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Daily FT - September 13, 2025

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In this issue

September 13, 2025

Rs. 491 m spent on Ex-Presidents, widows since 2017

THE Government has disclosed that Rs. 491.2 million has been spent on allowances and benefits for Ex-Presidents and their widows from 2017 up to the first half of 2025.

1 mins

Chaudhary Group strikes defiant note: 'They burnt our buildings, not our dreams’

LAST week, Nepal was rocked by its most violent upheaval in recent memory. What began last Monday as a self-styled “Gen Z protest” against corruption, nepotism, and a clampdown on social media, spiralled into nationwide chaos after security forces opened fire on crowds.

3 mins

Ravi warns $ 7.2 b reserve target hurts households

UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake yesterday told Parliament that Sri Lanka’s plan to raise foreign reserves to $ 7.2 billion by December 2025 under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility could place additional burdens on households and small businesses.

1 mins

Mahinda decries political terrorism of personal revenge

SRI Lanka is experiencing “political terrorism” fuelled by personal vendettas and a breakdown of discipline and professionalism, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday.

1 mins

Sri Lanka stumped over tourism identity

Top official says any new campaign has to reflect current situation

3 mins

Elon Musk's reign as world's richest man ends as Ellison gains over KSh 13 trillion

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has overtaken Elon Musk to become the world's richest person, ending Musk's nearly year- long dominance ■Ellison's net worth surged by $ 101 b in a single day after Oracle reported strong quarterly results ■Oracle's stock price soared 40% on investor confidence in its aggressive expansion into artificial intelligence and cloud computing

1 mins

President says tax incentives depends on Govt. revenue performance, economic stability

AKD meets apparel sector representatives for pre-Budget discussion Says Govt. committed to building essential infrastructure required by industries, investors Instructs officials to study industry challenges, proposals and develop action plan

2 mins

Chinese envoy meets Ranil

EX-PRESIDENT Ranil Wickremesinghe met Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong in Colombo on Thursday.

1 mins

Kabir Hashim appointed COPA Chairman

MAIN Opposition SJB MP Kabir Hashim was yesterday appointed as the new Chair of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA).

1 mins

President says...

Representatives from the Joint Apparel Association Forum IAAF), the Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA), as well as small and medium-scale entrepreneurs in the apparel sector, presented their budget proposals relevant to their respective areas, the PMD said.

1 mins

New think tank SASSRI to boost maritime security and sustainability in South Asia

Experts called for interdisciplinary research, strategic thought and collaboration to advance economic, maritime and environmental security of region

3 mins

President asks Provincial and Central Government to work in unison

AKD meets Provincial Governors, Chief Ministers ahead of 2026 Budget Says provincial institutions not instruments to retain political power Central-Provincial alignment key to development

1 mins

Sri Lanka hosts “Ceylon Tea – Finest Evening” to promote trade, tourism, and Ceylon Tea in Thailand

THE Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bangkok concluded a key trade and tourism promotional event titled “Ceylon Tea—Finest Evening” held on 1 September, at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bangkok.

1 mins

Hayleys Fentons, Hayleys Electronics achieve AEO Tier 1 Certification from Sri Lanka Customs

HAYLEYS Fentons Ltd., and Hayleys Electronics Ltd., have secured the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Tier I status, officially awarded by Sri Lanka Customs recently.

1 mins

EFL delivers seamless logistics for Richardson Serendib 5 MW solar power plant

EXPO Lanka Freight Ltd., (EFL) Project Division, has been the logistics partner for the Richardson Serendib 5 MW Solar Power Plant in Hiripitiya, Kurunegala, a landmark project that strengthens Sri Lanka’s renewable energy portfolio.

2 mins

EU-funded Energy Management Forum sets stage for long-term efficiency in Sri Lankan industry

SRI Lanka’s progress towards building a skilled workforce of industrial energy managers took centre stage on 29 August, as more than 200 industry leaders, government officials and representatives from the international community participated in the Energy Management Systems Forum 2025.

2 mins

Appreciation of biodiversity in Sri Lanka

BEFORE I even knew anything else about Sri Lanka, I found out that it had an amazing biodiversity and abundance of life. This was the foremost thing that brought me to this country.

