Aug 24 (DM) Sri Lanka’s major reservoirs are showing worrying variations in water storage, with several tanks recording critically low effective storage levels amid continuing concerns over water availability. According to latest reservoir data for Aug 23, the 74 major reservoirs covered in the report hold only 35.8% of their effective storage capacity. The situation is particularly concerning in several areas. Manankattiya Reservoir in Anuradhapura has just 1.5% effective storage, more..

Aug 24 (DM) A 63-year-old professor at the University of Cambridge has been arrested after a car he was driving allegedly ran over the toes of a police sergeant who was directing traffic during the Kandy Esala Perahera. The incident occurred on the evening of August 22 near the Peradeniya bus stand on Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe Mawatha in Kandy, police said. The injured officer, Police Sergeant Kumara, was admitted to the Kandy National Hospital for treatment. more..

Aug 24 (CI) Dhruv Jurel struck a 177-ball 115 as India piled on the runs on a rain-truncated second day's play in Colombo to take total control of proceedings. Having declared on 503 for 9, India had already picked up two SL scalps when play was called off for the day due to bad light. At the crease was Kamil Mishara on debut, as he watched helplessly from the non-striker's end as his opening partner Lahiru Udara, and then nightwatcher more..

Aug 24 (DM) SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for threatening and assaulting two police officers, has been granted bail by the Badulla High Court pending his appeal. The court sentenced Wijesiri on July 28 after finding him guilty of charges including wrongful restraint, assault, causing injuries, issuing death threats and causing bodily harm to two police officers in 2019. The case was filed against Wijesiri, his driver Bandula Rathnayake and a police officer more..

Aug 24 (TM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to lead a series of public rallies of the NPP covering all districts from 5 Sept, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. Jayatissa said the rallies would be accompanied by a programme to reorganise electoral committees at the Grama Niladhari Division level. He also challenged opposition groups to take to the streets and hold public meetings to demonstrate their support, instead of engaging in what he described as nightly conspiracies more..

Aug 24 (Island) Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) MP S. Shritharan has criticised Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara for what he describes as double-standards regarding the mass killings in the country. The Minister referred to the Sooriyande massacre in the South but failed to recognise the Chemmani incident as a mass killing. MP was speaking to the media after visiting the Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna recently. more..

Aug 24 (DM) A suspect who allegedly stole a passenger’s bag at the Pettah bus stand was swiftly arrested with the assistance of CCTV surveillance, SL Air Force personnel said. The theft occurred yesterday and was detected through the CCTV monitoring system at the newly established operations room at the upgraded Pettah bus stand. Air Force personnel on duty immediately identified the suspect and handed him over to the Police. The CCTV surveillance system, established under more..

Aug 24 (Island) Pubudu Jayagoda, Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has alleged that the govt is bent on securing the passage of the 22nd Constitutional Amendment to remove obstacles to its neoliberal programme. Stressing that there was absolutely no basis for govt claims the 22nd Amendment was needed to clear the current case backlog, Jayagoda said that corruption and fraud cases were heard in the High Courts and Magistrates’ Courts. more..

Aug 24 (PMD) A high‑level discussion was held this morning at the Presidential Secretariat between a World Bank delegation led by Gevorg Sargsyan, Country Manager for SL and the Maldives, and Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Chief of Staff to the Prez, on the project to develop Colombo Fort as a tourist zone under World Bank loans and assistance. The talks also reviewed matters raised during a previous meeting chaired by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which focused on developing more..

Aug 24 (Island) Vinivida Foundation has sought 3 documents, namely the affidavit filed by the Attorney General, dated 22nd Sept 2025, the motion dated 18th Sept 2025, and the motion dated 13th Jan 2026, pertaining to USD 1 bn compensation awarded by the Supreme Court in the X-Press Pearl case. The General Secretary of Vinivida Foundation Nagananda Kodituwakku, on 22 Aug, requested documents from CJ Preethi Padman Surasena, in terms of Article 14A of the Constitution more..

