Category: Daily Financial Times

The Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) is set to host the much-looked-forward-to North East Monsoon Meet 2025 sponsored by Dialog Enterprise, bringing together over 150 golfers for one of the most prestigious events on the club’s annual calendar.

This tournament will tee off today at 6 a.m. promising two weekends of high-quality golf at Sri Lanka’s oldest and most iconic Golf course in the country.

Among the highlights of the meet are two of the club’s most coveted trophies the Clifford Cup for the Best Nett Score over two rounds, and the Nandasena Perera Challenge Trophy awarded for the Best Gross Score across the same period, on 15 and 22 November. These events will show the consistency and skill of the top golfers in the field.

The Annual Gold Medal contested for the Best Gross Score in the first round, will also be a key feature, adding further prestige to the opening weekend’s play. It remains one of the oldest and most respected titles at RCGC.

Adding more excitement, the RCGC centenary Trophy will span over four rounds on 15, 16, 22 and 23 November rewarding the most consistent performer over both weekends. (SJ)

As South Asia once again stands on the edge of heightened tension, the debate on the future of extremism has resurfaced with striking urgency. The recent explosion in Delhi, reportedly linked to the Pakistan-based militant outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), the decision of the Sri Lankan cricket team to cut short its tour citing security concerns, and the travel advisories issued by the UK and the US all reveal how quickly the regional temperature is rising.

It is in this very context that some academics and policymakers are choosing to revisit the theme of ‘The Shifting Landscape of Global Extremism.’ The timing is more than intellectual-it is strategic. When the region heats up, discussions on extremism are never neutral; they are tactical and politically charged.

Extremism: A man-made phenomenon

Extremism does not arise naturally. It is crafted-shaped, manipulated, and sustained by human ambition and geopolitical calculation. History shows how the meaning of ‘extremism’ evolves to suit the interests of the powerful.

After 9/11, the West’s war on terror targeted religious extremism. Following ISIS’s fall, global focus shifted toward cyber radicalisation and hybrid extremism. Today, we see yet another mutation-where ideological extremism fuses with technology, populism, and global grievance.

This transformation shows not retreat, but reinvention. Extremism has simply found new arenas and new justifications.

From battlegrounds to broadband: A global shift

Globally, extremist movements are undergoing a metamorphosis. The fall of traditional strongholds like Raqqa or Waziristan has not dismantled extremism-it has merely dispersed it.

1. Rebranding of Ideologies:

Modern extremists increasingly present themselves as ‘freedom fighters,’ ‘defenders of faith,’ or ‘protectors of identity.’ Their language borrows from social justice movements, giving ideological extremism a moral disguise.

2. Digitally Driven Radicalisation:

Recruitment no longer happens in training camps but in encrypted chat rooms and social media networks. The screen has replaced the sermon.

3. Hybrid Extremism:

In the global North, white nationalist and anti-state movements now mirror the structures once used by Islamist groups. In the global South, religion merges with nationalism to produce unpredictable hybrid threats.

4. State-Sponsored Extremism:

Certain states continue to covertly fund, arm, or tolerate extremist groups as strategic assets-fueling instability while denying responsibility.

This fluid global environment sets the stage for South Asia’s renewed volatility, where extremism remains an instrument of both ideology and influence.

The South Asian theatre: Where narratives collide

The Delhi explosion has reawakened fears that South Asia’s old militant networks remain alive beneath the surface. India sees it as another reminder of Pakistan’s unfulfilled counter-terrorism promises. Pakistan, meanwhile, argues that such incidents are exploited to justify anti-Islamic or anti-Pakistan narratives.

For smaller nations like Sri Lanka, these tensions have immediate consequences. The Sri Lankan cricket team’s request to return home echoes the trauma of 2009’s Lahore attack, underlining that sport, too, is hostage to the politics of fear.

The Western response-swift travel warnings and cautious diplomatic statements-illustrates another reality: diminished confidence in the region’s stability.

