by Shenali Waduge · On 09 September 2025, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam issued an official letter endorsing and approving LGBTQ tourism in Sri Lanka. That letter was sent to the foreign-funded organization Equal Ground, giving them written official access to Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, its staff, institutions, and policy framework. This is not a misunderstanding”. This is an official policy […]

Dr Sarath Obeysekera Prepared by: Dr. Sarath ObeysekeraChairman – Advisory Board on Offshore and Marine Industry DevelopmentUnder the Export Development Board (EDB), IDMS welding school Background Sri Lanka’s shipbuilding, offshore fabrication, and heavy engineering industries face a growing shortage of certified welders meeting international standards (ASME, AWS, ISO 9606). Traditional welding training methods, while effective, are […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS In 2012, the Department of Immigration and Emigration   had   asked  Mobitel   to establish and operate an online gateway for those wishing to apply for visas to Sri Lanka.  Mobitel   provided the  Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)  system  for  the Department . This was  tried out on a trial basis  on 1 October 2011 and […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS   Revised 12.20.25 The contract for issuing on-arrival visas at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) was  taken over by    VFS Global   on April 17, 2024. This matter had previously been satisfactorily  handled by the officers of the Sri Lankan Immigration Department , without any complaints. After VFS Global  took over, those applying for […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The tourist industry protested  vehemently over  the VFS take over  at Katunayake. but the Ministry ignored the protests and allowed VFS to continue regardless. Then something happened  and the  issue went public .  On 3 May 2024,   television news  showed  an enraged Sri Lankan at the Katunayake International Airport complaining loudly over denial […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Department of Immigration ignored the Supreme Court order and continued with VFS.   Minister Alles held a special  media conference after the Supreme Court order to explain why they could not obey the Supreme Court Order. He was flanked, I think, by the Permanent secretary,  Vyani Gunatilaka and  Harsha Illukpitiya, Controller General  of […]

Press Release  Admiral Dr Jayanath Colombage, a distinguished fellow of the Pathfinder Foundation, took part in the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Press Release Pathfinder Foundation Participates in 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in China Admiral Dr Jayanath Colombage, a distinguished fellow of the Pathfinder Foundation, took part in the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, held in Beijing, China,  representing […]

ශ්‍යාම් නුවන් ගනේවත්ත Divaina පසුගිය කාලයේ මුහුණදුන් දරුණුතම ආර්ථික අර්බුදවලින් මිදී ආර්ථිකය ස්ථාවර වෙමින් පවතින නමුත්, එවන් තත්ත්වයක් නැවත ඇතිවීමේ සැලකිය යුතු අවදානමක් පවතින බව ස්වාධීන අධ්‍යයන කණ්ඩායමක් විසින් සකසන ලද වාර්තාවක් මගින් අනතුරු අඟවා ඇත. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වර්තමානය වන විට තීරණාත්මක සන්ධිස්ථානයක සිටින බව පෙන්වාදෙන එම වාර්තාව මගින්, මෙකී අවදානම හේතුවෙන් දැන් අත්කරගනිමින් පවතින […]

Courtesy Hiru News The Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate today (October 12) granted permission to the police to obtain CCTV footage relevant to the full investigation launched into the recent incident between a lawyer and a police constable within the Mount Lavinia Court premises. The permission was granted following submissions made today by the Mount Lavinia […]

Courtesy Hiru News Police Headquarters has announced that the Mount Lavinia Headquarters Police have commenced an investigation into a senior lawyer who accompanied the attorney allegedly assaulted by a police officer in the Mount Lavinia Court premises. Police Headquarters issued a statement confirming that the investigation targets the senior lawyer for allegedly swearing at and […]

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