Aug 24 (Island) Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) said that the Justice and National Integration Ministry was yet to respond to their request for adequate compensation for the 22 suspects who died during the Negombo Prison riot on 5 and 6 July. Executive Director of CPRP Senaka Perera said that on behalf of the families of the victims he had made a formal request in writing to Justice Minister more..

Aug 24 (Island) PM Harini Amarasuriya participated in a special & blessing ceremony held in conjunction with the annual festival of the historic Munneswaram Sivan Temple in Chilaw on Sunday. The annual festival of the historic Munneswaram Temple, located in the Puttalam District of the North Western Province, is celebrated over a period of four weeks during August and Sept, centred around the Nikini month. In addition to the ceremonial hoisting of the Kap, Ganesh Puja and more..

Aug 24 (DM) SLPP National Organiser and MP Namal Rajapaksa said the party would strengthen its grassroots engagement by visiting communities across the country as it prepares for future elections. Speaking to journalists at the SLPP headquarters on Nelum Mawatha today, Namal said the party had contributed to bringing the President closer to the people and would continue to focus on engaging directly with communities. “We have to go from village to village for the presidency today. more..

Aug 24 (TM) The report of a committee appointed to formulate a systematic mechanism for granting presidential pardons to prisoners sentenced to death and life imprisonment is to be submitted to the Cabinet soon, according to Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara. A committee chaired by retired SC Justice S. Thurairaja was appointed in 2025 to formulate a proper mechanism for granting presidential pardons to more..

Aug 24 (DM) The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection has decided to obtain the views and proposals of the Police Department on measures that could be taken to reduce overcrowding in prisons. The matter was discussed at a recent meeting of the committee held at Parliament under the chairmanship of MP Najith Indika. The discussions focused particularly on the Police Dept’s procedures from the arrest of suspects in connection with drug-related more..

Aug 24 (DM) The Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation has launched a new initiative to introduce an Air Cargo Community System (ACCS) aimed at making SL’s air cargo operations faster, more efficient and transparent. An earlier attempt to implement the system in 2023 did not progress due to a lack of coordination and consensus among the relevant stakeholders. The initiative has now been revived with the participation of key govt agencies, industry bodies and other institutions. more..

Aug 24 (DM) An alleged $1 billion money-laundering scheme executed through phantom imports has shattered confidence in Sri Lanka’s banking sector. With 13 banks under investigation for processing thousands of fraudulent transactions, the scandal exposes severe breakdowns in basic Know Your Customer protocols and real-time Customs integration. Uncovering this vast network of shell companies proves that compliance cannot remain a mere paper-pushing exercise. more..

Aug 24 (TM) The ITAK has called for a public referendum to be held to enact the proposed 22nd Amendment. The decision was reportedly taken at a recent meeting of the party’s Political Committee. The ITAK said the proposed amendment concerns the sovereignty of the people and, therefore, requires approval through a referendum. The 22nd Amendment Bill seeks to increase the retirement age of SC judges from 65 to 67 and that of CA judges from 63 to 65. more..

Aug 24 (DM) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) has introduced higher feed-in tariffs for renewable energy projects equipped with battery storage, as the authorities seek to add at least 450MW of solar PV and battery energy storage capacity to the national electricity system by March next year. Revised tariffs, which come into effect tomorrow, will remain valid until Feb 24, 2027, covering renewable energy plants, rooftop more..

Aug 24 (EN) Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange revenue from tourism fell 10.4% in July this year from a year ago to US$ 285.5 million, the central bank said. The fall comes two months after the govt-owned tourism promotion body revised its daily average spending per tourist and the duration of the tourist stay. The island nation recorded its lowest revenue in 32 months last month. Tourism revenue has been falling year-on-year since the U.S./Israel bombing on Iran started on Feb 28. more..

Aug 24 (ICC) India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal and SL bowler Asitha Fernando have been sanctioned by the ICC following their incident on the opening day of the second ICC World Test Championship fixture in Colombo. Both players were found to have breached Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person more..

Aug 24 (NW) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) has cautioned that the ongoing El Niño weather conditions could drive electricity demand higher while reducing generation capacity as water resources dry up. PUCSL Chairman K.P.L. Chandralal said that in such circumstances, country faces the risk of a power shortage. He made these remarks during today’s media briefing on the newly announced more..

