaucracy, and the slow death of compassion. The recent hearing before the Supreme Court, initiated by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), more..

Nov 1 (ST) Some people around the world are feeling happier today than they were just a few months ago. Why? Because their wealth—if held in gold—has grown faster than ever. You might be one of them too, especially if you owned gold or at least gold jewellery. I have written about gold price in this column a few times—most recently on November 17, 2024. Since early last year, gold prices have been climbing rapidly. But in 2025, the rise has been nothing short of explosive. more..

Nov 1 (ST) Street animal feeding, a difficult activity, has become even more challenging during the last couple of days due to the prevailing bad weather. Animal rights activists as well as concerned civilians who have become animal feeders braved the heavy rains, partially flooded roads, and roads with potholes to reach animals awaiting their meals. The animal feeders explained that sometimes they had to rush their feeding more..

Nov 1 (CT) The joint opposition in SL recently declared that it will center its campaign on issues like governance, corruption, and democratic decline — the very principles it spent decades undermining. It is a shocking display of political hypocrisy. Those who corrupted public institutions, backed criminals, and weakened democracy now claim moral superiority. But the people of SL are no longer deceived by empty slogans and recycled promises. For decades, the parties now united as more..

Nov 1 (SO) PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya was in China and India in quick succession, the latest demonstration by the NPP Govt that it is keen on balancing its two most consequential relationships. Dr. Amarasuriya was in China first. In Beijing, she met Chinese Prez Xi Jinping on October 14 on the sidelines of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women. During the meeting, China pledged to keep SL a priority in China’s neighbourhood diplomacy and the two sides emphasized continued cooperation more..

Nov 1 (CT) In a charged atmosphere at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on Thursday (30), President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared what he called a decisive, nationwide war on narcotics. The launch of A Nation United: Eradicating the Menace of Narcotic Drugs was not merely another policy announcement. It was a fiery call to arms against what he described as a black State entrenched within the country’s official institutions. more..

Nov 1 (CT) It is immaterial that, since coming to power, neither Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, nor any of his colleagues in the ruling JVP-NPP combine, has talked about the undefined systems change that they mouthed, especially between Aragalaya 2022 and the twin elections last year. Good will it be for the Nation if they leave it at that. It is not unlikely that the JVP masterminds, post-mainstreaming, circa 2024, have finally concluded that not all slogans are for enforcement. more..

Nov 1 (ST) With a colourful mop of hair and clothes and a big red nose, was a clown at a medical conference at a Colombo hotel recently and lo and behold, the same clown was later seen roaming the lengthy corridors of Angoda’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). They are the Clownselors from India who have provided evidence that there can be healing through humour! This is why they were going from bed-to-bed at the NIID’s Paediatric Ward, bringing smiles not just to more..

Nov 1 (Island) The state health sector is perennially ill, and the people are sick of it, so to speak. Nary a day passes without a strike or a protest staged by one category of health workers or another. Doctors are up in arms again. GMOA has been complaining of irregularities in doctors’ transfers due to administrative or political interference. It decided to stage a countrywide token strike yesterday in protest against an alleged govt move to implement doctors’ transfers arbitrarily, more..

Nov 1 (FT) Changing the world begins with changing our minds. In the midst of growing global crises, including climate change, increasing polarisation, inequality, and an overarching sense of disconnection from those around us and the natural world, it’s not a stretch to say that humanity needs change. Without question, the external systems and structures of our world need to be examined and adjusted. Yet a more hidden source of our current problems runs so deep that it is often more..

Nov 1 (DM) An elected chairman of a Pradeshiya Sabha (divisional council) is shot dead by a lone gunman while meeting members of the public in his council office. The party to which he belongs protests strongly and calls the killing a political assassination. The cabinet minister in charge of public security makes light of the murder by alleging that the victim was a gangster with a criminal past. He dismisses it as an underworld dispute. more..

Nov 1 (FT) As part of its grand 175th anniversary celebrations, S. Thomas’ College (STC) has announced the launch of the first-ever All-Island Schools National Startup Innovation Event, scheduled to take place in partnership with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in November 2025. This pioneering initiative reflects STC’s commitment to elevating entrepreneurship across SL by nurturing the next generation of innovators and leaders. Founded in 1851, STC’s 175-year legacy more..

Nov 1 (Island) In the lush green heart of SL’s wet zone, where the songs of cicadas mingle with the distant rush of waterfalls, a remarkable story of restoration is quietly unfolding. Endane Biodiversity Corridor, a pioneering initiative by Dilmah Conservation, stands today as a symbol of ecological healing and visionary stewardship — a bridge reuniting fragments of rainforest once divided by human hands. It began in 2018, when Merrill J. Fernando, founder of Dilmah Ceylon Tea, more..

Nov 1 (FT) India and Sri Lanka have taken another step forward in their landmark power grid interconnection project, holding a virtual meeting on Thursday (30), to discuss implementation modalities and next steps for regional energy integration. Senior officials from both countries met virtually to deliberate on the operational framework for the proposed India–SL power grid interconnection, a key regional energy initiative aimed at enhancing cross-border electricity trade. more..