Thus, when global experts discuss a ‘shifting landscape,’ it is not just ideological; it is geopolitical. Extremism has become a currency of influence, traded in the markets of regional rivalry and international policy.

Is religious extremism in retreat-or just transforming?

Despite the apparent decline of major terrorist networks, religious extremism has not disappeared; it has evolved. Its new forms are less violent but more pervasive-manifesting through media, culture, and identity politics.

Extremist leaders now focus on shaping minds rather than seizing land. The message is refined, the methods more psychological. Online ‘preachers’ and influencers have replaced battlefield commanders, building digital followings that outlive the organisations themselves.

This evolution blurs the line between ideology and activism. The danger is no longer just bombs and guns-but narratives that divide societies, justify intolerance, and sanctify hatred.

When aid becomes a catalyst: The USAID paradox

An often-ignored factor in this transformation is the unintended role of international development. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), designed to foster peace and prosperity, has sometimes-ironically-fueled resentment and ideological backlash.

In countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, USAID’s visible presence was both hope and provocation. Development projects disrupted traditional hierarchies, while their Western image fed extremist propaganda portraying aid as cultural invasion.

When these programs were later scaled down or halted, the vacuum they left deepened local despair. Jobs disappeared, trust eroded, and disillusionment turned into anger-fertile ground for extremist recruitment.

This paradox is best explained through what security analysts term the ‘Three M Phenomenon’-the triad that sustains extremism: Motivation, Men, and Money/Material.

Motivation: The emotional engine

Extremists draw power from grievance. When Western aid enters fragile societies, it is often framed by radicals as ideological infiltration. When it leaves, extremists reframe it as abandonment.

In both cases, the emotional narrative-humiliation, betrayal, resistance-is weaponised for recruitment.

Men: The human resource of extremism

The end of aid programs leaves thousands of educated but unemployed youth adrift. These young people, stripped of

opportunity and identity, become easy prey for extremist recruiters offering purpose, brotherhood, and revenge.

In Pakistan’s tribal belt and post-withdrawal Afghanistan, this dynamic was vividly visible-development’s collapse became extremism’s opportunity.

Money and material: The enablers

Aid inflows once stabilised local economies. But corruption and weak oversight allowed some funds to seep into networks that also served militant logistics. After USAID’s retreat, those same intermediaries turned to illicit trade, diaspora funding, and ideological sponsors.

Thus, even as Western dollars disappeared, new streams of financing emerged-often from religious charities or informal global networks.

From hope to disillusionment

When development is abruptly withdrawn, the resulting vacuum is not merely economic-it is psychological. Populations that once believed in progress feel deceived, and that sense of betrayal can be more radicalising than poverty itself.

Every phase of aid intervention-arrival, operation, and exit-produces its own cycle of extremism. The problem is not aid itself, but the absence of sustainable transition and local ownership.

The global and diplomatic fallout

The new phase of extremism affects the world at every level:

nInternationally: Western disengagement is seen as retreat, creating openings for China, Russia, and Gulf powers to expand influence through alternative aid or religious diplomacy.

nRegionally: South Asia faces an ideological contest between secular governance and revivalist religiosity.

nBilaterally: Donor-recipient relations strain as both sides exchange accusations-of manipulation, corruption, or hypocrisy.

nMultilaterally: Fragmented counter-terror and development frameworks weaken cooperation, allowing extremist networks to move more freely across borders.

From counter-terrorism to counter-transformation

Religious extremism has not been defeated-it has been redesigned. It now spreads through pixels, ideas, and manipulated grievances. The challenge for states is no longer just dismantling organisations, but confronting ideologies that mutate with each global shift.

Aid and development cannot be isolated from security. When humanitarian programs are politicised or withdrawn without continuity, they risk becoming the very catalysts of the extremism they sought to prevent.

To build lasting peace, nations must integrate security, education, and development under one holistic vision. Extremism may be man-made-but so too is stability.

The real battle ahead is not just for territory or ideology-but for the human mind.

