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This budget marks continuity rather than change. It falls within the IMF’s parameters and maintains the discipline characteristic of Sri Lanka’s post-crisis budgets. But capital expenditure and implementation remain question marks, even for the government’s own.

The Kandyans will elect the next Diyawadana Nilame this evening. He will oversee the tooth relic and the Maligawa’s worldly affairs. Seven candidates are contesting, including a university lecturer, a war veteran, and the incumbent — who’s accused of fraud. Women are still barred from voting.

Police detained the suspected assassin in the Weligama murder under the PTA. Some evidence is likely inadmissible in court. The SJB, which could lose control of the council, claims that the government created the conditions for the assasination.

Dhammika Perera’s buying spree on the stock exchange, coupled with his supermarket entry plans, signal investor confidence in consumer purchasing power. But concerns remain on Perera’s concentration of market and lobbying power.

System migration led to the government cloud’s failure last week. As it went offline, services like birth certificate issuance and police clearance also came to a halt, exposing deep vulnerabilities in the state’s push for a digital-first future.

Sri Lanka’s birth rate is declining. Births dropped during pandemic years, but even after, fertility rates didn't recover. The numbers are concerning but solutions can also mean adaptation.

Mannar residents say they’re paying the price for Sri Lanka's turn to wind energy. Adani has left, but local players have come in, raising old fears. Residents are protesting, having faced severe flooding in recent years.

Following further amendments to the law, long-awaited CEB reforms are underway. Implementation hiccups resulted in threats of a strike - unions are currently on a go-slow. What went wrong and what does it mean for power prices?

Shipping lines are moving their cargo elsewhere. Earlier this year, Colombo lost the Himalaya service. That loop accounted for about six percent of its volume, and is operated by the world’s number one line, MSC. Colombo’s loss was India’s gain. Himalaya now docks at Kerala’s new deep-water port.

It’s that time of year again. As they have for over a decade, ministers, diplomats, and activists from Colombo make their annual pilgrimage to the UN in Geneva. Sri Lanka has been on the HRC’s agenda since 2012. But, sixteen years after the end of the war, has the pilgrimage become a farce?