2 mins

Introducing Karina Starnes and her tourism-based mission in Deniyaya

Investment. This is the golden goose that Sri Lanka wishes tomanifest more consistently. While there are many diverse sectors where investment is needed, one significant area is tourism. The Harmony Page, as a holistic, activist oriented integrated form of mass communication, tying up the spiritual with the material, and thereby focusing seamlessly through many areas of national and international humanistic interest, has dedicated much of its space to ideate on how tourism can be developed to protect mother earth and her children. Today we feature a German tourism investor, Karina Starnes who has invested in this country to set up a nature sanctuary in a remote village in Deniyaya, where there is a vacuum in employment opportunities, scarcity of public transport and lack of streetlights. This interview will trace the soul of what investment should be, dispelling the myth that ‘investors’ are found only in plush locations of five-star hotels where investment boosting conferences are held at much cost to the nation. Karina, who arrived in Sri Lanka 13 years ago as a backpacker, freeing herself from her profession as an employee at a leading advertising agency in Germany, shares how she answered the ‘call’ from a Banyan tree in a former tea growing land in Naindawa in Deniyaya. This location had been an ancient place of worship (carried out by tea plantation workers), dedicated to Hindu deities of Shiva and Kali. Karina will tell the reader how she staked her entire life thus far, to create an authentic space for humans to rethink their own earth journey. Her goal? To awaken human consciousness to the mystical soul of earth, where flowing rivers, zig zag of solid rocks, gnarled trees and open skies provide a paradox to the tarred and cemented world that we have created and labelled it ‘life.’ Yes, this is tourism, as Karina explains, but in another sense it is not. It is a mission. A personal odyssey that uprooted her from everything that was familiar; her home, job, family and friends to pursue what is idealistic, as opposed to the materialistic. She was a European woman in an unknown land and the only foreign investor in the area. However by now she is much loved and respected by the entire Deniyaya; known to carry several large bags and backpack to do her marketing in town and walk up the narrow 10 minute unmotorable (by four-wheel) route to her resort, with the heavy load, often sparing her staff the task. En route to the Natural Mystic Sanctuary set up by her, and asking around for directions to the place, this writer discovered that Karina is somewhat of an icon. Her genuine simplicity is known by vegetable sellers, clay pottery shops and three-wheeler drivers, one of whom had pitched her photograph and the name of her nature sanctuary within his three-wheeler (tuk tuk). Below are excerpts of the interview with Karina:

7 mins

Arjun Rampal to dazzle Signature Glam at City of Dreams Sri Lanka

■Miss Universe India 2023 Shweta Sharda joins for an unforgettable weekend on 19-20 September

1 mins

Geoffrey Bawa Trust announces line-up of events in September

PROGRAMING for the Geoffrey Bawa Trust's current \"Ways of Knowing\" exhibition is now in full swing. September is packed with the Trust's regular events, including the monthly curatorial exhibition tour, as well as some exciting new offerings, such as a guided park walk and poetry open mic night. The Trust is also excited to be starting a new series of children's events.

1 mins

MMCA Sri Lanka joins key regional curatorial platforms

THE Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (MMCA Sri Lanka) participated in a series of prominent regional curatorial events in July and August 2025.

2 mins

New resident at White House: Barron Trump moves in

THE New York Post reports that Barron Trump, the youngest child of US President Donald Trump, is currently residing at the White House while attending classes at New York University.

1 mins

Sri Lanka shines at Embassy Festival 2025 in The Hague

THE Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), participated at the \"Embassy Festival 2025\" held in The Hague on 6 September.

1 mins

Non-compliance with building regulations must be dealt with strictly

RICE mill magnate Dudley Sirisena who recently addressed the Annual General Meeting of the Business Traders Association Hingurakgoda used the event to reply to recent claims by Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha that Sirisena’s hotel was built on a reservation area of the Parakarama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa and that the outer wall of the hotel should be demolished.

2 mins

Public property, ours or theirs?

AS the dust settles on the hullabaloo surrounding the arrest of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, we the public, are left wondering what all the fuss was about.

7 mins

When politics meets drug trade: Sri Lanka Customs under fire

THE Middeniya-Thalawa chemical haul shows how deeply narcotics have penetrated our borders. Unless Sri Lanka Customs comes clean on red-flagged containers, public trust is bound to collapse.

2 mins

Triple threat of malnutrition puts children in South Asia at risk, UNICEF warns

Unhealthy food environments are fuelling a worsening nutrition crisis for children in the region

3 mins

HRCSL urges enhanced resource allocation, institutional reforms for Sri Lanka Police

THE Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has formally written to Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala, presenting a set of recommendations aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the Sri Lanka Police to effectively uphold the rule of law while ensuring compliance with international human rights standards.

2 mins

Gaza genocide: Global North's premeditated crime

ISRAEL would \"form a part of a wall of defence for Europe in Asia, an outpost of civilisation against barbarism\". This was how Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism - the Jewish response to Christian Europe's antisemitism, couched his idea of Israel to win the hearts and minds of European powers that were no strangers to settler colonialism.

5 mins

Strike on Doha, strike against the order: Time for meaningful response

By striking in the heart of Doha, Israel has not only targeted individuals but also the concept of a safe space for mediation

6 mins

Can Sri Lanka repeat their 2022 Asia Cup success?

Nine surviving members in the present team Take on Bangladesh today in crucial Group B opener

2 mins

Link Natural tipped to win Cup segment

THE 53rd Mastercard Mercantile Rugby Football Association conducted rugby sevens, which was played at the CR & FC ground in Longdon Place.

1 mins

Vidyartha and Sylvester's lock horns in rugby

VIDYARTHA College and St. Sylvester’s College will play for the 11th P.M.L. Banda & B. Nillegoda Memorial Trophy in their annual Under 19 rugby encounter at the Bogambara Stadium today (13).

1 mins

Ambassadors Cup in Hill Country on Monday

NESTLED in the heart of Sri Lanka’s Hill Country the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club is preparing to welcome distinguished guests and competitors for the prestigious Ambassadors Cup on Monday from 7 a.m. onwards.

1 mins

Bradby Golf powered by NDB Privilege Banking, celebrates decade of prestige with historic tie

THE milestone 10th Bradby Golf Encounter, powered by NDB Privilege Banking, concluded on a remarkable note as the Old Trinitians and Old Royalists finished in a dramatic tie at the Victoria Golf Resort.