News Archive for Jan 2026 Dheshamanya Dr Sudath Gunasekara Former Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka and the Ex-President of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association (1991-1994). 20.01.2026. (This article is of two parts. This is Part 1 to be followed by part 11.) Part 1 It is a historical fact that it was the heroic ancestors of the present day Kandyan Sinhalese who defended the motherland against three powerful invincible Western colonial invaders, for 343 years (1505-1848), and who protected it for posterity, with dignity and bravery unmatched in world history. This is a brief note... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/01/26) වෛද්ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්යාපන වැඩසටහන ත්රීකුණාමලය මහේස්ත්රාත් අධිකරණයේ 1784/25 අංක දරන බුදු පිළිමය සම්බන්ධ නඩුවට නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතා විසින් පෞද්ගලිකව මෝසමක් ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් 2026.01.21 දින එම නඩුව විවෘත අධිකරණයේ කැදවා එම නඩුවේදී පොලීසියේ වැරදි වලට එරෙහිව අධිකරණයට අපහාස කිරීම යටතේ නඩු පැවරීමට එම නඩුවේ සහතික පිටපතක් ලබා ගැනීමට ඉල්ලා ඇත. මෙම නඩුව 2026.01.19 දින කැදවූ අවස්ථාවේ නීතිපතිතුමා විසින් අභියාචනාධිකරණයේ ඇතිකර ගත් එකඟතාවයක් අනුව මෙම නඩුවේ චෝදනාවක් ඉල්ලා අස්කර ගැනීමට ක්රියාකරන බව ප්රකාශ කර ඇති අතර නීතිපතිතුමාගේ ස්ථාවරයට පටහැනිව එදින පෙනී සිටි ජ්යේෂ්ඨ පොලිස් අධිකාරී ඇතුලු පොලිස් කණ්ඩායම විසින් ගරු අධිකරණයට කරුණු... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/01/26)
Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.) 2066 Kings Grove Crescent. Ottawa. Ontario K1J 6G1 . Canada 20 January 2026 His Excellency Santosh JhaIndian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka36-38 Galle RoadColombo 3Sri Lanka cc.Hon. Vijitha Herath, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Your Excellency: I was surprised to read your New Delhi’s Christmas Fairy Tale of 2025 -“...the bilateral defence pact with Sri Lanka has “NO UNSTATED OBJECTIVES.” It prompted me to ask…’Mirror..mirror…on the wall, Who is the liar of them all?” I don’t believe You Commissioner Santosh! Since when did... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/01/26)
Alon Ben-Meir - Jan 20, 2026 Since the 2016 coup attempt, Erdoğan has built a regime in which power is centralized, freedoms are curtailed, and dissent is met with an iron fist. Now that there is a historic opportunity to end the conflict with the Kurds, Erdogan is seeking surrender rather than a dignified, sustainable solution The Turkish Kurds: Erdoğan’s Folly On Full Display Nearly a decade after Turkey’s failed coup attempt of July 2016, the political landscape of the country has been transformed beyond recognition. What began as a night... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Colombo, Jan 21 (Daily Mirror) - UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake raised serious concerns in Parliament over what he described as a growing disconnect between Sri Lanka’s record tourist arrivals and the weak flow of foreign exchange into the country’s official financial system. Speaking in Parliament, Karunanayake noted that Sri Lanka recorded more than 2.36 million tourist arrivals in 2025, yet total tourism earnings rose only marginally to about USD 3.22 billion. He pointed out that average spending per tourist had declined by nearly 12 percent year-on-year, even as arrivals surged, raising questions... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු පුවත් Share Post වෙරළ කලාපය තුළ අනවසර ඉදිකිරීමක් කර බුදුපිළිමයක් තැන්පත් කිරීමෙන් වෙරළ සම්පත් පනත කඩකිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාර ගත කර සිටින බළන්ගොඩ කස්සප හිමියන් ඇතුළු සැකකරුවන් දස දෙනා සම්බන්ධ සිද්ධියේ සම්පූර්ණ නඩු වාර්තාව සැකකාර පාර්ශ්වයගේ නිතීඥවරයාට ලබා දෙන ලෙස ත්රිකුණාමලය මහේස්ත්රාත් එම්.එස්.එම්. සම්සුදීන් අධිකරණ රෙජිස්ට්රාර්වරයාට අද (21) නියෝග කළා. මෙම සිද්ධියට අදාලව සැකකාර පාර්ශ්වය වෙනුවෙන් මෝසමක් ගොනු කරමින් නීතිඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන කළ ඉල්ලීමක් සැලකිල්ලට ගත් අධිකරණය මෙම නියෝගය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු පුවත් අපේ රටේ ජනතාව අවස්ථාවාදීව සිතා පාලකයින් පත්කර ගන්නා බව කෝට්ටේ ශ්රී කල්යාණි සාමග්රී ධර්ම මහා සංඝ සභාවේ අනුනායක මහාචාර්ය පූජ්ය කොටපිටියේ රාහුල හිමියන් ප්රකාශ කරනවා. උන්වහන්සේ මේ බව පැවසුවේ ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ දේශපාලඥයෙකු වූ අභාවප්රාප්ත නන්දන ගුණතිලක මහතාගේ දේහය පිළිබද අවසන් කටයුතු අද (21)දින සිදුකෙරුණු අවස්ථාවේදී අනුශාසනාවක් කරමින්. එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ පූජ්ය කොටපිටියේ රාහුල හිමියන් මෙසේද පැවසුවා. අපේ රටේ ජනතාව මට හිතෙනවා එක වෙලාවකට ටිකක් මෝඩද කියලා. බොරු පොරොන්දුවලට පොඩි පොඩි සිල්ලර පොරොන්දුවලට අපේ රටේ ජනතාව බොහෝවිට පාලකයින් පත්කර ගන්නවා. පාලකයින්ගේ ගැඹුර,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/01/26)
Sarath Wijesinghe President’s Counsel, Solicitor in England and Wales, former Chairman Consumer Affairs Authority Former Ambassador UAE and Israel and President Ambassador’s Forum. World consumer day falls on 15th March every year celebrated by the Consumer International the main body for consumer - and others world over as the Consumers Day world over in order to show strength and be with citizens to air the needs and grievances of the consumer in a friendly atmosphere supposed to include all citizens as any average citizen is a consumer at any stage of the life from birth to death. For... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/01/26)
Dr. Sarath Obeysekera Investor & Project Promoter Open Letter to Ministry of Investment Promotion, Chairman – UDA, Director General – BOI, President’s office Director of office of digitisation Dear Sir / Madam, Sri Lanka urgently needs to exert far greater pressure on the digitisation and streamlining of statutory approvals for investment projects, particularly those involving skills development and vocational training. I write this with deep frustration and disappointment, based on my personal experience over the past year in attempting to obtain approvals to establish a welding training institute in Galle. The... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස් හෙලයේ මහා ගත්කරැ මාර්ටින් වික්රමසිංහයන් හට නිගරු වන අන්දමින් අමතර පන්ති මෙහෙයවන ගුරුවරයෙකු කළ ප්රකාශයක් ඇතුළත් දර්ශන පෙළක් මේ දිනවල අන්තර්ජාලය ඔස්සේ දැඩි කතාබහට ලක්ව තිබේ. එහිදී එම ගුරුවරයා විසින් වික්රමසිංහයන් "මෝඩයෙකු" ලෙස හඳුන්වමින් තම ශිෂ්ය ප්රජාවට කරුණු ඉදිරිපත් කරනු දක්නට ලැබේ. භාෂා ශාස්ත්රයට පමණක් සීමා නොවී විද්යාත්මක පර්යේෂණ, මානව විද්යාව සහ පරිණාමවාදී සිද්ධාන්ත පිළිබඳ ගැඹුරු බුද්ධිමය මෙහෙවරක නිරත වූ මෙම අසහාය විද්වතා සම්බන්ධයෙන් කළ අදූරදර්ශී ප්රකාශය පිළිබඳව විද්වත් සමාජය සිය දැඩි පිළිකුල සහ මවිතය පළ කර සිටිති. "අර ගම්පෙරළිය ලියපු මෝඩයා,මොකාද උගේ නම ,මාර්ටින් වික්රමසිංහ.දැන් උඹලා... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatta Chapter questioned why there is a push to implement education reforms that the government has already admitted contain errors. These remarks follow a meeting today (20) with a representative body of parents of Grade 6 students, who submitted a memorandum requesting the reforms proceed within this year. The Mahanayake Thera noted that the Prime Minister acknowledged flaws in the process, resulting in the suspension of several officials and the postponement of the Grade 6 reforms by one year. He... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/01/26)
උපුටාගැණීම මුහුනුපොත පසුගිය දින දෙක තුන පුරාවට මේ පිළිඹඳ ලිපි බොහෝ ප්රමාණයක් මා විසින් කියවූවත් එය ඒ ඒ පුද්ගලයින් විසින් අල්ලාගත් තැන පිළිඹඳ මා හට ගැටළුවක් මතු විය. ජනාධිපතිවරයා යාපනයේදී කළ ප්රකාශය, හුදෙක් දේශපාලන කතාවක් නොව, සාමකාමීව වන්දනාවේ යන සමස්ත සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජනතාවගේම චේතනාව සහ ආත්මගෞරවය ප්රසිද්ධියේ ප්රශ්න කිරීමකි. සිංහල ජනතාව දෙස වෛරයෙන් බලන ලෙස උතුරේදී මෙවැනි පණිවිඩයක් ලබා දීම හරහා ඔහු උත්සාහ කරන්නේ යුද්ධයෙන් පසු අප අමාරුවෙන් ගොඩනැගූ ජාතික සමගිය ඔවුන්ගේ දේශපාලනය වෙනුවෙන් පාවා දීම බව පැහැදිලිව පෙනේ. ජනාධිපතිවරයා "අනුරාධපුරය පසුකර යාපනයට සිල් ගන්න යන්නේ වෛරයෙන්" යැයි පවසන විට, එයින් ගම්ය වන්නේ සිංහල... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/01/26)
e-Con e-News blog: https://eesrilanka.wordpress.com ‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’ e-Con e-News 11-17 January 2026 * ‘Sovereign countries don’t get sovereignty if the US wants their resources.’ – Stephen Miller, US President Don Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy & Homeland Security Adviser (see ee Industry) * ‘Other actions that we are witnessing in the international arena testify not even to an attempt, but to the policy of our US colleagues... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Hindustan Times Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi alleges that the United States and Israel orchestrated recent unrest in Iran by directing armed cells to open fire during protests to raise casualties and trigger foreign intervention, citing purported audio messages, documents, and detainee confessions as evidence. He says large cash payments were offered for attacks on police stations, government vehicles, markets, ambulances, and dozens of mosques, describes the January 8–10 violence as an externally planned extension of the “12‑day war,” and warns that Iran will seek justice for all those killed. https://youtu.be/wKavzNRa-uU... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Shenali D Waduge To:The Chairman and MembersElection Commission of Sri Lanka Subject: Objection to Calling for Premature Suggestions on Overseas Voting and Opposition to Granting Online Voting Rights to Sri Lankan Citizens Residing Abroad 1. Preliminary Objection – Process and Authority This is to formally object to the public advertisement issued calling for views and suggestions on “formulating a mechanism to grant voting rights to Sri Lankan citizens abroad.” …using taxpayers’ money, the cost of which should be disclosed. It is also unclear who, if anyone, has formally requested to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Nava Thakuria For millions of fans and followers of Zubeen Garg, who faced an unexplained death in Singapore on 19 September last year, unpleasant news broke out from the island nation, as its police department made it clear that the iconic Assamese singer died in an intoxicated status while swimming in sea water without wearing a mandatory life jacket. The Straits Time, a mainstream newspaper of the southeast Asian country, reported on 14 January last that Zubeen, 53, consumed alcohol and refused a life vest before jumping off a yacht and finally drowned in waters near Lazarus Island... