Business

A nation reframed through food: Sri Lanka’s historic National Geographic debut

Published

1 month ago

2026/02/19

By Ifham Nizam

On a bright Colombo morning, beneath the polished lines of Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka quietly redrew the contours of its global image.

This was not merely a programme launch. It was a recalibration.

For the first time, a Sri Lankan-made food and travel series will premiere across South Asia on National Geographic — a platform synonymous with global storytelling. In a region where culinary diplomacy has long been monopolised by larger neighbours, Sri Lanka has chosen its entry point carefully: flavour.

Jayaflava: Celebrating Sri Lanka is a six-part travel and food series hosted by Tasha Marikkar, airing on National Geographic South Asia. It premieres on Friday the 20th at 8.00 p.m., with a repeat on Sunday at 1.00 p.m. The series will broadcast across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives — positioning Sri Lanka’s culinary identity before one of the most dynamic regional audiences in the world.

The series is the brainchild of Marikkar — author, food storyteller and an unapologetic champion of Sri Lankan cuisine. What began as a cookbook evolved — through persistence, private backing and creative risk — into a broadcast production that now carries Sri Lanka’s culinary narrative beyond its shores.

“This was never just about recipes,” Marikkar told the audience. “It was about representing Sri Lanka as it truly is — multi-ethnic, modern, chaotic, generous and absolutely obsessed with flavour.”

Her long-time collaborator Afdhel Aziz framed it in strategic terms.

“Sri Lanka has always had depth and brilliance,” Aziz said. “What it hasn’t always had is ownership of its narrative. When you tell your story authentically on a platform like National Geographic, you’re not just entertaining — you’re reframing perception.”

Perception, in tourism economics, is currency.

Bakmee Perera Vice President – Communications Planning and Media Strategy at Dentsu Grant Media, described the partnership with National Geographic India — part of the Jio Star Network and Disney International — as a structural milestone.

“This marks Sri Lanka’s first long-term content partnership agreement with an international network,” she said. “It extends beyond linear television into digital platforms. It is a significant step in global content affiliation.”

For Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry, the timing is strategic. Indian arrivals have rebounded strongly, surpassing pre-2018 levels, and industry leaders see culinary storytelling as a natural extension of destination branding.

Kamal Munasinghe, Senior Vice President – Colombo Hotels at Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts and General Manager of Cinnamon Life, put it plainly.

“We have always spoken about sun, sea and sand,” he said. “But we have not spoken enough about our food. Other destinations have built tourism identities around cuisine. Sri Lanka has not done enough in that space.”

He recalled stopping on the roadside en route to Ella for oil roti served with mushroom curry — a humble meal prepared by a woman supporting her family.

“That is the story we are bringing to the world,” he added. “There is culture, resilience and love in that plate.”

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, the title sponsor, features four of its properties in the series, including Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Cinnamon Wild Yala and Cinnamon Bentota Beach — the latter a tropical modernist icon designed by Geoffrey Bawa.

Bawa once reframed Sri Lanka architecturally, merging landscape with structure in ways that drew global admiration. In many respects, Jayaflava attempts a similar reframing — merging food, people and place into a narrative that feels both intimate and expansive.

The series moves through midnight kottu stalls, animated kitchen debates, artists’ studios and coastal bars. It captures contradiction — humour alongside hardship, ambition alongside nostalgia. It is not polished tourism propaganda, but textured storytelling.

Sri Lanka has often been presented to the world as either idyllic escape or troubled headline. Rarely as complex, contemporary and confident. By choosing food — the most universal of connectors — as its narrative vehicle, the country sidesteps cliché and leans into authenticity.

As the morning launch concluded, one message lingered: this is not simply a television debut. It is soft power in motion.

A nation, reframed — one dish at a time.

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Business

Oil tops $116 a barrel as Iran accuses US of preparing invasion

Published

20 hours ago

2026/03/30

Priyan

A worker collects engine oil as he works at a degassing station in the Zubair oilfield near Basra, Iraq, on March 28, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Oil prices have surged to their highest level in nearly two weeks amid escalation on multiple fronts of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose more than 3 percent on Monday morning to top $116 a barrel.

The latest climb took the global benchmark to its highest point since March 19, when it briefly touched $119 a barrel.

The surge came after Iran said it was prepared for a US ground invasion, with the speaker of the country’s parliament warning that Tehran was waiting for the arrival of US troops to “set them on fire” and “punish” their regional allies.

Tehran’s warning came as the conflict deepened over the weekend, with the Iranian-backed Houthis launching missiles at Israel for the first time in the war, and Israel expanding its invasion of southern Lebanon.

Asia’s main stock indexes fell sharply in morning trading, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI both down more than 4 percent as of 1:30 GMT.

Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israel war has disrupted about one-fifth of global oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies, plunging the world into its biggest energy crisis in decades.

Oil prices have risen nearly 60 percent since the start of the war, driving up fuel prices worldwide and forcing numerous countries to adopt emergency measures to conserve energy.

Analysts have warned that oil prices are likely to keep rising unless maritime traffic returns to normal levels in the strait.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure if Tehran does not relinquish its stranglehold on the waterway by a deadline of April 6.

Trump, who on Thursday extended his deadline by 10 days, has proposed a 15-point plan for ending the war with Iran and insisted that the two sides are making progress towards a deal in indirect talks being mediated by Pakistan.

Tehran has flatly rejected Trump’s plan and proposed its own terms for a ceasefire, including war reparations and recognition of Iran’s right to control the strait.

Greg Newman, CEO of Onyx Capital Group, which began as an oil derivatives trading house, said energy consumers were only beginning to feel the true fallout of the turmoil.

“Physical oil moves around the world in loading cycles, and Europe has taken around three weeks to really start feeling the effects of the oil shortage,” Newman told Al Jazeera.

“Brent is starting to reflect the reality, and we think it’s a steady rise from here towards $120 and beyond.”

Newman said the scale of the disruption had yet to be fully appreciated.

“No one in the market has ever seen the outages we are now suffering from – physical premiums are the highest ever. There is still a sense that the macro world is not taking this seriously enough, but it is worse than anything that has come before it,” he said.

“The reality will come out in the economic numbers over the coming months.”

While Iran has been allowing a growing number of transits by ships that are not aligned with the US or Israel, traffic remains a fraction of pre-war levels.

On Saturday, Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar announced that Tehran had agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass the strait in what he described as a “meaningful step toward peace”.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said last week that Iran had granted an unspecified number of Malaysian vessels permission to clear the strait.

Seven non-Iranian vessels passed the strait on Thursday, up from five on Wednesday and four on Tuesday, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward.

Before the start of the war on February 28, the strait saw an average of 120 daily transits, according to Windward.

[Aljazeera]

Business

SLT-MOBITEL turnaround signals new era for SOEs, says deputy minister

Published

23 hours ago

2026/03/30

Thilina Walpola

The panel discussion led by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eng. Eranga Weeraratne (centre) with SLT MOBITEL’s top management Pic by Nishan S. Priyantha

The era of privatising loss-making state-owned enterprises may be drawing to a close, with SLT-MOBITEL emerging as proof that strategic management can deliver profitability without a change in ownership, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eng. Eranga Weeraratne said.

“There was a massive public outcry asking the previous governments to sell the loss-making state-owned enterprises. Now it is not there as it was used to be heard,” Weeraratne said. “SLT-MOBITEL has proven that the proper management strategy can turn any loss-making SOE into profit. Gone are the days we heard ‘sell, sell, sell’.”

The remarks came as Sri Lanka’s national ICT provider reported a decisive financial turnaround in FY 2025, driven by disciplined cost management, operational efficiency, and steady growth across fixed and mobile businesses.

The company has simultaneously rolled out a pioneering 24/7 operational model – the industry’s first – with 14 Outside Plant Maintenance Centres operating round-the-clock in metro areas, Kandy, and Jaffna to ensure uninterrupted connectivity.

“Our strong financial results reflect the resilience of SLT-MOBITEL and the trust customers place in us,” said Dr. Mothilal de Silva, Chairman, SLT Group. “With the roll-out of the 24/7 OPMC operations, we are raising the bar for service reliability.”

SLT-MOBITEL has also made 5G publicly available in Sri Lanka and continues to support the Ministry of Digital Economy with secure data centre infrastructure, reinforcing its role as a catalyst of national development.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Business

Kia Tasman arrives in Sri Lanka: A pickup built for work and comfort

Published

23 hours ago

2026/03/30

Thilina Walpola

Kia Motors Lanka has launched the all-new Kia Tasman, the brand’s first-ever pickup truck – engineered to redefine the double cab segment by combining rugged capability with SUV-like refinement.

Built on a robust body-on-frame platform, the Tasman offers best-in-class strength with a payload capacity of 1,151kg, towing up to 3,500kg, and water wading up to 800mm. Advanced 4WD systems and terrain modes ensure unmatched off-road performance.

Inside, the cabin surprises with best-in-class rear legroom, sliding and reclining rear seats – a segment-first – and a panoramic display with premium Harman Kardon sound.

“This is a vehicle conceived without compromise,” said Kia Motors Lanka Chairman Mahen Thambiah. “For customers who demand durability, capability, and everyday comfort, the Tasman delivers on every front.”