Aug 16 (TM) Govt has launched a Rs. 1 billion irrigation restoration programme to rehabilitate ageing canals and tanks and strengthen water retention capacity ahead of the seasonal rains expected in late September or October. Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation Aravinda Senarath said the initiative formed part of a comprehensive 3-year programme, with a total allocation of Rs. 3 billion aimed at strengthening the country’s more..

Aug 16 (QT) Qatar Charity inaugurated a newly constructed three-storey Science Laboratory Building at Kalutara Muslim Central College in SL, marking a major investment in education and scientific learning. The project, valued at approximately QR1,065,000, aims to enhance science education and provide modern learning opportunities for more than 1,500 students studying in Sinhala, Tamil & English. The facility was officially opened by Governor of the Western Province more..

Aug 16 (AD) Central Crimes Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has obtained a 72-hour detention order to further interrogate alleged large-scale drug trafficker Shiran Basik following his deportation to Sri Lanka from Dubai on Thursday. Basik, who is alleged to be a major SL drug kingpin, was arrested in Dubai earlier this year and deported to Sri Lanka yesterday. Upon his arrival at the BIA in Katunayake, he was taken into custody by officers attached to the Airport Unit of the CID. more..

Aug 16 (TM) Nearly 468 major State and private institutions have accounted for more than Rs. 613 billion in tax arrears, penalties, and interest, as SL’s total outstanding tax dues surged past Rs. 961 billion as at 30 June 2024, a special audit by the Auditor General has revealed. Special Audit Report on Taxes in Arrears, Penalties & Interest to be recovered to the Inland Revenue Dept from Registered Taxpayers, issued by AG more..

Aug 16 (CT) The COPE has raised concerns over administrative, financial and digital management practices at the Uni of Peradeniya, including delays in disciplinary inquiries, weaknesses in information technology capacity and difficulties in recovering funds from academic staff who fail to honour foreign study-leave bond agreements. The concerns were raised when COPE, chaired by MP Nishantha Samaraweera, met at Parliament on 5 Aug to examine AG’s Reports for 2023 and 2024 more..

Aug 16 (Island) Police have unveiled a special security and traffic plan for the historic Kandy Esala Perahera 2026, which will be held under State patronage from Aug 18 to 28. The annual pageant will commence with the Kumbal Perahera from Aug 18 to 22, followed by the Randoli Perahera from Aug 23 to 27. The festival will conclude with the Day Perahera on Aug 28. Police said a special operation would be in place throughout the 11-day period, covering security checks, roadblocks, more..

Aug 16 (NW) A SL Navy Dvora vessel has met with an accident in the seas off Angulana. According to the Navy spokesperson, rescue operations were launched to assist those on board the vessel. 11 people who were on board have been rescued and hospitalized, while one person remains missing. SL Air Force is assisting with the rescue and surveillance operation. Air Force said an Mi-17 helicopter and a Bell 412 helicopter have been deployed to observe the vessel and more..

Aug 16 (Island) Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has urged the Govt to continue closely examining the environmental damage caused to SL’s maritime territory by the X-Press Pearl disaster. Cardinal made the request during a discussion between the Govt and the Catholic Church held at Presidential Secretariat yesterday. The meeting was co-chaired by Minister of Science and Technology Krishantha Abeysena and Secretary to the Prez more..

Aug 16 (CT) Govt departments (including statutory institutions and public corporations) saw nearly five times fewer ministerial changes during the first year of Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s presidency compared to the first year of Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency, according to the newest Department Flow visualisation by the Lanka Data Foundation. Lanka Data Foundation’s Dept Flow View helps visualise changes in more..

Aug 16 (Island) Building momentum for a more sustainable marketplace, more than 50 public and private sector leaders came together in Colombo to advance SL’s National Eco-Labelling Framework (NELF). The diverse group of representatives from govt institutions, industry associations, eco-labelling scheme owners, certification bodies, technical experts and development partners explored ways to strengthen a trusted system for sustainable products, responsible businesses & more..

Aug 16 (TM) Sri Lanka is looking to significantly expand sea cucumber farming, targeting an increase in the area under cultivation to 5,000 acres, as a key part of its plan to double the foreign exchange revenue earned from the export of aquatic resources. Ministry of Fisheries Secretary Kolita Jinadasa revealed that SL was aiming to double the foreign exchange revenue generated from the export of aquatic resources from its current level of $ 300 million to $ 600 million by 2030. more..