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Shenali D. Waduge “When people in one’s own town are in trouble and need to be saved from brutal torture and being burnt at the stake (a common practice of the Catholic Inquisition), it is morally indefensible for a supposedly public-spirited padre to travel to another region or country to save people in trouble there, while at the same time ignoring the plight of his own town folk.” – Shenali D. Waduge Joseph Vaz (21 April 1651, Benaulim, Goa – 16 January 1711, Kandy, Sri Lanka) was a Catholic Oratorian priest from Goa. He is called the ‘Apostle of Ceylon’ by the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Roshni Sengupta The Western narrative on Hindus and episodes of mass violence affecting Hindu communities globally has often been marked by selective visibility, conceptual ambiguity, and ideological discomfort with recognising Hindus as victims of genocide or ethnic cleansing. While Western media, academia, and human-rights institutions readily deploy the language of genocide for atrocities against certain groups, mainly Muslims, comparable frameworks are rarely applied to cases involving Hindus, even when violence is systematic, targeted, and driven by religious or civilisational hostility. – Dr. Roshni Sengupta The abject hypocrisy of the West on the atrocities against minority Hindus... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge Angola is a large Southern African country that was under Portuguese colonial rule for more than 400 years before achieving independence on November 11, 1975. The country ranks among Africa's leading producers of crude oil and diamonds, which are crucial to its export economy and government finances. Portuguese remains the official language, reflecting its colonial past. The population is made up of various Bantu ethnic groups, such as the Ovimbundu, Kimbundu, and Bakongo, each possessing unique languages and cultural practices. Despite Angola's considerable oil wealth and recent economic advancements, poverty remains a... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස් හයවන ශ්රේණියට අදාළ ඉගෙනුම් මොඩියුලයන්හි මතු වූ මතභේදාත්මක තත්ත්වය පදනම් කරගනිමින්, ජාතික අධ්යාපන ආයතනයේ නියෝජ්ය අධ්යක්ෂ ජනරාල් දර්ශන සමරවීර මහතාව අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු ගැන්වීමට බලධාරීන් පියවර ගෙන ඇත. මීට අමතරව, අදාළ සිදුවීමට සෘජු සම්බන්ධයක් ඇති බවට හඳුනාගත් එම ආයතනයේම සේවය කරන තවත් නිලධාරිනියන් දෙපළකගේ සේවය වහාම ක්රියාත්මක වන පරිදි අත්හිටුවා ඇති බවද දැනගන්නට ලැබේ.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස් පාසල් දරුවන්ගේ දිවා ආහාරය වෙනුවෙන් වෙන් කළ මුදල් අවභාවිත කරමින් තම සැමියාගේ උපන්දින සාදය පැවැත්වූ බවට එල්ල වූ චෝදනාවලට මැදිරිගිරිය ප්රදේශයේ පාසලක විදුහල්පතිනියක වරදකරු වී ඇති බව උතුරු මැද පළාත් ප්රධාන ලේකම්වරයා තහවුරු කරයි. මෙම සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ලංකා ගුරු සංගමයේ ප්රධාන ලේකම් ප්රියන්ත ප්රනාන්දු මහතා කරුණු අනාවරණය කරමින් කියා සිටියේ, අදාළ දූෂණ චෝදනා සම්බන්ධයෙන් විමර්ශන පවතින අතරතුරදීම මෙම විදුහල්පතිනිය අධ්යාපන පරිපාලන සේවයට උසස්වීමක්ද ලබාගෙන ඇති බවයි. 2022 වසරේ රජයේ තීරණයකට අනුව පාසල් දරුවන්ගේ දිවා ආහාර වේලක් සඳහා එක් අයෙකුට රුපියල් 100 බැගින් වෙන් කර තිබුණි. මැදිරිගිරිය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Courtesy Daily Mirror Last week, the Daily Mirror exclusively reported of yet another foreign investor pulling out of Sri Lanka citing regulatory obstruction and arbitrary state action. China based Amber Adventures Private Limited, the country’s first cable car venture said it had officially pulled out of the Ambuluwawa Cable Car Project due to arbitrary and unlawful actions by state authorities including the suspension of construction by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) based on complaints circulating on social media, despite clearance from technical agencies. The most surprising part is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Annelies Nie | U. Ottawa Faculty of Law, CA Courtesy Jurist News New Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday stated that the Sri Lankan government’s proposed counterterrorism legislation risks a similar oppression to its current abusive law. The bill fails to meet benchmarks set by the UN. According to the rights group, the bill also does not comply with Sri Lanka’s rights obligations made to the European Union to benefit from trade arrangements under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus “The proposed law shows Sri Lankan authorities still cling to the belief that counterterrorism legislation grants sweeping, repressive powers unrelated to combating terrorism,”... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Police security covers an area near the Sri Muthumari Amman Kovil in Lower Gallanthenna, Galaha, following the discovery of a large blue rock at a landslide site. Authorities suspect the stone, weighing approximately one tonne, shifted from an upper slope to the lower grounds during landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. Officials from the National Gem and Jewellery Authority inspected the rock yesterday afternoon (18). While the authority described the find as a unique cluster of stones, they noted that a definitive identification as a gemstone is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Delays in the construction of the Central Expressway, caused by protests over a "Crudia zeylanica" (Pandu Karanda) tree, caused significant economic damage to the country, according to former Transport and Highways Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena. He stated that it is fair to recover these financial losses from those who led and participated in the demonstrations. The former Minister made these remarks as the Chinese construction firm involved in the project reportedly demanded $980 million in compensation due to the work stoppage. Gunawardena noted that environmentalists, including... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Conversations with Alanki https://youtu.be/0tG5aSGV1EQ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Dr. Alon Ben-Meir When a government violates democratic principles, large-scale peaceful demonstrations can send a strong message. It’s a way for people to collectively demonstrate their commitment to democratic values and advocate for change without resorting to violence. The massive protests that followed the killing of Renee Good by ICE in Minneapolis were not spontaneous; it was an outburst of anger and the cumulative result of long-standing tensions with the government. The demonstrations arose from the struggle to reconcile enforcement power with public trust, which has dramatically eroded. The public reaction echoes profound concerns about how... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News රටේ සංස්කෘතිය සහ සභ්යත්වය විනාශ කිරීමේ කුමන්ත්රණයක් ඇතැයි අස්ගිරි පාර්ශ්වයේ මහ නායක අතිපූජ්ය වරකාගොඩ ශ්රී ඥානරතන මහ නා හිමියන් පෙන්වා දෙනවා. උන්වහන්සේ මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ, බදුල්ල මුතියංගණය රජමහා විහාරයේ පැවැති ආගමික වැඩසටහනකට වැඩම කළ අවස්ථාවේදීයි. මෙම අවස්ථාවට අනුශාසනා කළ උන්වහන්සේ වර්තමානයේ බුදුදහමට සහ සිංහල සංස්කෘතියට එල්ල වී ඇති අභියෝග පිළිබඳව සිය අවධානය යොමු කරනු ලැබුවා. එමෙන්ම, අතීතයේ සිට විවිධ ජාතීන් සහ ආගමිකයන් සහෝදරත්වයෙන් ජීවත් වූ රටක් වුවද, ඇතැම් පිරිස් බුදුදහමට සහ අපේ සංස්කෘතියට විනාශකාරී බලපෑම් එල්ල කිරීමට උත්සාහ කරන බවත් උන්වහන්සේ සඳහන් කළා. බුදුදහම, ජාතිය සහ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Top News Lk https://youtu.be/ykcGbVZtn-0... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
TOP News lk https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9TdGudmvgnY?feature=share... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Dark Room https://youtu.be/A6L2gx3RDBY... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Six former Members of Parliament have filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the bill proposed to abolish parliamentary pensions. The first petition was filed by former MPs M.M. Premasiri, Navaratne Banda, B.M. Deepal Gunasekera, and Samansiri Herath. A second petition regarding the same matter was submitted by former members Piyasoma Upali and Upali Amarasiri. The petitioners contend that certain provisions of the proposed bill violate fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. They have requested the Supreme Court to rule that the bill must... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/01/26)
Dilrook Kannangara The world’s oldest ideology-led regime has beaten Gen Z protests when far more flexible and democratic regimes have collapsed. Interestingly not so much by using violence but by using latest technology. The use of violence is unfortunate but failed to quell rioting and protests. Gen Z very heavily rely on the internet not just to connect and spread information but also as a daily routine. If a section of Gen Z resorts to regime change protests or political upheaval, the surest way to bust them is to cut off the internet. It has other casualties but... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
Courtesy Aleteia Asela Dassanayake CC Philip Kosloski - published on 01/16/26 St. Joseph Vaz became poor so that he could more effectively preach the Gospel to the people of Sri Lanka. Missionaries often have to learn new languages when preaching the Gospel in a different country, but sometimes that "language" takes on a more physical form. St. Joseph Vaz is a great example of someone who spoke the language of poverty, as well as charity, to better communicate with the native people of Sri Lanka. Sri. Lanka... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Colombo, January 17 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka should eye more investment in Uganda as the presidential race has concluded with a decisive victory for President Yoweri Museveni, who secured 71.65 percent of the vote to earn a seventh term in office. Museveni, who first came to power in 1986, an official said. He has remained a central and dominant figure in Uganda’s political landscape for nearly four decades. His main rival, opposition leader Bobi Wine, received 24.72 percent. Commenting on the milestone, Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Uganda, Velupillai... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
උපුටාගැණීම මුහුනුපොත බෞද්ධයෝ ශ්රී මහා බෝධිය පහුකරන් සිල්ගන්න යන්නේ වෛරයක් නිසා නෙමෙයි උතුරු නැගැනහිරත් බුදු වහන්සේ ගේ පහස ලැබූ වෙහෙර විහාර, රහහත් වහන්සේලා වැඩසිටි ස්ථාන තියෙන නිසා. පල්ලෙහා තියෙන්නේ ඒ වගේ වෙහෙර විහාර කීපයක්. මඩුකන්ද විහාරය - වවුනියාව ( දළදා වහන්සේ තැන්පත් කර තිබූ විහාරයකි. ) කුරුන්දි මහා විහාරය - මුලතිවු ( බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ දෙවන ලංකා ගමනේ දී උන්වහන්සේ මෙම ස්ථානයට වැඩම කළ බවට ද ජනප්රවාදයේ සඳහන්ය.) ගිරිහඬු සෑය - ත්රිකුණාමලය (බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ කේශ ධාතු තැන්පත් කර තැනු ලොව ප්රථම චෛත්යයි.) වෙල්ගම් වෙහෙර -... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
Hiru News https://youtu.be/BciGV9oWWB8... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
