Jul 19 (ST) New political alliances are all too common in SL, as has been the case since independence. Most such alliances have been driven by political expediencies rather than any genuine desire to achieve clear-out objectives in the interests of the public. The latest such alliance or collective platform launched this week brought together six parties that represent the country’s Tamil-speaking people, who include Tamils of more..

Jul 19 (AD) It has been decided to conduct the final rites of former IGP C.D. Wickramaratne with full police honors. Police Media Spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) F.U. Wootler, stated that the late former IGP C.D. Wickramaratne would be accorded the standard police honors customarily granted to a retired IGP upon their passing. Accordingly, the final rites of former IGP C.D. Wickramaratne are scheduled to be held on July 20 with full police honors. more..

Jul 19 (Island) Friday’s shock death of former IGP Chandana Wickramaratne due to gunshot injuries on his chest was possibly due to an accidental discharge of his personal security officer’s pistol. Wickramaratne, who was kitted for his walk and waiting on the verandah for his wife to join him, was examining the PSO’s new weapon, knowledgeable sources said. The wife who was putting on her shoes inside the house heard a bang and found Wickramaratne fallen on the verandah. more..

Jul 19 (ST) Govt has decided to give extensions for selected public sector employees in senior and professional levels with a two-year service extension with the option of a further extension, a senior govt official said. This would cover medical consultants, those in the scientific services and specialised services which, in recent years, have seen a sharp decline in personnel. The measure is being taken to retain those in the state sector more..

Jul 19 (TM) CID had not been instructed to investigate the death of former IGP C.D. Wickramaratne as of Friday afternoon, with the inquiry instead being conducted by the Crime Division of the Western Province South Range and the Malabe Police Station. A senior official attached to the CID, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the department had not received any instructions from the IGP to take over the investigation. “CID has not been instructed to investigate incident,” more..

Jul 19 (DM) House of Fashions owner and Managing Director Preethi Jayawardena has been arrested over an alleged Customs violation and remanded while receiving treatment at the National Hospital in Colombo after developing a heart-related medical condition. Sri Lanka Customs officers arrested Jayawardena at his residence during a special investigation into a customs valuation issue. Customs senior official said Jayawardena developed a heart-related medical condition while more..

Jul 19 (ST) The economic repercussions of dengue in Sri Lanka are notably seen through sudden workforce absences, lost wages, and overwhelmed healthcare systems. Low workforce productivity leads to decreased daily output, and major income loss—especially for daily-wage earners and the informal labour sector. With a labour force exceeding 8 million, the blow to the economy due to dengue outbreaks is sharp, Softlogic Life Insurance CFO Nuwan Withanage said. more..

Jul 19 (SO) The latest report by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) stated that SL has failed to fulfil its international legal obligations by not conducting prompt, independent and effective investigations into the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna and by failing to provide families of the victims with truth, justice and reparations. The report, titled Chemmani Mass Grave: We Are Still Searching, describes the site as one of SL’s most extensively documented cases of alleged enforced more..

Jul 19 (TM) Long-awaited India-backed Sampur-Kappalthurai transmission infrastructure project, a key component of SL’s renewable energy expansion and the planned Sampur Solar Park, is likely to be delayed after authorities decided to revise the project’s transmission capacity and seek fresh Cabinet approval before proceeding with part of the procurement process. NTNSP Chairman Nusith Kumaratunga said that the project’s more..

Jul 19 (ST) War risk insurance on cargo headed to West Asia has been withdrawn by insurance companies following discussions and notifications issued to exporters effective from this week. Former National Chamber of Exporters President and Imperial Teas Chairman Jayantha Karunaratna said that exporters are currently faced with a major issue of insurance cover on shipments to West Asia being removed by insurance companies. He noted that after they had already obtained insurance more..

Jul 19 (Island) A police constable has been suspended from service following an inquiry into allegations that he sat on the lap of a female police constable while under the influence of alcohol at the Makalugaswewa Police Station. Constable had reported for duty at a musical concert held at the Dambulla Gam Udawa Stadium on July 15 and later returned to the police station to resume duties. The constable allegedly sat on the female officer’s lap after after seeing her seated more..