Aug 16 (NW) Vehicle prices in SL are expected to climb sharply following the govt’s decision to extend the 50% surcharge on import duties until Dec 31, which had previously been due to expire on August 15. According to the Vehicle Importers Association of SL (VIASL), the extension will push up showroom prices significantly. A Suzuki Wagon R is expected to increase by around Rs. 500,000, a Toyota Raize by Rs. 1 million, a Honda Vezel by Rs. 1.5–2 million, a Toyota Prado by Rs. 3 million, more..

Aug 16 (Island) More than 68,000 people are now affected by the prevailing dry weather conditions across four districts, with authorities warning the public to take precautions as temperatures continue to climb. A total of 68,041 people from 21,873 families in 17 GN divisions in Batticaloa, Ampara, Monaragala & Ratnapura districts have been affected. Monaragala has reported the highest number of affected people, with 31,647 residents facing the impact of the dry spell. more..

Aug 16 (TM) A new and improved bill that heavily penalises Illegal, Unreported & Unregulated (IUU) fishing is to be implemented by the end of this year, followed by the repeal of the existing Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No.2 of 1996. Dept of Fisheries Director General Susantha Kahawatta said that the existing act comprised over 100 gazetted regulations that applied both locally and internationally. more..

Aug 16 (AD) A total of 709 prisoners who had escaped from prisons before completing their sentences have not been re-arrested, according to a recent report released by the National Audit Office. The audit report, included in the Dept of Prisons’ 2025 Annual Report, has revealed a number of irregularities and illegal activities within the country’s prison system. A total of 1,181 inmates escaped from prisons or prison custody before completing their sentences over the past six years, more..

Aug 16 (NW) Wills Realtors (Pvt) Ltd has officially commenced construction of its 96 Legends Square luxury residential development with a ceremonial piling event held at Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha in Battaramulla. Inspired by SL’s historic 1996 Cricket World Cup triumph, the 46-storey residential tower is designed as a tribute to the team that brought home the country’s first ODI World Cup. Members of the 1996 World Cup-winning team, led by former captain Arjuna Ranatunga, attended more..

Aug 16 (CI) India ended their 20-Test wait for a century from No. 3 on a dominant but rain-curtailed first day with Devdutt Padikkal coming back into the team with a commanding unbeaten 131 off 178 balls. When Padikkal brought up his century, at the other end was Shubman Gill, India's last centurion from No. 3 and on the day the only wicket a bowler took, even though five men batted for India. Yashasvi Jaiswal was run-out for 32 when more..

Aug 16 (EN) Foreign investors bought a net 1,350 million rupees (US$ 4.1 million) worth of SL rupee bonds in the week ended on August 14, Central Bank data showed, amid a firmer rupee currency. The latest buying boosted the foreign buying in the government securities to 72.9 billion (US$ 220.8 million) in the nine straight weeks since June 19. The inflows boosted foreign holding to 194.2 billion rupees, the highest figure CB has published in its Weekly Economic Indicators. more..

Aug 16 (Island) It was only earlier this year that SL cricket became the laughing stock of the cricketing world when Shammi Silva’s Executive Committee pushed for a revamp of the national selection panel and installed a loyalist as Chairman of Selectors. In turn, the new selection regime dispensed with Charith Asalanka as captain with the T-20 World Cup just around the corner. What followed is well documented: Sri Lanka made a sorry exit from a showpiece event they co-hosted with India. more..

Aug 16 (TM) Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) President Pavithra Fernando is of the view that the National Sevens Team led by Srinath Sooriyabandara are well prepared to take a crack at a landmark medal at the forthcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. He dismissed suggestions that the opposition faced by the Tuskers during the Howard Hinton Sevens in France and at the London International Rugby Sevens were of inferior quality and maintained that, on the contrary, more..

Aug 16 (SO) SL secured third place in the 14th Asian Senior Netball C'ships 2026 when they defeated Malaysia 65-60 in the consolation final played in Hong Kong yesterday. Even then, SL conceded the opening quarter to their opponents by a solitary point (12-13) before staging a superb comeback to snatch the second quarter 19-17. SL suffered another setback as Malaysia fought back to claim the third quarter 17-15 but held their nerve in the deciding 4th quarter & went on to pull off a 19-13 victory. more..