The South Centre Executive Director Dr. Carlos Correa last week observed that the current protectionist policies of the major western powers may paradoxically strengthen cooperation among developing countries, creating new opportunities for the ‘Global South’ to reshape the global economic order through strategic approaches and regional collaboration.

Referring specifically to the confrontational U.S. trade policies driving unexpected shifts among emerging economies, he noted that ‘The US is helping India and China to come closer, and if India and China work together, the global economy and politics could change dramatically.’

Dr. Correa, a leading authority on international trade, innovation, and intellectual property, made these observations when on 3 November 2025, during a visit to Sri Lanka to deliver the Centenary Gamani Corea Memorial Lecture, he participated in the inaugural RCSS Strategic Dialogue on the theme ‘Research Priorities for the ‘Global South’ in Challenging Times’.

Moderated by the RCSS Executive Director Amb. (Retd.) Ravinatha Aryasinha, it brought together serving and retired senior public servants, diplomats, academics, heads of research institutes and civil society representatives.

Dr. Correa observed that over the past 10 years South-South trade has expanded to around 40% of global trade, while substantial investments in science and technology amongst major states in the global south – such as China, Brazil, and India have also increased significantly. This shift represents a transition toward greater economic pluralism and regional agency, demanding systematic research and policy analysis. However, he identified two tensions that undermine effective scholarship: the challenge of balancing academic freedom with policy relevance, and also the distorting influence of donor-driven agendas – where foreign funding dictates research parameters. Drawing examples from the work of the Geneva based South Centre which undertakes research and analysis on various international policy areas and helps countries of the South to evolve common negotiating positions, he posited that research must remain objective and fact-based, while reflecting Global South perspectives and priorities.

Dr. Correa challenged the conventional theories that emphasise that development flows naturally from static comparative advantages. ‘It’s not about what you have, but how you use it,’ he argued. He emphasised that developing countries need comprehensive research on industrial strategy and value addition, moving beyond raw material exports to capture value through domestic processing and manufacturing. Positing that ‘knowledge is essential for development,’ he recommended that developing countries must develop dynamic comparative advantages through strategic investment in education, innovation, and technological capability.

The dialogue also grappled with fundamental questions about the coherence and continued relevance of the ‘Global South’ as an analytical category. Dr. Correa stated that despite the vast heterogeneity of the ‘Global South’, persisting global structural inequalities both necessitate and justify collective frameworks. He said China’s economy now surpasses America’s in absolute PPP terms, yet the United States maintains extraordinary influence through its dominance of the IMF and World Bank, the international dollar system, and technology. Understanding the mismatch between economic weight and institutional power has emerged as a critical research priority for scholars and policymakers.

Dr. Correa remarked that addressing these questions require serious examination of how asymmetric trade agreements perpetuate dependency, such as the U.S. imposing tariffs of up to nineteen percent on exports from countries like Malaysia and Cambodia while facing zero tariffs on its own exports to these nations. Equally important is investigating the mechanisms through which technological dominance reinforces power imbalances, and how Southern institutions can build alternative frameworks for equitable economic governance. Additionally, scholars also need to document the evolution of South-South cooperation, tracking how bilateral trade arrangements, regional financing mechanisms, and emerging currency diversification efforts gradually challenge established hierarchies while respecting the diverse contexts and capabilities of developing nations. Furthermore, he explained that developing nations remain severely under-represented despite their growing economic weight, highlighting that alternatives to the traditional Bretton Woods institutions, such as BRICS and a number of regional and bilateral arrangements, signal meaningful shifts toward pluralism in the international economic architecture, phenomena requiring active documentation and analysis by ‘Global South’ research communities.

However, it was also acknowledged that substantial shifts in the international economic order, particularly de-dollarisation and alternative trade and economic frameworks, will be drawn out and take time, preventing the ‘Global South’ from taking advantage of the immediate opportunities available, which could change over time. This challenge underscores the urgency of developing robust, policy-relevant research that can guide incremental but strategic actions in the near term, while building toward longer-term structural transformation.