Aug 24 (NW) World Food Programme (WFP) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening school nutrition programmes in SL, following a meeting with Minister of Education, PM Harini Amarasuriya at Temple Trees today. During the discussions, WFP representatives expressed readiness to continue their partnership with the Govt of SL and highlighted their interest in working closely with ministries, universities, UN agencies, and other stakeholders to advance nutrition interventions within more..

Aug 24 (FT) In my previous column, AI’s next big promise: Tackle inequity issues before using it, I argued that beneath the brilliant veneer of artificial intelligence lies a structural failure I termed the AI Divide. This divide manifests across corporate, global, and social frameworks, threatening to worsen existing historical injustices rather than solve them. While that warning dealt with macroeconomic infrastructure and the uneven distribution of digital public goods, more..

Aug 24 (NF) U.S. Ambassador-designate Eric Meyer arrived in Colombo, SL on the evening of August 22, to assume his duties as the US Ambassador to SL. Ambassador-designate Meyer expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunity to serve as the 29th U.S. Ambassador to SL, stating: “It is an honor to represent the US in SL. I look forward to building on the strong foundation between our two democracies to advance a US-SL partnership that creates new opportunities for American businesses, more..

Aug 24 (FT) In my previous column, AI’s next big promise: Tackle inequity issues before using it, I argued that beneath the brilliant veneer of artificial intelligence lies a structural failure I termed the AI Divide. This divide manifests across corporate, global, and social frameworks, threatening to worsen existing historical injustices rather than solve them. While that warning dealt with macroeconomic infrastructure and the uneven distribution of digital public goods, there is one sector more..

Aug 24 (TM) A damning special audit report by the Auditor General’s Dept has exposed a system of unchecked financial privileges at Parliament, with the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and other senior officials enjoying unlimited fuel and vehicle entitlements, while the Secretary General’s salary has increased by around 800 per cent without being re-sanctioned by Parliament for more than two decades. The report, tabled in Parliament on more..

Aug 24 (DM) Polonnaruwa and Pothuvil recorded the highest maximum temperature in the country today (23), with temperatures reaching 37.5°C. The highest temperature of 37.5°C was recorded in both Polonnaruwa and Pothuvil. Trincomalee recorded 37.0°C, while Mullaitivu and Monaragala recorded 36.8°C each. Mattala also recorded a high temperature of 34.9°C. Several other areas experienced temperatures above 33°C, including Vavuniya (35.9°C), Batticaloa (33.5°C), more..

Aug 24 (DM) Public Health Inspectors Association (PHIA) is set to launch an island-wide trade union action from today (24), citing the failure of health authorities to address concerns over the transfer of Public Health Inspector B.H. Migasdeniya. In a letter to the Ministry of Health dated August 23, the union said the action follows Migasdeniya’s transfer, allegedly in connection with his opposition to illegal activities at the Health Office of BIA. Accordingly, from 8.00 a.m. today (23), more..

Aug 24 (TM) The Ministry of Vocational Education has launched a new initiative to visit the homes of schoolchildren and school leavers individually to raise awareness of vocational education opportunities available across the country. Deputy Minister said the expansion of vocational education opportunities had contributed to a decline in the national unemployment rate, while the new programme aimed to provide every child more..

Aug 24 (DN) SL’s total govt revenue experienced a notable surge in the first six months of 2026, driven by the reopening of the vehicle import market after several years and the corresponding collection of tax revenues, according to latest data. Govt revenue and grants grew by 27.1% from January to June 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Total revenue for the first six months reached Rs.2.956 trillion, representing 55.8% of the annual target of Rs. 5.3 trillion projected for 2026. more..

Aug 24 (TM) In response to recent court rulings and growing concerns over the declining number of tame elephants, Govt is working to establish a unified mechanism to regulate the use of elephants in peraheras. A special expert committee, including environmentalist Dr. Jagath Gunawardena, has been appointed to provide recommendations for a viable framework. Move comes as the number of legally registered tame elephants in the country has dropped to approx. 54, raising concerns more..