Nov 1 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday ended the week in red after a three-day rally amid foreign selling. ASPI was down 0.15%, 34.69 points lower to 22,804.84. The active S&P SL20 index however closed in green, up 0.18% gaining 11.20 points to 6,213.91. Turnover was more Rs. 5.6 billion on over 154.8 shares traded. Foreign selling was considerable with foreign net outflow amounting to Rs. 893 million yesterday. Compared to a week ago, the ASPI was down 7.68 points, more..

Nov 1 (FT) Sri Lanka’s move toward a digital energy ecosystem remains uneven, with pilot initiatives underway but progress held back by limited funding, weak coordination, and the absence of a national roadmap, according to the IPS flagship report State of the Economy 2025. Report notes that while the National Energy Policy (NEP) 2019 provided a framework for digitalisation, implementation has been fragmented and more..

Nov 1 (FT) Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and Int'l Organisations of the Holy See, will undertake an official visit to SL next week. The visit is undertaken at the invitation ofMinister Vijitha Herath, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between SL and the Holy See. During the visit, Archbishop Gallagher will call on Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake, PM Harini Amarasuriya, and more..

Nov 1 (DM) UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has formally confirmed that it has reviewed a complaint concerning the UNHRC’s external accountability mechanism on SL and has taken appropriate action. The acknowledgment was issued to one of the complainants on 23 October 2025. The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is the internal oversight body of the UN. The Office assists the Secretary-General in fulfilling his oversight responsibilities more..

Nov 1 (ST) This week, Ministry of Education released a circular outlining the implementation of the 2026 curriculum reforms, which includes extending school hours until 2 p.m. for grades five to nine, but already has drawn protests from teacher unions. According to the circular, the reforms aim to modernise Sri Lanka’s education system and align learning with 21st century competencies. more..

Nov 1 (ST) Nuwara Eliya’s small-scale farmers whose livelihoods depended on small plots of cultivated land, are now gradually abandoning their farmlands due to the high cost of cultivation. As a result, some former farmlands are turning into overgrown shrublands. Particularly during the past two years, due to the changing climatic conditions in Nuwara Eliya, farmers have been unable to cultivate at the proper time and many find it difficult to continue farming, they say. more..

Nov 1 (DM) The Homagama High Court Judge Navarathna Marasinghe yesterday sentenced a man to 17 years of rigorous imprisonment for breaking into a house and sexually assaulting a woman and her two daughters while the husband, a soldier was away on duty. According to the evidence presented in court, the incident took place on May 13, 2014. The victim’s husband had been away in Puttalam on official duty leaving at home his wife, two daughters aged 14 and six and their young son. more..

Nov 1 (DM) Sri Lanka is stepping up efforts to align its packaging industry with the global sustainability standards, targeting a 20 percent reduction in total waste by 2035 and meeting the European Union (EU) packaging benchmarks by 2040, a senior expert said. SYLCAN Trust SL Senior Technical Expert Dr. Thusitha Sugathapala said waste management has become a key driver of growth and innovation in the country’s packaging sector, which already contributes about 3% to GDP. more..

Nov 1 (DM) During the past six years in Sri Lanka, the number of soil embankment failures has increased compared with landslides and slope failures, officials said. As a result, Sri Lankans are being asked to be extra vigilant in building houses and buildings near earth embankments. According to data received from the Landslide Research and Risk Management Division of the NBRO for 2019–2024, there have been 936 landslides and slope failures, 4,320 earth embankment failures reported. more..

Nov 1 (ST) The govt’s plan to merge under-enrolled schools has triggered protests and confusion among students, parents, teachers, and education unions. Most sections have been left pondering whether local schools with a low number of students will be permanently closed, triggering a chain of reactions and leading to a risk of increasing the school dropout rate, particularly in provinces. There have been contradictory statements, more..

Nov 1 (FT) Rakuten Symphony and SLT-Mobitel have announced the signing of a MoU to collaborate on a pilot project to build an Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) comprising 4G and 5G NSA/SA (Non-Standalone and Standalone) sites within SL. SLT-Mobitel will leverage Rakuten Symphony’s advanced Open RAN portfolio to deliver innovative network infrastructure for the project, including a virtualised Centralised Unit (CU) and Distributed Unit (DU) infrastructure, more..

Nov 1 (FT) SL Customs has collected over Rs. 2 trillion in tax revenue as of 30 Oct, marking the highest annual revenue in the Dept’s history and placing it well ahead of its ambitious Rs. 2.115 trillion target for 2025. This milestone follows a 60% year-on-year (YoY) surge in 2024, when Customs recorded Rs. 1.53 trillion in revenue, a sharp increase from Rs. 975 billion in 2023. Dept announced that its total tax revenue for 2025 had exceeded Rs. 2 trillion by the end of October, more..

Nov 1 (DM) The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision in fuel prices, effective from midnight today. Accordingly, the price of Petrol Octane 92 has been reduced by Rs. 5 per litre, bringing the new price to Rs. 294. Meanwhile, the price of Super Diesel has been increased by Rs. 5 per litre, with the new retail price set at Rs. 318. Ceypetco stated that there will be no change in the prices of Petrol Octane 95, Lanka Auto Diesel, or Lanka Kerosene. more..