By Rohana R. Wasala Sunday Island (June 2, 2024) published an interesting article entitled ‘Quo vadis?’ by retired electrical engineering professor, public intellectual and political economics commentator ex Marxist agitator Kumar David, who died about four months later. I used to admire him, in spite of what I perceived as his rough edges. I liked reading his English language newspaper columns that he imbued with a sense of scholarliness, wit and wisdom.The title ‘Quo vadis?’ (Latin for ‘Whither bound?’ ‘Where are you going?’) is rich with biblical connotations. In his Sunday Island feature just mentioned, Professor Kumar David... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
Alon Ben-Meir - Jan 15, 2026 It is unfathomable that right here in America, we are witnessing how ICE is operating with impunity, with utter disregard for the law and for loss of life and liberty. What is even more shocking is that US Vice President JD Vance declared that a federal agent who killed a 37-year-old civilian woman in Minnesota has “absolute immunity,” setting an ominous precedent: an American citizen can be killed in the street by a federal agent, with impunity. Can there be any more outrageous and perilous statement uttered from the mouth of the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
Top News Lk https://youtu.be/GDuVLlUTlfs... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
Lanka Times 24 https://youtu.be/0PAkdo0ZUxE... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
By Caitlin Johnstone Is there anything more undignified than “leftists” and “anarchists” who cheer on the fall of empire-targeted governments even as the empire moves war machinery into place? Ooh look at me I’m sticking it to the man by supporting the same agendas as the US State Department. I’m being punk rock by regurgitating the same war propaganda talking points as John Bolton. I’m fighting the power by backing the foreign policy objectives of the most powerful empire that has ever existed. If you want to have a serious political outlook it is necessary... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස් පිිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය මූලස්ථානයේ පැවැති මාධ්ය හමුවේ දී එම පක්ෂ නායක නීතිඥ උදය ගම්මන්පිල මහතා මෙම අදහස් පල කලේය. ආණ්ඩුව ඉතිහාසයේ කිසිම ආණ්ඩුවකට නොවුණු විධියට වැරදීම් වෙන ආණ්ඩුවක්. මුලින්ම සංචාරක ප්රවර්ධන අධිකාරිය සමලිංගික ජෝඩු වලට ගැලපෙන පාරාදීසිය විධියට ලංකාව ප්රවර්ධනය කරන්න යෝජනා කරලා ලිපියක් යැව්වා. ඒකට සමාජ විරෝධය ආවාම වැරදීමක් කියලා ඉවත් කර ගත්තා. ඊට පස්සේ හදිසි නීතිය යටතේ කුනාටු ආපදාවකට කිසිම අදාළ නැති සමලිංගික සබඳතා ගැන හදිසි නීති රෙගුලාසි වලට දාලා ගැසට් මගින් ප්රසිද්ධ කලා. ඒ ගැන ප්රශ්න කරන කොට ඒකත් වැරදීමක් කිව්වා. හයවන ශ්රේණියේ ඉංග්රිසි පාඩමකට සමරිසි වෙබ් අඩවියක... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/01/26)
Courtesy Adaderana Police Media Spokesperson Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) F.U. Wootler said that Interpol ‘Red Notices’ have been obtained against 95 Sri Lankan organised criminal figures currently hiding overseas. Addressing a media briefing held today (16), he said that 10 suspects were brought back to Sri Lanka through ‘Red Notices’ in 2024, while 11 suspects were repatriated in 2025. He added that during the same two-year period, 21 suspects were brought back to the country under Extradition Laws. Speaking further, ASP Wootler said that many criminals orchestrating crimes from overseas have already been... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
by Shenali Waduge · 14th January 2026 Planned Parenthood wants to control children’s minds Teach children sexual activity is normal, even for very young children (5–10 years old). Evidence / Example: IPPF lesson guides in Asia and Africa include instructions on sexual behavior, explaining sexual pleasure in ways accessible to children as young as 8–10. “Your body belongs to you” campaigns in IPPF youth programsencourage children to seek advice from teachers or peers instead of parents, framing parental guidance as restrictive. They promote... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Shenali D Waduge In 2025, the New Zealand Ministry of Education removed the Relationships & Sexuality Education (RSE) guidelines from the curriculum framework. It took just 5 years to realize the damage. In 2020, schools were taught about relationships, gender, sexuality, consent, online media from years 0 to 13. RSE was New Zealand’s term for Global CSE (following UN ITGSE pro-gender/woke curriculum). When New Zealands govt says the 2020 framework will be replaced with a “new clearer curriculum framework” it indicates that the 2020-2025 was problematic. When the Govt says the new framework will decide... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Shenali D Waduge Across the world, Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) has NEVER entered school systems through transparent national debate or democratic approval. Instead, it has crept in quietly — rebranded under softer terms such as “affective education,” “anti-bullying,” “inclusion,” and “gender equality.” Italy is a textbook example of how this incremental, NGO-driven, externally influenced model unfolds — and why it ultimately provoked national alarm. Italy is not a conservative, closed society. It is a liberal Western democracy, deeply integrated into the European Union, with long exposure to progressive social policies. Yet even in Italy, parents, educators, and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Garvin Karunaratne It all happened in the Bangladesh Secretariat, three days after General Ershard took over the country in a bloodless coup on the 24 th of March 1982. The Minister for Youth Development was clamped in prison and the work of the Ministry was in jeopardy. The third in command, Air Vice Marshall Aminul Islam, the Minister for Labour and Manpower evaluated the work done in the Ministry. Suddenly at the close, he realized that I was an outsider and inquired who I was and I was then introduced as the Commonwealth Fund Advisor to the Ministry... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Sangam Talks https://youtu.be/g4pbHUxz0cs... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
A rare video clip of the Colombo Law Faculty's mid-1972 trip to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, has been shared on Facebook. The video is available on a Facebook group for those interested in memories of the University of Ceylon, Law Faculty. A post from May 19, 2020, includes the footage and describes it as a "rare footage of a trip undertaken to the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens by the students and staff of the Colombo Law Faculty in mid - 1972". You can likely find this video by visiting the original Facebook post. The post describes the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
American Issues Explained https://youtu.be/jOqO60tQERU... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Colombo, Jamuary 15 (Daily Mirror) - The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) has criticized the government for attempting to implement proposed education reforms without following proper guidelines or consulting key stakeholders. https://youtu.be/xRqxKPnNgj8 Addressing the media, CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that meaningful discussions are essential when introducing educational reforms, but no such consultations were held. He noted that recent reforms were halted following a cabinet decision, after the CTU and several other parties raised concerns and requested the government to reconsider. “Currently, the ministry is only... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Patali Champika Ranawaka https://youtu.be/vWcMbsnb7nw... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thera, currently in remand for placing a Buddha statue within an unauthorised construction at the Trincomalee Fort beach area without a valid permit, refused his lunch today (15). Prisons Commissioner Operations and Media Spokesperson Chammika Gajanayake confirmed this development, noting that while the Thera accepted visitors and items brought for him earlier this morning, he declined the midday meal. Trincomalee Chief Magistrate M.S.M. Samsudeen ordered nine individuals, including four monks, to remain in custody until the 19th of this month. The group includes... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/01/26)
Hiru News https://youtu.be/D5PkGKWNRUM... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
Dark Room https://youtu.be/6fcmvCmQ8uI... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
by Garvin Karunaratne Posted on November 12th, 2024 Re printed for favour of action E-Con-E-News 3-9 th November in Lanka Web writes: “• ‘Garvin Karunaratne writes again today. I have read his Dahanayaka & red-onion affair several times in the Island. His telephone handling at the Marketing Department’s Tripoli HQ resembles Mountbatten’s war operations room.’” We did use phones in a remarkable way to move veg and fruit from far away to Colombo. It was always a hive of activity from the time I parked my Hillman Minx at eight or... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
Garvin Karunaratne Agriculture luminary, Professor Buddhi Marambe has been quoted in Ceylon Today, to the effect that paddy cultivation is facing a serious situation as a consequence of the Ditwah Cyclone. The cyclone devastated 106,000 hectares from the extent cultivated in the Maha season. The chances are that it is only a small percentage of this 106,000 hectares can be re cultivated. He also adds that the farmers will find it a yeoman task to find seed paddy for the Yala Season. Seed Paddy cannot be imported. According to Professor Marambe the loss could be estimated... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
