Mar 1 (EN) Washington-based IMF has approved the release of a US$ 334 million tranche under SL’s program, urging continued reforms, tax collections and better state energy pricing. “The recovery is expected to continue in 2025,” Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said. “As the economy is still vulnerable, it is critical to sustain the reform momentum to ensure macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, more..

Mar 1 (AD) Colombo Grand Mosque has announced that the crescent (new moon) for the month of Ramadan has not been sighted, and that Muslims in SL will begin the month of fasting on Sunday, (2). Muslims all over the world will observe a month of fasting and prayers during Ramadan to commemorate the time when the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed on the night of Laylat Al Qadr. Fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, more..

Mar 1 (AD) Police have opened fire on a lorry that was stolen from the Wattala area and was being driven away, after it failed to comply with orders to stop in Kaduwela. Following the incident, a 25-year-old suspect was arrested. Upon his arrest, police discovered a locally-manufactured hand grenade in his possession. The lorry, loaded with vegetables destined for a supermarket in Norochcholai, had been parked near a tea stall in Wattala when driver stepped away to have tea. more..

Mar 1 (DM) Despite Indian conglomerate Adani Group’s announcement that it withdrew from the US $ 442 million wind power project in Mannar, the Energy Ministry has requested the company to inform its stand in writing on the future of the project since Sri Lanka remains open for renegotiation of tariffs quoted originally, an official said. The project involved building two wind power projects along with transmission lines. more..

Mar 1 (AD) Renowned Sri Lankan actress Susantha Chandramali has passed away at the age of 61 after a prolonged illness. A celebrated figure in SL cinema, theater, and television, Chandramali was widely recognized for her powerful performances in dramatic roles, particularly in productions such as Charulatha, Sujatha, and Kande Gedara. Her film career began with a supporting role in the 2000 blockbuster Saroja. She later starred in several notable films, more..

Mar 1 (NF) Sri Lankan Opposition MP Mujibur Rahuman claimed that the general public is facing difficulties in obtaining passports, despite claims that 4,000 passports are issued daily. "People are suffering immensely to get a passport. This issue was created by the previous govt, but it continues to persist," Rahuman stated. He pointed out that two companies are currently handling passport issuance, costing the govt $4.75 and $1.45 per passport for different services. more..

Mar 1 (FT) National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO), under the patronage of the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Co-operative Development, officially opened the Local Geographical Indications (GI) Registry, a landmark initiative to safeguard SL’s unique local products and enhance their global marketability. The registry, formally declared open on 27 Feb, marks a significant milestone in strengthening intellectual property rights in the country. more..

Mar 1 (ST) SL’s rich biodiversity has once again proven to be a treasure trove for science with the discovery of six new palp-footed spiders by Prof. Suresh Benjamin, the country’s leading arachnologist. In a marriage of science and literature, three of these new spiders have been named after key characters from Village in the Jungle, the classic novel by Leonard Woolf, and another named after the author himself. Among the newly described species, Palpimanus silindu more..

Mar 1 (FT) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake reaffirmed his commitment to transforming SL into a civilised nation and restructuring its armed forces into professional institutions, declaring that the era of political favouritism, criminal underworld influence and conspiracies against the Govt is over. Speaking in Parliament during the Committee Stage Debate on the 2025 Budget, Prez who is also serving as Defence Minister, more..

Mar 1 (DM) Number of persons in all three armed forces will be reduced while they will be made sophisticated with equipment, Prez told Parliament. "Army will be confined to 100,000 personnel, Navy to 40,000 and Air Force to 18,000, Prez revealed. "Our aim is to acquire modern equipment to the forces. Almost all aircraft in Air Force are becoming outdated. Therefore, we will acquire new aircraft. SL Navy will also get new craft and new equipment. We will do it without any hesitation" more..

Mar 1 (Island) Three police constables attached to the Trincomalee Police fled just as they were about to undergo a medical examination following suspicions that they had consumed narcotics. One of them was later admitted to Trincomalee Hospital. The officers were due to be transported by train to the Narahenpita Police Hospital for testing when they absconded. Two were serving at the Trincomalee Police Station, while the third was stationed at Uppuweli Police Station. more..