Amb. (Retd.) Ravinatha Aryasinha in closing the dialogue, thanked Dr. Correa for sharing the South Centre’s current thinking and providing useful comparisons with the situation in developing countries and regions across the globe, which will help as Sri Lanka and more broadly the South Asian region navigates the present challenges. In turn, Dr. Correa encouraged Sri Lankan and South Asian researchers to use the vast network of over 7000 policymakers available to the South Centre to help disseminate their scholarship more broadly with those engaged in comparable research in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

At the commencement of the dialogue a moment of silence was observed in memory of Professor Shelton Kodikara, founder of the RCSS in 1992 and Sri Lanka’s foremost International Relations scholar, on the occasion of his death anniversary, as well as Dr. John Gunaratne, a former Acting Executive Director of RCSS, who passed away recently.

If you were looking to assess the quality and condition of governance in Sri Lanka of late, how well would you set about it? An analytical survey of the relevant (and sometimes irrelevant) stats as essayed by Verité or Advocata, et al.? Or a finger on the popular (or often unpopular) pulse as enterprised by LMD’s biz confidence index?

There are times when the good sense of the usual metrics – managing key macroeconomic indicators, boosting public or investor confidence and delivering tangible results for the consumption of key stakeholders – fails.

Or worse, confuses with contradictory analyses or interpretations. Worst of all, the truth be told, produces effects that are meaningless in the limit. Which is why the polity is more often than not compelled to damn with faint praise their favourites.

Shall we make so bold as to incur the wrath of those who seek fact-based evaluations, and resort to the anecdotal rather than the evidential for once or for the nonce? Or better still, try to distil a semblance of the truth from the horse’s mouth, so to speak?

So rather than busting a gut gauging government’s metier by its performance alone, perhaps an appeal to their personality might offer a different if insightful perspective. Here goes then.

Chuffed to bits

At the end of its first year in power – or at your service, as they would say – the incumbent administration is feeling, not to put too fine a point on it, quite pleased with itself.

All one has to do to discern which way that wind is blowing is give ear to yon madam of the moment these days. That breath of fresh air is no barometer of the true state of the nation nowadays but it is a beginning of an insight into the mindset of a governmental mercury.

If the prime minister’s recent self-congratulatory back pats for her fellows at the helm is anything to go by, as reported in The Hindu, the National People’s Power is doing swimmingly well.

It has brought about macroeconomic stability and proposes to continue along the predicated path although possibly rogue elements in the government have intimated that they will reject some of the IMF’s diktats for economic reforms.

It has also ushered in a new political culture – although critics aren’t entirely convinced that some of the perks offered to MPs by way of double cabs doesn’t spoil that image a tad bit.

It has taken the bull of corruption by its horns and continues to indict and detain at the state’s pleasure a veritable litany of who’s whos from previous governments who strayed down the primrose path of dalliance with state coffers and other national assets on the never-never.

If it is having a hard time convincing its electorate in the public sector to play ball now, then one could still put that minor hiccough down on the positive side of the ledger as a work-in-progress.

After all, it is probably nothing serious; just acid reflux from a recalcitrant ‘government-servant culture’ unable to digest change or stomach demands to improve. Or more to the point, change for the better that could render the pencil-pushers and clock-watchers redundant – KPIs and all that un-Marx-like jazz.

Man’s first estate

Speaking of which… was it amiable derring-do or dismaying amateurishness that led the president being finance minister to propose in Budget 2026 supporting the marginalised plantations community with a monthly two-hundred-rupee boost from state coffers? A noble idea but one doomed by parliamentary procedure and in the face of rabid, shameful opposition.

It was a natural enough follow-up to AKD’s campaign-trail promise to improve the conditions of beleaguered estate workers by paying them a putative Rs. 2,000 daily wage. Not able to twist the arms of Scrooges in corporate Sri Lanka, the prez tapered that in the fiscal plan for a year ahead to two hundred bucks from the Treasury. Now COPF finds fault with the procedure, firm in its foundational premise that governments cannot bailout wage slaves of the private sector. Pity, that.