Histórias com João https://youtu.be/QX_IUzsTAEw?si=PrSgqASEsCOlS1bJ Beautiful to see such a grand Buddhist Spectacle from Myanmar (formerly Burma). An event never highlighted in day to day mainstream YouTube before. Greetings from Sri Lanka another Theravada Buddhist country with over 1000 year close friendly ties with Burma.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස් ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ප්රථම කේබල් කාර් ව්යාපෘතිය ලෙස සැලකෙන අඹුලුවාව කේබල් කාර් ව්යාපෘතියෙන් ඉවත් වීමට එහි ආයෝජකයා වන චීනයේ Amber Adventures පෞද්ගලික සමාගම තීරණය කර ඇත. මෙරට නියාමන ක්රියාවලියේ පවතින බාධා සහ රජයේ නිලධාරීන්ගේ අත්තනෝමතික ක්රියාකලාපයන් මෙම තීරණයට හේතු වූ බව එම සමාගම අවධාරණය කරයි. ඊයේ (13) දින ශ්රී ලංකා ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලය වෙත ලිඛිතව දැනුම් දෙමින් සමාගම පවසා සිටියේ, තාක්ෂණික ආයතනවල අනුමැතිය ලැබී තිබියදීත්, සමාජ මාධ්ය ඔස්සේ පැතිර ගිය පැමිණිලි පදනම් කරගනිමින් මධ්යම පරිසර අධිකාරිය විසින් ඉදිකිරීම් කටයුතු අත්හිටුවීමට පියවර ගැනීම ඇතුළු කරුණු කිහිපයක් මත මෙම ව්යාපෘතියෙන් ඉවත් වන බවයි. ශ්රී ලංකාව, චීනය සහ ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය යන රටවල ආයෝජකයින්ගෙන් සැදුම්ලත් එකමුතුවක් හරහා 2022 වසරේ පැවති ආර්ථික අර්බුදය මධ්යයේ මෙම ව්යාපෘතිය ආරම්භ විය. ව්යාපෘතියේ සම්පූර්ණ ආයෝජන වටිනාකම ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 12.75ක් වන අතර, ඉන්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Colombo District Member of Parliament Mujibur Rahman of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) stated that the party’s Working Committee has granted approval to continue discussions on working together with the United National Party (UNP). He explained that the progress of the ongoing discussions with the UNP was briefed to the Working Committee by the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the SJB, Sajith Premadasa, and that approval was subsequently granted for future actions and continued discussions related to this process. In addition, the MP stated that the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Nine individuals, including Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thero and three other monks, remain in custody until January 19 for allegedly violating the Coast Conservation Act. The charges involve the unauthorised construction of a roof and enclosure for a Buddha statue at the Sri Sambuddha Jayanti Bodhiraja Temple in Trincomalee. The Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court issued the remand order today (14) after nine out of eleven summoned individuals appeared before the bench. Notices were originally issued on December 10 for the group to present themselves in court regarding the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/01/26)
Shenali D Waduge Even decades after the 1996/2006 amendments, the protections under Sections 365 and 365A remain crucial. Children continue to face sexual exploitation, grooming, and abuse, both offline and online, while even same-sex abuse victims still require clear legal pathways for justice. Narrowing or repealing these provisions would dismantle preventive tools, limit early police intervention, and reduce courts’ ability to recognize psychological trauma as legally cognizable injury. Modern sexual predation, including digital and peer-to-peer abuse, demands a legal framework that is trauma-aware and preventive, rather than reactive. Instead of repealing or... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/01/26)
RANJITH SOYSA Courtesy Island Reference ,the Indian High Commissioner’s recent comments ( The Island, 9th Jan. ) on strong India-Sri Lanka relationship and the assistance granted on recovering from the financial collapse of Sri Lanka and yet again for cyclone recovery., Sri Lankans should express their thanks to India for standing up as a friendly neighbour. On the Defence Cooperation agreement, the Indian High Commissioner’s assertion was that there was nothing beyond that which had been included in the text. But, dear High Commissioner, we Sri Lankans have burnt our fingers when we signed agreements with... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/01/26)
by A.Abdul Aziz Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be on him, Promised Messiah and Imam-al-Mahdi and Holy Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam, in 1905, he warned the world in the following words: Remember, God has informed me of many earthquakes. Rest assured, therefore, that as earthquakes have shaken America and Europe, so will they shake Asia. Some of them will resemble the Day of Doom. So many people shall die that rivulets of blood shall flow. Even the bird and the beasts will not be immune against this death. A havoc shall sweep the surface... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/01/26)
National Development Bank PLC Guided by its commitment to sustainability, NDB Bank has renewed its partnership with Clean Ocean Force Lanka, extending three vital environmental initiatives that collectively protect Sri Lanka’s coastal and marine ecosystems. For the third consecutive year, NDB Bank continues to support the “Adopt a Beach” initiative at Kapungoda, ensuring the stretch is maintained and cleaned daily. This long-term effort not only prevents debris from re-entering the ocean and harming marine life but also empowers low-income women from local coastal community. In addition, the Bank has renewed its support for the Lagoon &... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/01/26)
Ada Derana https://youtu.be/tZEExHo0bg0... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News A meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, and representatives of teachers’ trade unions was held this afternoon (13) at the Presidential Secretariat. At the meeting, the teachers’ union representatives stated that they accept the necessity of the new education reforms being implemented by the government and emphasised that the Grade 6 curriculum requires revision. They also expressed their willingness to work together with the government in the process of implementing the new education reforms. They further proposed that these activities be carried out under... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/01/26)
Top News Lk https://youtu.be/nd-6HUcNvG4... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/01/26)
e-Con e-News blog: https://eesrilanka.wordpress.com ‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’ e-Con e-News 04-10 January 2026 * ‘Trump even admitted to having informed ‘the oil companies’ of the secret operation in advance, which appears to imply they took part in the planning of the whole affair from the get go – or perhaps, were even the chief drivers of it all…: ‘Did you speak with (the oil companies) before the operation took place?’ Trump: ‘Yes. Before & after.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
By Dimitris Konstantakopoulos After the live-streamed genocide of the Palestinians, carried out with the support of almost the entire West, the bombing of Venezuela and the abduction of President Maduro and his wife mark the entry into one of the most dangerous periods in the history of Western imperialism and of the entire planet. They also mark a milestone in the rise of a new form of global Totalitarianism. The attack on Venezuela does not aim merely at achieving full control over Latin America, as Trump and his propagandists misleadingly try to persuade us—especially through the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
Dr Sarath Obeysekera Colombo Dockyard Limited (CDL) remains one of Sri Lanka’s most valuable yet under-leveraged strategic assets in the maritime and marine engineering sector. Its location, skilled workforce, dry dock facilities, and legacy capabilities position it as a natural anchor for Sri Lanka’s emergence as a regional maritime hub. Post-Privatisation Reality Since privatisation, the anticipated technological transfer, strategic expansion, and international market leverage from the Japanese partnership have been minimal. While the Japanese association brought initial credibility, the tangible contribution in terms of diversification, offshore capability development, and regional hub creation has been... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
Courtesy AA.com Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi makes brief stopover in Sri Lanka while on his way back from Africa trip. China is willing to deepen strategic cooperative partnership with Sri Lanka, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, as he made a brief stopover in the South Asian island country while on his way back from a trip to Africa. Wang met with his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath and discussed strengthening bilateral ties and regional cooperation, according to the Xinhua news agency. The foreign minister praised Sri Lanka for its resilience... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror December revenue dips to US$ 309mn Annual earnings flat at US$ 3.2bn Earnings from Sri Lanka’s tourism industry disappointed in 2025, as revenue failed to correspond with the surge in arrivals, which reached a fresh high during the year. For instance, the country attracted 258,928 visitors in December - about 10,000 more than a year earlier - bringing total arrivals for the year to 2,362,521, up 15.1 percent from 2024. However, earnings in December 2025 came in lower at US$ 308.6... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
by Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island AKD’s request to Harsha: Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne has frustrated an attempt by Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) Dr. Harsha de Silva, MP, to intervene to settle the continuing dispute over the appointment of a new Auditor General. Dr. De Silva yesterday told The Island he had recently written to all members of the Constitutional Council (CC) drawing their attention to the urgent need to address the issue at hand. The AG’s position remains vacant since 08 Dec, 2025. AG W.P.C. Wickremanayake retired in April and since... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Colombo, January 12 (Daily Mirror) - Whilst highlighting a serious scam with regard to the awarding of tender pertaining to supply of coal to Norochcholai power plant, the Frontline Socialist Party yesterday urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to carry out a probe on it. FLSP Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda told media that calling for tenders for the supply of coal to the power plant has been delayed in 2025 to enable Trident Chemphar to register as an official coal supplier. The usual practice has been the completion of tenders for supplying of coal... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Wimal Weerawansa, the leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), has announced that a continuous sathyagraha will commence today (12) in front of the Ministry of Education. The protest demands the immediate withdrawal of the recently introduced education reforms, which Weerawansa claims lack a scientific basis, and calls for the resignation of the Minister of Education, PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. The former minister, who visited Kandy yesterday (11), asserted that the Education Minister must be removed from her post due to "serious errors" within the new reform process. He argued that the changes... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
SL Leaders https://youtu.be/Bdfkral-BY4... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/01/26)