Aug 16 (TM) For Prez AKD and his JVP-led NPP Govt, the election slogan A Thriving Nation, A Beautiful Life is increasingly becoming more than a campaign promise; it is turning into one of the Opposition’s most effective political weapons. Nearly two years into the JVP/NPP administration, the Opposition is seeking to change the terms of the political debate. Instead of getting drawn into arguments over IMF targets, fiscal deficits, more..

Aug 16 (TM) Former SL Captain Angelo Mathews in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Morning Sports in the lead up to the first Test match between SL and India, which began at the Galle Int'l Cricket Stadium on Saturday (15), confirmed that he had moved on from international cricket for good. Mathews, 39, who famously brought the curtain down on his red-ball career in June last year against Bangladesh, stated that every professional player should know when to move on. more..

Aug 16 (GV) For ten days in August, a scattering of galleries in Colombo and Galle Fort became something larger than the sum of their walls. ARTRA Trail Edition Two, the second edition of the platform’s circuit of exhibitions, artist talks and collector conversations turned the two cities into a single, loosely connected conversation about what SL carries beneath its surface. Four exhibitions and more than a dozen artists illustrate how the land, body and memory are never quite separate. more..

Aug 16 (TM) In September 2024, on the eve of a historic Presidential Election, the great majority of Sri Lankan voters had already made up their minds. The frontrunner was, in fact, the race’s dark horse: Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), riding a wave of public hunger for change. As the second anniversary of that vote approaches, few of the roughly 5.7 million people who backed him could have imagined they would, so soon, be forced to question their own decision. more..

Aug 16 (FT) India must always be Sri Lanka’s No.1 ally — not out of sentiment, but out of geographic reality. Twenty-two miles of the Palk Strait separate the two countries. No treaty, no summit, and no partnership with a distant power can change that. Sri Lanka should never do anything that triggers India’s core security concerns, because India is the neighbour who will always be there, long after other powers have moved on to their next strategic priority. US is now working hard to more..

Aug 16 (CT) There were men in the hall on the morning of 29 July who have spent much of the past decade attacking one another in public: Ali Sabry, Justice and then Foreign Minister under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Udaya Gammanpila, a Minister of the same period who has fought much of Colombo’s political class in court and on air and M.A. Sumanthiran of the ITAK, who spent a career litigating against govts the other two sat in: more..

Aug 16 (SO) For months, those opposing the NPP Govt’s proposal to extend the retirement age of judges sought to frame the issue as a fundamental threat to the independence of the Judiciary, a move towards authoritarianism and a Single Party State, a rupture in the constitutional order. In politics, the side that succeeds in defining the terms of a debate usually wins it. The detractors of the proposal – mainly the Opposition political parties, whose leaders are facing corruption allegations more..

Aug 16 (Island) It is doubtful whether the discerning public expected anything worthwhile to come of Wednesday’s meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and a delegation from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). There was no space for a meaningful discussion on the contentious issues concerning the proposed 22nd Amendment (22A) to the Constitution to extend the mandatory retirement ages of the judges of the Supreme Court (SC) & Court of Appeal (CA). more..

Aug 16 (SO) The possibility of reintroducing the death penalty for drug-related offences has once again entered the national debate, after attention was drawn to capital punishment during a meeting of the Ratama Ekata (Country Together) National Operation Council chaired by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Monday. The meeting focused on the escalating drug crisis and more..

Aug 16 (Island) Why are there such strong feelings generated by us on seeing an elephant? Is it their immense size and power? Or is it something deeper, more fundamental that elicits these emotions of either love or dread? To be honest, not many have the privilege of seeing an elephant in the wild. Their experience is limited to pictures and videos, zoological gardens, captive elephants and the media; the latter which tend to seek sensational headline, rather than give balanced, more..

Aug 16 (SO) The launch of direct flights between Colombo (IATA Code CMB) and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon, IATA Code SGN) today by the full service national carrier Vietnam Airlines signifies a new chapter in the relations between the two Asian countries. Vietnam Airlines’ thrice-weekly flights will be augmented by Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet’s flights linking the two cities, also on a thrice-weekly basis from August 18. These flights were announced back in May this year more..