On the other hand – more questions than answers abound. Was the amiable president led by the dire straits of estate workers into a conceptual fallacy? Or is there something else besides a passionate desire to right the groaning burdens of those workers’ plight, such as going a bridge too far to make good on electoral promises?

Is such a procedural error oversight on the part of presidential advisors? Or some amateurish sleight-of-hand by a leader that affects the grievance little but gains would-be saviours of the labouring classes brownie points at future polls?

To speculate further would be to discredit the man without properly investigating the motive. It is prudent to proceed with the hermeneutic of suspicion in one hand and a hearty handshake in the other! Errare humanum est.

Faux-pas Dept.

Not that the first lady of Sri Lankan politics is far behind in the faux-pas department. That brace of trivial factual mistakes made at the recent Presidential Media Awards was a ball that should not have been dropped by a savant as savvy as she is supposed to be. Where the names of the pioneering Sinhala newspaper and first head of Radio Ceylon were named wrong. Which are all readily verifiable facts in this data-at-your-fingertips age.

Unless one is too busy to double-check even the speeches crafted with the best of intentions but especially ones with possible subversion in mind. Unlikely that it is the first time a bureaucratic stooge inveigled an embarrassing peccadillo. Unsurprising if one’s ethos is charmingly amateurish to begin with… highly intellectual and harmless but agnostic to one’s popularity ratings or performance score – the hallmark of charming amateurs.

Ethos and pathos

Of course, such fumbling and bumbling about is a welcome relief from the ethos of aggrandised professionalism of the past. From autocratic elites who had judges’ homes stoned and ethnic scapegoats’ treasure troves burned in the name of a ‘righteous society’; through authoritarian despots who saved the nation in order to loot the state; to arrogant yet strangely incompetent governors who brought Mother Lanka and all her bankrupt children to their knees.

Not to mention sociable narcissists foisting ‘capitalism with a human face’ on devotees unsuspecting that civil rights and liberties were being raped behind the scenes and often in plain sight. But yielding for the sake of political cohabitation to conservative grandees whose white-collar criminal cabals are still the toast of the town and country if you’re a card-carrying member of the chamber, cocktail circuit and corridors of power clique.

Not that our present governors are not potentially as bad a lot. But as their redoubtable lady premier once said in an intentional moment of jest and pointed critique, the NPP has no experience – including in terms of robbing central banks. And one can but pray, and move civil society institutions, against such possible future depredations.

The ethics of civics

We used to be a nation of diplomatists (a few of global calibre), demagogues able to move a nation’s mighty spirit and break a people’s backbone in the same breath, and daring innovators in the sphere of civics and governance – think Ceylonese heads of UN agencies, free education and healthcare, and debonair foreign ministers.

Today we are in danger of descending from being a democracy of the corrupt into a confederacy of dunces. Often it is hard to say which option one prefers. At least one is safe to critically engage with the powers that be in the perhaps forlorn hope that speaking truth to power will work now as it never did then to further the national interest.

If the bygone era of egregious governance was characterised by abductions, assassinations and the aggressive policing of dissent, the ethos of civics going forward may well be encapsulated by amiability, amateurishness and the assertion of the intention to do their duty by the polity while happily lapsing into apathy.

Commercial Bank has rolled out its new agency banking network, ‘ComBank Shakthi,’ extending formal banking services to underserved communities and expanding the bank’s reach beyond major towns.

In a banking landscape where accessibility and customer convenience are increasingly important, the bank said its move into ComBank Shakthi represents a proactive response to customer needs in distant areas. The model allows the bank to partner with selected third-party agents, typically local businesses or individuals, who act as intermediaries between the bank and its customers, delivering core financial services without the need to establish fully-fledged branches.

Through these authorised agents, Commercial Bank customers will be able to perform essential transactions such as cash deposits, withdrawals, fund transfers, and bill payments at convenient and accessible locations, especially in rural and underserved areas. This facility provides significant convenience by reducing the time and cost customers spend traveling to the nearest branch to meet their financial needs.