Dr. Sarath Obeysekera Lessons from Hambantota and the Way Forward 1. Executive Summary Sri Lanka’s strategic location along the East–West international shipping route presents a unique opportunity to develop a high-value marine and offshore industrial economy, rather than relying solely on port-based logistics and transshipment activities. In 2015, a comprehensive proposal was submitted to develop a Hambantota Dockyard Project, aimed at ship repair, conversion, and offshore services. The proposal demonstrated strong technical, economic, and strategic merit. However, the absence of a national marine industrial policy and delays in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
Source: Al Hakam, London. There are certain ignorant philosophers in this day and age, who attribute all positive advancement to the brain. However, such people do not realise that the brain only possesses the ability to weigh arguments and evidence. Although it is the brain that possesses the faculty of reflection and retention, the heart possesses a quality which moves it to the position of a chief. The mind follows a forced, mechanical process, while the heart is free of this and functions in an unforced, natural way. It is for this reason that the heart holds an... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Colombo, January 11 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa said that if the President believes education reforms compatible with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are also compatible with the country, then a wrong decision has been taken. He made these remarks while addressing the media, commenting on the President’s speech yesterday, which he said indicates that despite the proposed education reforms being incompatible with the country, the government is prepared to implement them. MP Rajapaksa said the President should understand the need to implement only... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
Courtesy The Island Thilini Ranasinghe speaking to the media outside of the Police headquarters A person, named Thilini Ranasinghe yesterday, said she had requested information from the Police under the country’s Right to Information law regarding a visit by Lankan police officers to an English university linked to an ongoing case involving a former president. Addressing the media outside the Police Headquarters in Colombo, Ranasinghe said she had visited the Police to confirm facts related to reports that officers travelled to England in connection with a case involving the imprisonment of Sri Lanka’s eighth... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
Courtesy The Island Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa on Friday told Parliament that the Buddhism textbook contained a “serious error,” citing the use of the Ashoka Chakra instead of the Dharmachakra. He said the Dharmachakra depicted in the book differs from the one featured in the state symbol and called on the Education Minister to correct the mistake. Responding, Education Minister and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said the Dharmachakra used in the textbook had been approved by the Ministry of Buddhist Affairs. She added that the advisory board on Buddhism had also endorsed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
Courtesy Adaderana Although there is a need for educational reforms in schools, the process in which the present administration is carrying them out is not acceptable, Senior Professor Venerable Pathegama Gnanissara Thero noted. Ven. Gnanissara Thero made these remarks while delivering the keynote address at the book launch of a biography written about Venerable Daramitipola Ratnasara Thero. The Gnanissara Thero further emphasized that it is impossible to develop the country while destroying its culture and eroding its Buddhist heritage. Expressing further views, Ven. Pathegama Gnanissara Thero said: “We accept that... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News The Joint Opposition has claimed a significant victory in the election held yesterday (10) to elect members for the General Assembly of the Katugampola Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS). The opposition bloc secured a commanding majority, effectively taking over the management of the society. According to our correspondent, the Joint Opposition polled 113 votes to establish its dominance, while the National People's Power (NPP) managed to secure only 06 votes. The election covered 31 out of the 36 regional branches belonging to the society. Authorities were forced to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
සුමධුර දහම් Sumadhura Daham https://youtu.be/Kl6j9uYqGhQ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/01/26)
Garvin Karunaratne Of the Administrative Service 1955-1973 Twenty Second Dec 2025 Leaving Royal Park in the shrill morning Siri at the wheel, Hiran and both of us, On our way to the holy shrine at Kataragama On the Mahinda Rajapaksa Highway, Thanks to Mahinda for making it. we passed by Culloden Estate Neboda where my dad, Boyd Oliver Manamperi Karunaratne once worked, the Chief Clerk at Neboda Estate We found our way to Karapitiya, the home of the Medical Faculty ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
Dr Sarath Obeysekera Subject: Urgent actions to develop marina, repair & maintenance (R&M) and leisure-yacht infrastructure at Galle and strategic fishery harbours (including Modera) to capture high-value nautical tourism and marine services export opportunities. Prepared by: Dr Sarath Obeysekera Executive summary Sri Lanka has an immediate, realistic opportunity to develop a world-class cluster for luxury leisure craft, yacht repair & maintenance (R&M) and nautical tourism anchored on Galle Harbour and strategic fishery harbours (Modera, minor marinas). Over 15 years of advocacy has not translated into delivery. The result:... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
National Development Bank PLC NDB Bank reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to empowering Sri Lanka’s SME and MSME sectors by participating in the Revive Sri Lanka, Rising Stronger initiative, held on 20th December at Kandy City Centre. Organised by Kandy City Centre under the guidance of its Chairman, Mr. Thusitha Wijayasena, the programme brought together over 800 participants, including entrepreneurs, business owners, and key stakeholders, united by a shared purpose of restoring livelihoods and rebuilding confidence among enterprises affected by the recent DITWA cyclone. Revive Sri Lanka served as a platform to engage directly with entrepreneurs, understand... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
By Rohana R. Wasala Continued from January 02, 2026 From my perspective, it is an obvious fact that Sri Lanka as a country/nation is still left in the lurch politically, economically and morally. The biggest problem is that there is no inspiring leadership. Strong moral leadership is a key component of good governance. ‘Raja bhavatu dhammiko’ (May the ruler be righteous) is the perennial chant of the bhikkhus we hear every morning. A country’s moral leadership is interwoven with its ethical foundation, which, in Sri Lanka’s case, is built on Buddhist moral values, which resonate with... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
National Development Bank PLC National Development Bank PLC (NDB) proudly represented Sri Lanka at the prestigious Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards 2025, held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with the nomination of its award-winning digital solutions, TradeLinc 2.0 and Secure360 2.0. This regional recognition follows the Bank’s recent success at the National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) 2025, where both platforms secured top honours, reinforcing NDB’s position at the forefront of technology-driven banking innovation. APICTA 2025 brought together some of the most advanced technology solutions across the Asia-Pacific region, with 205 teams and 256 nominations competing from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
ඉංජිනේරු බන්දුල කෑන්දරාගම ලිපිය / මාධ්ය නිවේදනය මහත්මයාණෙනි / මහත්මියනි, කොත්මලේ ජලාශයේ සම්භාව්ය ජලයෙන් ආවරණය විය හැකි ප්රදේශය තුළ, සාමාන්යයෙන් සතුටුදායක ලෙස ක්රියාත්මකව තිබූ ජංගම දුරකථන ජාල කිහිපයක් 2025 නොවැම්බර් 27 සිට 30 දක්වා කාලය තුළ ක්රියාත්මක නොවීම හෝ අසාර්ථක වීම සිදු වූ බව මාගේ අවබෝධය වේ. මාගේ අදහස අනුව, එම ජංගම දුරකථන ජාල සතුටුදායක ලෙස ක්රියාත්මකව තිබුණා නම්, 2025 නොවැම්බර් 26 දින කොත්මලේ ජලාශයේ භාර ඉංජිනේරුවරයා විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද ජලාශ හදිසි අවස්ථා ලිපියේ අන්තර්ගතය හා වාන් (spillway) දොරටු විවෘත කිරීමට ගත් තීරණය, ජලාශයෙන් පහළට කිලෝමීටර් 18ක් දුරින් පිහිටි ගම්පොල නගරයටත්,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News The Irrigation Department has issued an urgent warning as water levels in major reservoirs across Sri Lanka have reached 80% to 90% capacity. Speaking at a press briefing this morning, Irrigation Engineer L.S. Sooriyabandara confirmed that 25 out of 73 major reservoirs are already spilling over, with significant concerns for the Eastern, Central, Northern, Southern, and Uva provinces. Specific warnings have been issued for the Senanayake Samudraya and Maduru Oya reservoirs, as well as several water bodies in the Batticaloa, Jaffna, and Padaviya regions, where sluice gates have been opened to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) expects the economy to grow by 4% to 5%, while inflation is projected to gradually rise and reach the target level of 5% by the second half of 2026, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said. Addressing the launch of the Central Bank’s Policy Agenda for 2026 and beyond, Dr. Weerasinghe also announced a review of the inflation target agreement with the government and the introduction of a benchmark exchange rate aimed at strengthening transparency in the foreign exchange market. Inflation target to be... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/01/26)
Madubashana Prabath Ranahansa https://youtu.be/B5jPqIB_3RA... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/01/26)
Voice Tube https://youtu.be/CcvpX6PXPGs... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/01/26)
Bandula Kendaragama, Independent Dam Safety Consultant Dear Sir / Madam, As I understand, several mobile networks which were working in a satisfactory condition in the potential inundation area of the Kotmale Dam, were not functional or failed on 27 to 30 November 2025. In my view, if the mobile network had been operating satisfactorily, the contents of the dam emergency letter dated 26 November 2025—issued by the Engineer-in-Charge of the Kotmale Dam—and the decision to open the spillway gates should have reached Gampola town, located only 18 km downstream of the dam, as well... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/01/26)