Jul 19 (TM) Football fans in SL will have the opportunity to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final live on the big screen at Galle Face Green on Sunday night. Free public screening, organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, will begin at 6 p.m., with organisers inviting fans to bring their national flags and join the celebrations. The event is open to the public at no cost and is expected to bring together football enthusiasts from across the country for the biggest match of the tournament. more..

Jul 19 (NW) SL Police and health authorities have launched a special islandwide programme to strengthen dengue prevention efforts and enforce legal action against those responsible for mosquito breeding sites, amid growing concerns over the spread of dengue. The initiative is being carried out jointly by the Ministry of Health, Public Health Inspectors and the SL Police to curb the spread of dengue across the country. The IGP has instructed OICs of all police stations to more..

Jul 19 (ST) Cricket Transformation Committee (CTC) running the gentleman’s game believes it has won valuable time from the ICC to complete sweeping governance reforms, but insists that its own ambition is to relinquish control and return the game to an elected administration at the earliest. Fresh from attending the ICC Chief Executives’ Meeting in Scotland, CTC Secretary Prakash Schaffter says the message from more..

Jul 19 (ST) As opposed to the previous edition of the Commonwealth Games, this time around SL may field a lesser number of participating athletes numbering to 40, and another 14 accompanying at official capacity for the Glasgow 2026 Games. But National Olympic Committee of SL will be cautious as ever following the scars left from Birmingham 2022, where 11 from the contingent of over 160 athletes, officials and others involved, decamped without a trace from games village. more..

Jul 19 (TM) Urban Development Authority (UDA) has received bids for all seven plots of land offered for logistics and associated development projects in Ekala. UDA Deputy Director General revealed that the UDA had invited proposals from interested investors for logistics and related development projects on its land in Ekala. This related to the remaining UDA land adjoining the 36-acre plot on which the Access Group had been granted approval to build a logistics park in 2022. more..

Jul 19 (ST) Lanka Premier League (LPL) began its sixth season on Friday night under an unsolicited cloud after the arrest of a co-owner of the Jaffna Kings franchise and another suspect, on the eve of the tournament opener, raising fresh concerns over the league’s integrity, ownership structures and long-term sustainability. The timing was particularly damaging. Unlike previous editions, ICC did not deploy its Anti-Corruption Unit more..

Jul 19 (TM) Sri Lanka Masters National Hockey Association (SLMNHA) President Fouzul Hameed – a prominent businessman of an integrated retail and apparel group and a noted sports critic – bemoaned the current plight of hockey in the country at a recent press conference. He stated that hockey in particular, which he had played in the past and loved, had not reached its desired destination in comparison with other marquee games in Sri Lanka such as cricket and rugby. more..

Jul 19 (SO) Sri Lanka’s banking and financial sector must move beyond traditional measures of resilience and strengthen institutional coordination, governance and crisis preparedness to withstand increasingly frequent global shocks, CB Deputy Governor in charge of Financial System Stability, K.G.P. Sirikumara said. “The nation’s financial resilience can no longer be assessed solely through capital adequacy, profitability and liquidity positions of the banking and finance sector, more..

Jul 18 (CI) Sir Garry Sobers, the legendary West Indies allrounder and one of the sport's most towering icons, has died at his home in Barbados. He was 89 years old. Widely regarded by many as the greatest allrounder and most gifted cricketer to have played the game, Sobers excelled as Test batter, could bowl left-arm pace as well as orthodox and wrist-spin, and he was an exceptional fielder and close-in catcher - attributes that once led his fellow all-timer, Sir Donald Bradman, more..

Jul 18 (ST) He was a man of all seasons. Surendran Subramaniam was a man who could handle any challenge, stay calm in a crisis, and maintain morals against all odds around him. I am trying to explain about a different man whom I knew and also knew the meaning of the word resilience, but at the same time had the time to scale Mount Olympus if the need of the hour was so. Although formerly I knew him as a young tennis player at the SLTA, I really got to know the real Subramaniam more..