The introduction of ComBank Shakthi marks a new chapter in Commercial Bank’s growth and service delivery strategy, reinforcing its position as a customer-focused and inclusive financial institution that continues to evolve with the needs of communities across the nation.

Commercial Bank said its ComBank Shakthi Agency Banking operations are closely integrated with the activities of its Agriculture and Micro Finance Units (AMFU), leveraging the trusted relationships and community connections already established in rural communities through AMFU staff. By combining these strengths, the bank aims to deliver a reliable, technology-backed model that expands access to banking, supports local economies, and fosters sustainable growth.

Explaining the strategic intent behind the initiative, the bank said that ComBank Shakthi supports its goal of bringing banking services closer to all Sri Lankans while maintaining operational efficiency and competitiveness in a market. The model also complements the Bank’s sustainability agenda by promoting equitable access to financial services and empowering communities to save, invest, and grow.

Marking this milestone, Commercial Bank launched the pilot phase of its ComBank Shakthi Agency Banking operations at Iresha Food City in Weerawila, demonstrating the model in action. The event was graced by Commercial Bank COO S. Prabagar, Deputy General Manager Personal Banking S. Ganeshan, Assistant General Manager PBI/SME Mithila Shamini, Assistant General Manager Marketing Ashani Senaratne, Regional Manager Ruwan Panditharathna, Development Credit Department Senior Manager Malika de Silva, and Tissamaharama Branch Manager Amila Rathnayake.

Their presence underscored the bank’s strong commitment to expanding inclusive banking channels and collaborating with partners to reach new communities.

An interim report outlining proposals to establish a formal and scientific salary structure for the public service will be submitted to the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs.

The move comes following a meeting held under the Sub-Committee Chairmanship, MP Chandana Suriyaarachchi this week.

He said the Sub-Committee was appointed by the Ministerial Consultative Committee to review the entire public service, formulate a formal salary framework and elevate professionalism.

MP Suriyaarachchi stated that the Sub-Committee had held extensive discussions with a wide range of stakeholders to understand existing issues in the public service, including salary anomalies and disparities across different categories of employees. Through these engagements, the committee was able to gain a comprehensive picture of the challenges currently faced by public officers.

He noted that the interim report contains the proposals and ideas gathered through this consultative process and aims to lay the foundation for a more systematic, scientific and equitable salary structure applicable to the entire public service. The proposals also cover reforms to service regulations, recruitment procedures, promotions and allowances, with the broader objective of enhancing professionalism across all sectors of the public service.

The Chairman confirmed that the interim report will be formally submitted to the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Affairs for further consideration and necessary action.

The second reading of the Appropriation Bill for the financial year 2026 was passed in Parliament yesterday with a majority of 118 votes. The vote saw 160 MPs supporting the Bill, 42 voting against it and eight abstentions.

Notably, four Opposition MPs, including the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan, along with Palani Thigambaram, Jeevan Thondaman, and V. Radhakrishnan voted in favour of the second reading. Explaining the TPA’s support, Ganesan said it was based on confidence in the President’s commitment to implement a daily wage of Rs. 1,750 for plantation workers.

He added that the wage increase should be applied uniformly across all three State-run plantation companies, the 22 Regional Plantation Companies and smallholder estates in 12 districts.

Ganesan pointed out that the TPA is not focused on scrutinising the internal cost calculations behind the proposed wage, stressing that ensuring payment is an operational responsibility of the Government.

Separately, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) abstained from voting on the second reading of Budget 2026.

MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam told Parliament that while ITAK had initially planned to vote against the Budget over unaddressed Tamil community concerns, the party chose abstention as a gesture of goodwill, trusting that the President will engage with them in upcoming discussions on political, land and accountability issues, and consider Tamil aspirations in a new constitution.

MP Shanakiyan stressed that the abstention signals ITAK’s willingness to continue working constructively with the Government.

On 7 November, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as Finance Minister, presented the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill. Parliamentary debate on the Bill continued over six days from 8 till yesterday.