Business News Colombo, Sri Lanka – XpressJobs, Sri Lanka’s leading recruitment technology company, has entered into a strategic partnership with ESOFT Uni (ESU) to support structured, industry-aligned internship opportunities for undergraduate students, strengthening the link between higher education and real-world employment. The partnership was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the shared objective of improving graduate employability by providing students with direct access to relevant internship and trainee-level opportunities across key industries. About ESOFT Uni ESOFT UNI is the dedicated university arm of ESOFT Metro Campus, established to deliver degree... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/01/26)
by Chandre Dharmawardana Courtesy The Island The sixth volume of the Mahavamsa, covering the period 1978-2010 has been rendered into Tamil by N. Saravanan, a well-known Tamil journalist and activist based in Norway. The first three volumes of the Mahavamsa (including the Culavamsa) are now a part of the UNESCO world heritage. They were the work of individual scholar monks, whereas the modern volumes (V to VI) were produced through state-sponsored collective efforts [1]. Although state-sponsored writing of history has been criticised, even the first Mahavamsa, presumably written by the Thera Mahanama in the 5th CE, probably enjoyed Royal... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/01/26)
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Plant compound shows promise in slowing growth of smaller aneurysms Key Takeaways Ohio State is the first in the U.S. to enroll a patient in a trial using a plant compound to see if it is effective in slowing the growth of small and medium size abdominal aortic aneurysms. The treatment uses a minimally invasive procedure to deliver the plant compound, which helps strengthen the aortic vessel wall and may reduce the need for surgery in the future. The clinical trial offers... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Colombo, January 7 (Daily Mirror) - Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala told Parliament today that information uncovered during investigations suggests that Pulasthini Mahendran, also known as Sarah Jasmine and linked to the 2019 Easter attacks, is not dead. He also said there was no indication that Sarah Jasmine is currently in India. The Minister added that if required, the government would move to obtain a warrant for her arrest. Minister Wijepala said investigations into the Easter attacks are ongoing and that legal action has already been initiated... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/01/26)
C. Wijeyawickrema, LL.B., Ph.D. “අපි පොතට කලින් හැමදාමත් පිට කවරෙම බැලුවේ පිටුව පෙරළුවට සීතා පොත දන්නව රාමා” අත්තිඩියේ පුඤ්ඤරතන හිමි හැඳින්වීම අවුරුදු 400 ක් පුරා සුද්දන් හා ඉන් පසුව 1931/1948 සිට, නානා මාදිලියේ කළු සුද්දන් විසින් මේ දිවයිනේ සිංහල බෞද්ධයින්ට කල හා කරමින් සිටිනා අයුක්ති සහගත හා අසාධාරණ (unjust/unreasonable) ක්රියා පෙන්වා දෙමින් ලියන ලද, ලංකාවෙබ් වෙබ් අඩවියේ 2013 වර්ෂයේ සිට පලවූ, ලිපි එකතු කර මුද්රණය කල පොත් මාලාවේ තුන්වන කොටස 2025 දෙසැම්බර් මස නිකුත් කිරීමට හැකි විය. මෙහි පහතින් ඇති එහි පටුනෙන් පිළිබිඹු වනුයේ, වරින් වර ලංකාවේ පදිංචි... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/01/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස් රජය මගින් ක්රියාත්මක කිරීමට සැලසුම් කර ඇති නව අධ්යාපන ප්රතිසංස්කරණ සම්බන්ධයෙන් මල්වතු සහ අස්ගිරි උභය මහා විහාරීය මහානායක ස්වාමින් වහන්සේලා සිය අප්රසාදය පළ කරති. අස්ගිරි පාර්ශවයේ මහානායක, අතිපූජ්ය වරකාගොඩ ශ්රී ධම්මරතන මහානායක හිමිපාණන් පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ මෙම ප්රතිසංස්කරණ හරහා රට නිරාගමික රාජ්යයක් කරා ගෙන යාමේ අවදානමක් පවතින බවය. https://youtu.be/hQRmijAGTFs පූජ්ය උලපනේ සුමංගල හිමියන් අස්ගිරි සහ මල්වතු මහා විහාරීය මහානායක ස්වාමින් වහන්සේලා බැහැදැක මෙම නව අධ්යාපන ප්රතිසංස්කරණවල අන්තර්ගතය පිළිබඳව උන්වහන්සේලා දැනුවත් කිරීමට කටයුතු කළ අවස්ථාවේ මේ බව පැවසූහ. අස්ගිරි පාර්ශවයේ මහානාහිමි සඳහන් කළේ මෙවැනි බරපතළ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/01/26)
Courtesy Adaderana The world community must make clear that US intervention in Venezuela is a violation of international law that makes the world less safe, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday. US forces ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a surprise operation at the weekend. He faces four criminal charges in the US, including narco-terrorism, and Maduro’s vice president has been sworn in as interim president. “It is clear that the operation undermined a fundamental principle of international law, that states must not threaten or use... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News National People's Power (NPP) Parliamentarian Shantha Padmakumara, currently accused of assaulting a police constable, is already serving a suspended prison sentence. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam shared this information during a press conference held in Colombo today (6).... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/01/26)
රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන් විධායක අධ්යක්ෂ/ශ්රී ලංකා මානව හිමිකම් කේන්ද්රය විදේශ සංචිත පහත වැටීම, රුපියල බාල්දුවීම, උද්ධමනය, ණය බර ඉහළයාම හා ව්යසනයේ ආර්ථික හානිය පියවා ගැනීමට ඒකාබද්ධ වැඩපිළිවෙලක් අවශ්යව ඇතැයි ශ්රී ලංකා මානව හිමිකම් කේන්ද්රය පවසයි. අධික බදු පැනවීම හා විදුලිය හා ගෑස් මිල ඉහළ නැංවීම තුලින් රුපියල් ආදායම් වැඩි කිරීම (Revenue Augmentation) ට රජය සමත්වී ඇති නමුත්, රාජ්ය මුල්ය විනය පවත්වාගෙන යාවේ දී රජය දුර්වල කාර්ය දර්ශනයක් පෙන්වමින් සිටින්නේ යැයි, එහි විධායක අධ්යක්ෂ රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන් නිකුත් කළ නිවේදනයේ දැක්වේ. ණය අර්බුදය තවදුරටත් ඉහළයාම අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක ජනාධිපති ධූරයට පත් වන විට රු. බිලියන... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
e-Con e-News blog: https://eesrilanka.wordpress.com ‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’ e-Con e-News 28 December 2025 – 3 January 2026 * ‘They took all of our oil…’‘We are going to run the country’ – USA The New York Times & Washington Post proudly admit how they were told in advance of the US military attack on Venezuela, and the planned kidnapping of its leaders, and loyally ‘held off publishing what they knew’ (see ee Media). On the contrary, it is not a matter of ‘holding off’: their news media actively censors, diverts, whitewashes... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
By Tom Engelhardt As 2026 begins, what a strange planet we find ourselves on. The two great empires of my youth, the Soviet Union (now Russia) and my own country, are clearly experiencing some version of imperial decline, even if Vladimir Putin is acting otherwise in Ukraine (as is Donald Trump in his own strange fashion in the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela). No less curiously, the country visibly on the rise, China, is distinctly not acting like a typical imperial power of history (at least the history I’ve known) in my 82 years. In a world... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
Merve Aydogan Senior Venezuelan official says civilians, soldiers among dead as US aircraft target air defenses to capture President Maduro HAMILTON, Canada At least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed during a US military operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to a report by the New York Times late Saturday. Citing a senior Venezuelan official, who spoke anonymously, the report said: "At least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in the attack." US officials told the New York Times that the assault involved a large-scale... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
Courtesy The UNZ Review One of the most flawlessly executed special forces operations of the last half-century took place in 1979 when Soviet commandos stormed Afghanistan’s heavily defended presidential palace, killing Hafizullah Amin and several of his top aides. This allowed Moscow to install a replacement government much more congenial to its interests, though the result was the long Afghanistan war against Muslim guerillas. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, elderly and decrepit and not long for this world, must have felt tremendous pride at that successful action, as did his equally superannuated Politburo colleagues. I’m sure they all believed it demonstrated that... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
By Dilina Kulathunga Courtesy Daily Mirror Arjuna Herath, the Chairman of the Board of Investment, the one stop shop for attracting investments in December announced that he would step down from his post by the end of this month, just under 16 months into his tenure Any tax incentive that the BOI wants to offer beyond what is currently there needs the IMF’s rubber stamp Sri Lanka does not offer any compelling reason for global industrialists or investors to relocate to Sri Lanka with its current tax policy and challenges Although... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
DRM News https://youtu.be/rTCnOD_szRw... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
MeidasTouch https://youtu.be/w43KkPqYrgg... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Education reforms are being implemented haphazardly without the necessary safeguards seen in developed nations, leading to the "obscenity" of the current curriculum. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, speaking to the media in Mirigama today (5), criticised the government for launching new educational programs without proper formal frameworks like White Papers or Green Papers. The controversy centres on the new Grade 6 English module, which recently drew heavy criticism for including a link to an inappropriate website. Premadasa asserted that the government, the Education Minister, and relevant officials... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/01/26)
RANJITH SOYSA After King Devanampiyatissa became a Buddhist listening to Mahinda Maha thero's Dhamma talk around 307 BC, he built many viharas including Tissa Viharya in Jaffna according to the Great Chronicle - Mahavamasa-. The survey department’s 1959 one-inch map of the area clearly shows the location of Tissa Viharya. in Tellipilllai in KKS. Of late, an unruly gathering of Tamils led by well-known Tamil politicians assemble at the entrance to Tissa Vitaharya and attempt to aggressively confront the pilgrims who attend the temple to perform religious activities at the temple. This has become a common... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
By GARVIN KARUNARATNE Ph.D. Published 4 years ago on 2022/02/8 The editorial of The Island on Sri Lanka’s Independence Day says it all: “The challenge before us is to retrace our steps, figure out where we took wrong turns, and forge ahead in the right direction, as many other nations have already done. Easier said than done, but there seems to be no other way.” The problem is that even to retrace our footsteps, there is no consensus among the learned. Addressing the 10 th annual conference of the Sri Lanka Forum of University economists,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