Mar 1 (FT) 14th edition of Medicare International Healthcare Exhibition 2025 was declared open yesterday by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa at the BMICH. Medicare 2025, SL’s premier healthcare exhibition, dedicated to educating the public and showcasing the latest advancements in healthcare, medical technology, wellness, and medical tourism, will continue until Sunday. Featuring over 150 stalls from local and international exhibitors, Medicare Int'l Healthcare Exhibition more..

Mar 1 (CT) Ajahn Brahm Society of SL (ABSSL) is pleased to announce that Ajahn Brahm will be visiting Sri Lanka for a short stay in May this year. Many, both Buddhists and non-Buddhists, are familiar with him and have attended his previous talks, including his 2023 public address at the BMICH, which drew an audience of over 4,000. Ajahn Brahmavamso, popularly known as Ajahn Brahm, is the Head Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Serpentine, Perth. more..

Mar 1 (Island) Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has faulted their erstwhile comrades in the govt for including Clause 1.9 in the 2025 Budget Technical Notes, which allows tax-evading businesses to settle unpaid taxes from 2022–2023 within six months without penalties or interest. FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jagoda highlighted that existing laws, such as the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017, mandate a 1.5% monthly interest more..

Mar 1 (EN) Letters of credit opened to import vehicles to SL are about US$ 117 million so far, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. “Approximately US$ 117 million of LCs have been opened,” Prez told parliament. “So the value of the dollar is falling even more than it did before.” If the opposition thinks you can come to power from an economic crisis, it will not happen, he said. In SL govt’s changed sometimes due to economic crises at other times, it was due to internal divisions, he said. more..

Mar 1 (DN) SL’s top ranked shuttler, Viren Nettasinghe, charged into the semi-final stage of the Men’s Singles at the ongoing HUNDRED SL International Challenge 2025, at the St. Joseph’s College Indoor Complex in Darley Road, Colombo. Viren toppled Kai Cheng of Chinese Taipei in the Men’s Singles quarter-final clash yesterday, after conceding the first set following a close battle. Viren took an early charge, but Cheng countered well to cause his opponent an early shock by more..

Mar 1 (ST) SL’s rich biodiversity has once again proven to be a treasure trove for science with the discovery of six new palp-footed spiders by Prof. Suresh Benjamin, the country’s leading arachnologist. In a marriage of science and literature, three of these new spiders have been named after key characters from Village in the Jungle, the classic novel by Leonard Woolf, and another named after the author himself. more..

Mar 1 (DM) With the significant rise in online financial crimes, the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) this week called on the financial institutions to explore the possibility of using artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technology to help tackle frauds and scams. CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe asserted that it is time for the local financial institutions to strengthen their fraud detection mechanisms by adopting advanced technologies to safeguard the financial system. more..

Mar 1 (IANS) SL Masters rode on a sensational 51-ball century from Upul Tharanga and an equally aggressive half-century from Lahiru Thirimanne to defeat Australia Masters by three wickets in a league match of the International Masters League (IML) 2025 here on Friday. After an electrifying start in Navi Mumbai, the action in the inaugural IML shifted to Vadodara, where a sizeable crowd witnessed the first match. Chasing 218, the early loss of Kumar Sangakkara could have been a setback more..

Mar 1 (DN) For the first time in the history, a political force that does not nurture underworld gangs has been created and we affirm that it will continue to be so. Apart from that for the first time in history, we have a non politicised Police today as well, Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala said. There are several underworld gangs with political connections including Kudu Anju, Rathgama Vidura, Kosgoda Sujee, Kudu Salindu, Loku Pattie, Lalith Kannangara, Badovita Nalin, Kehelbaddara more..

Mar 1 (DN) Dinada Athalage (52*) and Nethula Edirimanne (49) played crucial knocks as Ananda College reached 154/3 at stumps on the rain-hit opening day of the 95th Battle of the Maroons against Nalanda College at SSC Grounds yesterday. It was a rain-interrupted first day, limiting Ananda’s first innings to just 47 overs. The interruptions prevented the batsmen from maintaining their momentum. Ananda College, invited to bat first, had a shaky start as openers more..