Jul 19 (CT) The coming together of six Tamil speaking political parties to form a common platform to reach the goal of meeting the needs of the communities they represent is seen both with positive and negative attributes in the political circles. SL People’s Congress, SL Muslim Congress, Ceylon Workers’ Congress, Tamil Progressive Alliance, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi and Democratic Tamil National Alliance, or DTNA on Monday called more..

Jul 19 (Island) Spanish Israeli entrepreneur Simon Max Astandoust, a fourth-generation member of the renowned Astan fishing family, has endured years of legal battles, business setbacks and the loss of millions of dollars after investing in Sri Lanka’s fishing industry. Yet, despite the challenges, he has chosen to stay and rebuild. CEO of Seamax Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd speaks about his struggle, the restoration of his state-of-the-art factory vessel Astan II, and his plans to introduce more..

Jul 19 (SO) Sri Lankan politicians, especially Presidents and family members, have acted with increasing impunity from 1978, when the Executive Presidency was introduced by the late President J. R. Jayewardene. But it was the Rajapaksas that turned impunity into a way of governance. Between 2005 and 2015 and again between 2019 and 2022, the Rajapaksas concentrated political, military, economic and administrative power within the extended family. more..

Jul 19 (Island) SL’s legal fraternity has woken up to threats to democracy and embarked on a campaign to neutralise them. The Bar Association of SL (BASL) is leading the battle against the incumbent govt’s efforts to undermine democracy and judicial independence. It deserves praise for its laudable mission, whose success however hinges on the cooperation of all other stakeholders. Former BASL President Saliya Pieris, speaking at the launch of Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne’s book, more..

Jul 19 (ST) My dear Citizens of Paradise, I am writing to you at a time when you are being bombarded with an alarming news almost every week. Last week, it was the incident in Negombo that left over two dozen people dead, including some prison officers. This week, it was the sudden and unexpected demise of a former Police chief. It is also a time when we hear of sudden deaths of people who have been in responsible positions. First, it was an official of the Treasury. more..

Jul 19 (ST) The 32-km-long Palk Strait has been a testament to civilisational friendship between India and SL for millennia, but it is increasingly becoming militarised due to global power rivalries. In New Delhi, SL High Commissioner Mahishini Colonne underscored the importance of the strait’s role in the regional context last Friday when she was addressing a meeting titled Calm Waters, Rising Tide: Stability as Foundation more..

Jul 19 (GV) In June 2026, Keir Starmer announced that he would resign as UK prime minister, promising to “Do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power.” Less than two years earlier, he had led the Labour Party to a landslide victory in a general election. Each country’s situation is distinct yet there may be lessons for SL and elsewhere with a left wing or centre left govt that came to office with a promise of change. He is being replaced by Andy Burnham, former mayor of Manchester, more..

Jul 19 (TM) Excavation work involving the 27.7 km irrigation tunnel forming part of Sri Lanka’s North Central Province Main Canal Project was completed last week. The tunnel, one of the most historic and ambitious irrigation engineering projects in the region, will eventually help transfer water from the Moragahakanda system towards the water-stressed areas of the North Central and Northern Provinces. Its excavation alone has involved an investment of approximately Rs. 60 billion. more..

Jul 19 (TM) Politics is often said to be about perception, but govts ultimately survive on performance. For Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his Govt, the latest economic and political indicators present a striking paradox. On the one hand, the administration continues to command extraordinary public confidence, with more than three-quarters of Sri Lankans reportedly expressing satisfaction with Prez’s performance more..

Jul 19 (CT) The Sri Lanka People’s Congress, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Ceylon Workers’ Congress, Tamil Progressive Alliance, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, or ITAK, and Democratic Tamil National Alliance, or DTNA, on Monday joined forces to form a common platform to address issues affecting the Tamil-speaking communities of the North and East and the Upcountry Tamil community. The collective issued a communique calling on the Govt to fulfil pledges made to the Tamil-speaking more..

Jul 19 (ST) Govts always get caught between what is a fair price for rice farmers and what is a fair price for consumers; never the twain to meet. Farmers toiling in the sun and mud complain of the increasing cost of production (CoP) given the escalating fuel costs as mechanised agriculture increasingly takes over from livestock-driven farming, fertiliser and transport costs adding to the expense mix. The guaranteed price offered by the govt does not correspond with their CoP, more..