Prof. Chandana Jayalath University of Vocational Technology The controversy surrounding Sri Lanka’s Grade Six English syllabus has intensified, evolving from an embarrassing oversight into a broader national debate on curriculum governance, political accountability, and the responsible use of technology in education. The issue came to light, as we heard, after it was discovered that the syllabus recommended students improve their English language skills by finding a “pen-pal” through an online platform that was, in reality, an adult-oriented chat website carrying highly inappropriate content. The syllabus was intended for children transitioning into lower secondary education. While officials have pointed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
Source: BBC Leaders around the world have responded with a mix of condemnation and support to the US capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Following a large-scale strike on Venezuela on Saturday, Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces and removed from the country. The pair have been indicted on drug charges in New York. In an initial response, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would “shed no tears” for the end of Maduro’s regime. Neighbouring Latin American countries condemned the actions, as did Venezuela’s long-term allies, Russia... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
Courtesy Adaderana China called on the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife at once, said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Sunday. The spokesperson made the remarks in response to media reports that on Saturday, the United States sent forces to seize Maduro and his wife and took them out of the country, and that the governments of multiple countries have voiced opposition. China expresses grave concern over the U.S. forcibly seizing Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country, said the spokesperson, adding that the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
Courtesy Adaderana It is essential to act in a manner that safeguards a country’s sovereignty in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vijitha Herath stated when questioned over the attacks carried out by the United States in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Minister Vijitha Herath made these remarks this afternoon (04) while responding to several questions raised by journalists at a special media briefing held at the Department of Government Information. Responding to a question, the Minister said that although there... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Attorney-at-Law Dr. Palitha Bandara Subasinghe has raised serious legal concerns regarding the inclusion of a link to a pornographic website in a new Grade 6 English module. He asserts that the inclusion of such material could constitute a criminal offence under Sri Lanka’s Penal Code. Speaking on the matter, Dr Subasinghe emphasised that while children require age-appropriate sexual education, providing instructions on accessing "distorted erotic websites" is unacceptable and potentially illegal. Dr. Subasinghe pointed out that under Section 365(A) of the Penal Code (as amended in 1995), engaging in "acts of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
Top News Lk https://youtu.be/y1-UgMuhbI4... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/01/26)
Jinath Premaratne https://youtu.be/74Q2NWUYf8A... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/01/26)
THURYA MAG https://youtu.be/4Q9SVjg1cEM... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/01/26)
ධරිණි රාජසිංහම් සේනානායක December 29, 2025 සංස්කාරක Comments Offon කාලගුණය යුද අවියක් බවට පත් කිරීම: පොපායි සහ දිත්වා මෙහෙයුම් සහ ව්යසන ධනවාදයේ හරිත ශෝධනය ධරිණි රාජසිංහම් සේනානායක “පරිසරය යනු පාර්ශ්වික හානියක් නොවේ. එය හයිබ්රිඩ් යුද මාදිලියේ නවතම පෙරමුණයි. එයින් ආරක්ෂාවීම යනු ජීවිත ආරක්ෂා කරගැනීමයි. ” (රුස්ලාන් ස්පිරින් කියෙව්හි යුක්රෙනියානු රාජ්යතාන්ත්රික) “ වඩා බිහිසුණු බෝම්බ දැමීමද වර්ෂාව ඇති කිරීමද?” (සීමොර් හෙර්ෂ්ගේ ලිපියක් තුළ උපුටා දක්වන ලද ඇමෙරිකන් හමුදා නිලධාරියෙකු විසින් වියට්නාමයේ කොමියුනිස්ට් ගරිල්ලන්ගේ රහසිගත උමං මාර්ග යටපත් කිරීමටත් එම ගරිල්ලන්ට ආධාර දුන් ගැමි ජනතාවගේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
පරිවර්තනය: අජිත් සී හේරත් උපුටා ගැන්ම විමර්ශන හැඳින්වීම ශ්රී ලංකාවේ පසුගිය නොවැම්බරය තුළ සිදු වූ ජලගැලීම් සහ නාය යෑම් හේතුවෙන් සිදු වූ ජීවිතහානි ඇතුළු සමස්ත විනාශය පිළිබඳ විවිධ අර්ථකතනයන්, චෝදනාවන්, සමාවට හේතු ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම් මේ දිනවල සියලු ජනමාධ්ය තුළ දැකිය හැකිය. ජලාශවල වාන් දොරටු නිසි අවස්ථාවන්හිදී විවෘත නොකිරීම, කාලගුණ විද්යා දෙපාර්තුමේන්තුවෙන් සිදු කරන ලද අනතුරු ඇඟවීම් රජය විසින් නොසලකා හැරීම, ජිවිතාරක්ෂක කටයුතු සහ ආපදා සහන සේවා කටයුතු නිසි පරිදි සිදු නොවීම, නායයාම් සහ ජලගැලීම්වලට ගොදුරුව අතුරුදහන්වූවන් සෙවීමේ කටයුතු මන්දගාමිව සිදුවීම මෙහිදී නැගෙන චෝදනා අතර වෙයි.ඒ අතරම මෙවැනි ආන්තික කාලගුණික තත්ත්වයන් ඇතිවිමට... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
National Development Bank PLC NDB Bank proudly partnered with Kandy City Centre as the Official Banking Partner of Splash Shopping Fiesta 2025, the biggest shopping festival of the season, held from 24th to 28th December. The event brought together an exciting blend of retail, entertainment, and festive cheer, creating a vibrant shopping experience for customers in the Central Province during the year-end season. As the Official Banking Partner, NDB Bank played a key role in enhancing the overall experience by offering exclusive banking privileges to shoppers. NDB cardholders who participated in the Fiesta were able to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Ferentino Tyre Corporation plant in Horana In a remarkable rise to the top, Ferentino Tyres has emerged as the undisputed leader in Sri Lanka’s Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) tyre market, commanding an extraordinary 75 percent value share, the company stated. Within a short span of time, Ferentino has transformed the industry landscape, winning the trust of leading automobile manufacturers and setting a new benchmark for quality, safety and performance. Ferentino’s journey is a story of innovation, credibility and excellence. By consistently delivering world-class tires tailored... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News The Ministry of Education and Higher Education is currently considering three alternative solutions to address a controversial page in the recently printed Grade 6 English module, developed by the National Institute of Education (NIE). Secretary to the Ministry, Nalaka Kaluwewa, stated that education experts are discussing whether to remove the problematic page and complete the book with or without a new printed replacement. The goal is to resolve the issue at minimum cost without damaging the overall content of the material. Discussions are also underway with the Department of Educational Publications... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News The government is digging its own grave through its current actions, according to Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa. Speaking to the media after a religious ceremony in Seenigama, he noted that the National People’s Power (NPP) engaged in various political activities over the past year during a period that proved especially difficult for the public. He stated that since the NPP administration took office, citizens suffer significantly due to the imposition of unbearable taxes. The MP pointed out that the government... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
Top News Lk https://youtu.be/H_VSx0qVt-o... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
Voyagium https://youtu.be/UNxqMq1ZmKk... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/01/26)
By Rohana R. Wasala HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS! Why is national identity so important for a people? AI provides us with an answer worth understanding critically (Caveat: Even AI wisdom should be subjected to the Buddha’s advice to the young Kalamas): ‘A strong sense of identity is crucial for a people as it fosters belonging, builds self-worth, guides behavior, and provides resilience, allowing individuals to feel connected, make meaningful choices aligned with their values, and maintain mental well-being even amidst societal changes or challenges, acting as a foundation for individual and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
ජයන්ත විජේසිංහ සංවිධායක / ආරම්භක සහ විධායක සාමාජික වැසි වනාන්තර සුරකින්නෝ සංවිධානය වසර 21ක් ප්රමාද සිංහරාජයේ ඉඩම් කඩිනමින් පවරාගන්නැයි වැසි වනාන්තර සුරකින්නෝ ඉල්ලයි. දැනටමත් අක්කර 1000ක් පමණ තේ වගාවට කියා කපලා. 2004 වසරේ ආරම්භ කර ඇති සිංහරාජ වනාන්තරය ආශ්රිත LRC ඉඩම් හෙක්ටයාර 2500ක් අත්පත්කරගැනීම් සහ අනෙකුත් හඳුනාගත් ඉඩම් අත්පත්කරගැනීම් 2026 වසර තුළ සම්පූර්ණ කිරීම සඳහා කඩිනම් ක්රියාමාර්ග ගැනීමට කරන ඉල්ලීමයි! සිංහරාජ වනාන්තරය ශ්රී ලංකාවේ අතිශය වැදගත් ජෛව විවිධත්ව උරුමයක් වන අතර, එය යුනෙස්කෝ ලෝක උරුම ස්ථානයක් හා ජාතික උරුමයක් ලෙස නීතිමය වශයෙන් හඳුනාගෙන ඇති වනාන්තර පද්ධතියකි. එවන් පසුබිමක, සිංහරාජ වනාන්තරය හා එය ආශ්රිත සංවේදී... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Rodrigo Guillot The False Gen-Z (Aragalaya) Protests, Paid Media Influencers and Mexican Fascism Last November, Mexico experienced protests by the right-wing opposition under the guise of “Generation Z,” which promoted violent tactics and an extreme right-wing agenda against the current Mexican government for regime change much as in Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya in 2022. To understand the context of these events, Rodrigo Guillot, who holds a degree in International Relations and is an activist with Mexico’s National Regeneration Movement (Morena), has contributed to the debate. Last November, Mexico experienced protests by the right-wing opposition under the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Rare Historical Photos In June of 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon. In June of 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon. He was attempting to show that to fight all forms of oppression on equal terms, Buddhism too, needed to have its martyrs. John F. Kennedy said in reference to a photograph of Duc on fire: “No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