Mar 1 (TM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in a bid to mould local schoolboy cricketers to play long format cricket has set aside an annual sum of Rs. 125 million, to play 28 3-day school cricket big matches, its CEO Ashley de Silva said. He said, to apprise the media on the steps taken by its Executive Committee (EC), to elevate school cricket by transforming traditional two-day encounters into three-day affairs. more..

Mar 1 (Island) Topic of the moment is security and its major subsection public security and the country’s security. The police admitted it had lapsed in the tightness of its security when drug kingpin Ganemulla Sanjeeva was shot point blank in the dock at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. Police however were very speedy in the apprehension of the shooter and several accomplices. The crime was meticulously planned and carried out with a gun smuggled into court in a hollowed-out book. more..

Mar 1 (FT) In the skies over the world around our planet yesterday, a rare phenomenon galvanised professional star-gazers to set up their telescopes for a scintillating celestial show. It was a configuration of all seven planets in our solar system ‘on the same side of the sun above our heads’ that last took place decades ago, and won’t recur until 2040. For astronomy buffs, it was literally the event of a lifetime – while the more spiritually minded appealed to the esoteric value of the solar more..

Mar 1 (Island) The govt is trying to gain political mileage and retain popular support not by carrying out its election pledges and granting relief to the public but by continuing to attack its political rivals. Hardly a day passes without the ruling NPP coalition releasing a list of wrongdoings or misdeeds of the previous dispensations. In the late 1980s, the JVP used to control many parts of the country with chits (which conveyed its diktats, threats and warnings), and today JVP-led NPP is apparently t more..

Mar 1 (CT) The recent remarks made by Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake serve as a timely and necessary reminder of a fundamental democratic principle — accountability. Voters are not merely passive participants in the electoral process; they are stakeholders in governance, and their role does not end once a ballot is cast. If political promises remain unfulfilled, citizens must have the right to question those they elect &, where necessary, take formal action. more..

Mar 1 (CT) Responding to journalists regarding the series of murders that took place the previous week, Prez Dissanayake assured that there is no threat to national security. Despite his claims that these incidents do not pose a security threat and that they are the result of conflicts between organised crime groups, it’s a point to ponder whether these assertions are accurate or merely an attempt to pacify a rightly concerned & alarmed public. more..

Mar 1 (CT) In 1985, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who assumed the presidency of the USSR, sought to reform the Soviet Union’s centrally planned economic system, which had been stagnant for several years. He recognised that the rigid one-party rule political system, including its politicians, was plagued by corruption, the workforce was inefficient, technology was outdated, and citizens struggled to access basic goods and services. Additionally, democratic rights for the people more..

Mar 1 (DM) It has been exactly 160 days since the NPP rose to govern the nation and it seems that the public mood is already divided, even among their supporters. The rise of the NPP brought a sense of renewed hope to many voters seeking a lasting solution to the nation’s economic turmoil and political instability. Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), known for his outspoken stance on corruption, economic equity and social justice, now faces the challenge of transforming his promises more..

Mar 1 (FT) The lengthy secessionist war between the LTTE and the SL armed forces as well as the brutal suppression of the JVP uprising have created the enforced disappearance phenomenon in Sri Lanka. So much so that at one time Sri Lanka enjoyed the dubious distinction of being second only to Iraq in the case of disappearances. A victim of an enforced disappearance is distinctly different from a missing person. more..

Mar 1 (DM) While Minister Vijitha Herath was in Geneva delivering his speech at the 58th Regular Session of the UNHRC on Tuesday, former Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe had addressed a group of youth whom he met at his office where he advised the govt and the main political parties in the country to take the double standard of the UNHRC seriously. “This matter has to be taken seriously as the UNHRC is expected to take up a resolution on SL in Sept this year,” Wickremesinghe stated, more..

Mar 1 (DM) On 22 Sept 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake leader of the NPP was elected President of our country. Sadly he could not cross the Constitutional threshold of winning the 50% plus one votes required to win the presidential election outright. He made it on the Constitutional second count. Perhaps, the masses were a bit wary of the promises Dissanayake and his party made in the run-up to the election. Some of the promises made were regarding transparency in matters of more..