The Committee Stage debate is scheduled to run for 17 days from 15 November to 5 December, with the Third Reading vote set for 5 December at 6:00 p.m.

The organisers of the Galle Literary Festival (GLF) have announced that the 2026 edition of the Festival will be postponed, as they undertake a comprehensive review of their financing model and operations to ensure a sustainable future.

Since its founding in 2007, the GLF has played a pivotal role in establishing Galle as a leading destination for arts, culture, and creative tourism. Nearly two decades later, Galle has transformed into Sri Lanka’s premier hub for boutique tourism and cultural experiences.

The organisers expressed their gratitude towards existing sponsors, but recognise the need to update the sponsorship model relied on in the past due to times that are changing. Recognising this evolution, the Festival is taking time to reimagine its financial and organisational framework to better align with the region’s current landscape.

‘GLF has worked from the same model for nearly 20 years. The funding challenges the Festival has faced since its return in 2024 prove that it is time for a refresh,’ said Founder and Director Geoffrey Dobbs. ‘The festival has passed through tougher times than this and came out bigger and better than before. I feel positive about the future.’

The GLF will announce its full relaunch plans for 2027 once the restructuring process is complete. In the meantime, it hopes to host smaller literary events and conversations throughout 2026.

International Lifestyle Brand Ltd., has announced its expansion in its leading brands Subway Sri Lanka, the American fast-food chain and Segafredo Caffè, Italian espresso brand, while opening novel venues to its food lovers and coffee lovers, indulging themselves in premium and international flavours at affordable prices in the heart of Colombo.

International Lifestyle Brand Ltd., CEO Himali Rodrigo said, ‘We are excited about the enthusiasm that has been shown by our clientele despite our hardest time. We also look forward in bringing internationally adored food and beverage brands into the Sri Lankan market who loves to experience and indulge themselves in international brand experience.’

Since its entry to the Sri Lankan market, Subway has been evolving, and this has led to its new branch opening at Colombo City Centre (CCC) this October, demonstrating the love that Sri Lankans have for sandwiches and wraps, especially when it can be customised to their own needs. Another branch is set to open at Colombo Port City on New Years Eve, as International Lifestyle Brands Ltd., was able to secure its spot for the shop opening, another strategic location in making more convenient to its customers.

International Lifestyle Brand Ltd., General Manager Prasad Muthkuda said, ‘The new products are to be introduced to Subway Sri Lanka with new flavours coming into its menu that are appealing to Subway Sri Lanka lovers.’

When it comes to Segafredo, the one of the most renowned coffee brands in Italy in which the coffee culture started with espressos, cappuccinos and lattes, opened its first Sri Lankan location in 2023 at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) Departure Lounge and in December 2024, another branch was open at One Galle Face (OGF) Mall at the convenience of the shoppers to stop by for a snack or a coffee break right next to its Subway outlet. Muthukuda further highlighted that the company boasts that females are at its senior management positions reflecting its gender inclusivity policy within the workplace.

International Lifestyle Brand Ltd., was established in December 2019 with the expectation giving the exposure into international food and beverage brands to Sri Lankans. It is also a sub franchise of Eversub India Ltd., the Master Franchisee for Subway to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved a five-year strategic plan (2026-2030) for the Vidatha program, aimed at empowering rural communities through technology developed via scientific research. The program, initiated under the concept of ‘Technology for Villages,’ currently operates 315 Vidatha Centres island-wide.

The Science and Technology Ministry has prepared the plan to reinforce the Vidatha initiative, addressing the limited attention it received during 2021-2024. As part of the strategy, efforts are underway to transform Vidatha Resource Centres into microservices, in collaboration with institutions including the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) and the Industrial Development Board of Sri Lanka (IDB).

Under the approved plan, each of the 315 Vidatha Centres will engage a dedicated science graduate to strengthen local technology access and support rural innovation, marking a significant step toward enhancing scientific literacy and technological empowerment in village communities across the country.