AI Overview Senaka Weeraratna is an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka who has been a key figure in legal actions against noise pollution. He notably served as an intervenient litigant (8th respondent) in the landmark 2007 case Ashik v. Bandula and Others. Role in Ashik v. Bandula (2007) In this case, which initially centered on loudspeaker restrictions at a mosque in Weligama, Senaka Weeraratna intervened to represent the interests of the general public affected by noise. Legal Argument: He contended that the unrestricted use of loudspeakers violates the fundamental rights... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Courtesy Adaderana The process of transferring Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) assets to six newly established companies must be completed before February 1, 2026, the Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, Professor Udayanga Hemapala has notified the CEB. It is reported that Professor Hemapala has issued the relevant directive in writing to the General Manager of the CEB. The CEB has planned to implement it under six companies in the future under the restructuring program. Accordingly, steps are currently being taken to systematically transfer all assets owned by the CEB to the respective... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
National Development Bank PLC National Development Bank PLC (NDB Bank) reaffirmed its commitment to national recovery and long-term resilience by extending its support to the Rebuild Sri Lanka Fund, a national initiative established to strengthen recovery efforts and support the rebuilding of communities affected by recent challenges faced by the country. The contribution was officially handed over at the Presidential Secretariat, underscoring NDB Bank’s continued partnership with national institutions in advancing collective efforts aimed at restoring livelihoods, rebuilding infrastructure, and fostering sustainable recovery. Through this initiative, the Bank reinforces its belief that economic stability and social... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Bandula Kendaragama Dear Sir / Madam, According to international dam safety industry practice, "controlled copies" of the Dam Safety Emergency Management Plans shall be prepared, reviewed, tested and issued prior to commissioning of the dam / reservoir, thereafter, shall be tested and updated annually or as and when required. A sample of the Register of Controlled copies are given below as a guide. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me Bandula.Kendaragama gmail.com Regards, Bandula Kendaragama WhatsApp No +61403204066 (Please advise your WhatsApp No) ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News The Director General of the National Institute of Education (NIE), Professor Manjula Vithanapathirana, has resigned from her post following the massive controversy surrounding a new Grade 6 English language learning module. Professor Vithanapathirana has reportedly decided to step down until the official investigation into the matter is concluded. The Ministry of Education are probing the potential negligence that allowed the controversial content to reach the hands of students.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Udaya Gammanpila https://youtu.be/eAHNdTO0YP4... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Divaina Online https://youtu.be/ic4YCje80iM... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Iraj Show and 3 more https://youtu.be/sDHVHfg_goU... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Rataviru Vlog https://youtu.be/1v2ELku4J14... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
By Sena Thoradeniya A controversy has emerged, creating space for conspiracy theories regarding who persuaded the former Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to accept the interim presidency following the resignation of GR in 2022. The question of whether the US Ambassador Julie Chung or Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay was responsible for persuading him remains contested. The controversy has generated speculation and competing narratives. Wimal Weerawansa, in his “Nine, The Hidden Story” (2023) attributed the intervention to Julie Chung. My own study, “Galle Face Protest: Systems Change or Anarchy” (2023) arrives at a similar conclusion, though through... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Media Release Bandula Kendaragama Dear Newspaper Editor,The opening of spillway gates at the Kotmale Dam and the resulting flooding of downstream settlements and urban areas, including Gampola, Weligalle, Gelioya, Peradeniya town, the University of Peradeniya, Botanical Gardens, Getambe Temple, Kandy courts complex etc., attracted international attention. The incident highlighted the necessity of examining dams-related flood events from multiple perspectives, particularly dam safety and operational decision-making, the effectiveness of the communication and early-warning systems, evacuation procedures for at-risk populations and livestock, and the protection of property and critical infrastructure. The objective of this Media Release is to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
විසල් මහනුවර වැඩසටහෙනේ වාණිජ ජාලයේ හිටපු ලේඛම් ,පාලිත ආරියරත්න මහනුවර මහා නගර සභාව විසින් ලබන ජනවාරි 01 වනදා සිට සියලුම ආකාරයේ වීදි වෙළඳාම් සම්පූර්ණයෙන් තහනම් කිරීමට තීරණය කර ඇත. නගරයේ පිරිසිදුකම සහ සුන්දරත්වය රැකගැනීමත්, මහජනතාවට නිදහසේ ගමන් කිරීමට අවහිරයක් නොවීමත් මෙම තීරණයේ ප්රධාන අරමුණ ලෙස නගරාධිපතිවරයා සඳහන් කළේය. මෙම තීරණය නගර මධ්යයට පමණක් නොව, මුළු මහනුවර නගර සභා බල ප්රදේශයම ආවරණය කරයි. නමුත් මෙම තීරණය දෙස විවිධ ආකාරයෙන් බලන පිරිසක් සිටින බැවින් මෙහි ඇත්ත නැත්ත සොයාබැලීමට මේ දින කිහිපයේ විදි වෙළදුන් සහ කඩසාප්පු වෙලදුන්ගෙන්ද අසා දැනගත් කාරණා බොහෝය. ඒවා කෙටියෙන් මෙසේ සදහන් කල හැක. 1.සමහර වෙළදුන්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
The6Sixes https://youtu.be/XqzEfDIh6AQ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Dr Sarath Obeysekera Colombo Dockyard’s majority shareholder, Onomichi Dockyard of Japan, recently divested 51% of its shares to an Indian shipyard. The transaction, I am informed, was carefully structured by Sri Lankan legal and financial professionals, without ministerial influence. The final stage is now underway, with additional shares being issued to existing shareholders. This development brought back memories. At the time of privatization, the Government had offered 10% of the shares to the Dockyard workers. However, when I took over the Shipyard under Japanese management, more than a year after... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Courtesy Daily Mirror Probe launched against Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Minister Bimal Rathnayake, Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister Kumara Jayakody, Minister Sunil Handunnetti, Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has initiated a probe under the Money Laundering Act The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has initiated an investigation into the alleged assets of six ministers of the current NPP government under the Money Laundering Act, according to a letter from it. According to a copy of the letter which the Daily Mirror has... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
By Rathindra Kuruwita, Courtesy The Diplomat The year revealed immense political energy, especially among younger generations, but also the persistence of patronage, intolerance, and strategic mistrust. Students participate in demonstrations at Chitwan in Nepal to protest against government corruption, Sep. 8, 2025.Credit: Wikipedia/ हिमाल सुवेदी Every year is eventful in South Asia. But 2025 wasn’t just turbulent; it destabilized the region structurally. This was due to the convergence of multiple shocks. Many countries in the region experienced domestic political upheaval, interstate military escalation, and climate disasters. Long-held assumptions on the role of exports, especially to developed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Courtesy Daily Mirror Government delays the appointment of the Auditor General to secure a party-aligned nominee Govt should decide what is needed to be done with foreign assistance Funding post-disaster rebuilding through high-interest borrowing is risky Govt should reconsider proposed expressways Kandy, Ratnapura are fragile cities, fresh urban planning needed United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka, in an interview with Daily Mirror, responds to questions about the government’s alleged failure to take measures for the mitigation of Ditwah impact, the delay in the appointment... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Kamanthi Wickramasinghe Courtesy Daily Mirror Sri Lanka was not ready for Cyclone Ditwah, both in terms of the intensity of rainfall and winds, and also in terms of infrastructure. Even though Sri Lanka discussed about incorporating disaster-resilient infrastructure post-Tsunami, many of these discussions remained in black and white. In this backdrop, hydrology experts underscore the fact that Sri Lanka should prioritise on proactive planning, resilient infrastructure and community readiness, at least now. In a candid interview with the Daily Mirror, Lakshman Galagedara, Professor in hydrology and agrogeophysics at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, explained the importance... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) has blocked access to a website that was referenced in a Grade 6 English language module, following mounting public concern over its inclusion in printed school learning material. The regulator confirmed that access to the website has been restricted through all Sri Lankan internet service providers, citing the need to prevent further exposure while authorities examine how the reference appeared in an official educational publication.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) suspended the party membership of Colombo Municipal CouncillorSohra Buhari with immediate effect after she voted in favour of the Colombo Municipal Council budget. Party General Secretary Nizam Kariapper issued a letter stating that party leader Rauff Hakeem personally instructed opposition members to vote against the budget proposal. The SLMC identifies the decision to ignore these directives as a serious breach of party discipline.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
Courtesy Hiru News Share Post Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser, Namal Rajapaksa, has accused the government of deliberately delaying the appointment of a permanent Auditor General to facilitate high-level corruption. Speaking to the media, the Member of Parliament pointed out that the crucial oversight position has remained vacant for eight months, following a standoff between the President and the Constitutional Council. According to Rajapaksa, the President’s attempts to install... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/01/26)
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