Jul 14 (NW) Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said not all individuals named in a recent media report on VIP security are currently receiving police protection. Jayatissa said a report submitted by the Senior DIG in charge of VIP Security to the IGP states that several individuals mentioned in the report are not being provided VIP security. He named former Speaker Ashoka Ranwala, Mohamed Rizvi Sally, Sarath Kumara, Ajith Priyadarshana, Ruwan Wijeyweera, Thilanka Gamage, more..

Jul 14 (AD) A total of 75 wild elephants have been killed as a result of direct human activities during the first seven months of the year, according to the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The Department said 30 elephants were shot dead, while 23 died after coming into contact with illegal electric fences or live wires. Another 19 elephants were killed after consuming explosive bait, commonly known as hakka patas (jaw bombs) and three died from poisoning. more..

Jul 14 (NW) Sri Lanka aims to increase the average spending by foreign tourists by improving the quality of tourism experiences, Deputy Tourism Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe said. He said the average tourist visiting Sri Lanka currently spends around US$148 per day, based on available survey data. He noted that the figure is an estimate, as SL does not have advanced systems to accurately track tourist expenditure, such as using credit card and banking data, unlike countries such as Australia. more..

Jul 14 (DM) Govt today refuted social media posts that Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake's scheduled official visit to France has been postponed due to visa issues. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told the weekly breifing that the dates for the visit will be announced following diplomatic discussions between France and SL. Minister said posts shared on social media are always not trustworthy and that such posts have to be trusted considering who generates and shares such posts. more..

Jul 14 (EN) Cabinet has approved a proposal to award the tender to expand the BIA departures terminal to Maga Engineering for 7.26 million dollars (excluding VAT) and 3.77 billion rupees (excluding VAT). “This money will come out of the general treasury,” minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. Cabinet on Feb 9 last year approved the implementation of the procurement process for the construction of a new building with 36 check-in counters and 6 aircraft access gates from the passenger terminal. more..

Jul 14 (NF) SL stands to benefit significantly from international asset recovery mechanisms that help countries trace, freeze, and reclaim funds lost through corruption, according to a senior official from UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC). Speaking on the sidelines of Korea-UNDP Anti-Corruption Forum in early July, Shervin Majlessi, Chief of the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch at UNODC, said SL has already benefited from international cooperation initiatives more..

Jul 14 (EN) Cabinet has approved a joint initiative to establish a modern Centralized Zero-waste Biomass Cinnamon Processing Centre at the Uni of Ruhuna to address long-standing supply chain inefficiencies. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa announced that the project aims to resolve major constraints affecting regional spice producers, particularly smallholders. Accordingly, cabinet decision highlighted that the local spice sector requires modernized infrastructure to overcome persistent production hurdles. more..

Jul 14 (AD) Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj, has stated that a special rehabilitation programme will be launched in the near future for children placed under probation for drug use, drug addiction and drug-related offences. The Minister made these remarks while participating in the Women and Children’s Sub-committee meeting held in the Anuradhapura District today (14). She noted that the Women and Children’s Sub-committees have been established alongside more..

Jul 14 (AD) The govt is continuing to examine the possibility of extending the retirement age of judges, Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa stated. He said the matter had been discussed in detail by the Cabinet of Ministers, which had decided to seek a report from the Ministry of Justice before making a final decision. He said the Cabinet would consider the recommendations and information submitted by the Ministry of Justice before deciding on the next steps. more..

Jul 14 (DM) Minister of Fisheries Chandrasekar has stated that the new alliances formed between political parties in the country will eventually collapse. He made these remarks while responding to a question about the newly formed alliance between Tamil and Muslim political parties after attending an event in Jaffna today. He further questioned whether the alliance had been formed to eradicate bribery and corruption, stop fraud, catch criminals, and serve the people, or more..

Jul 14 (TM) National Olympic Committee of SL (NOCSL) Former Vice President Rohan Fernando stated that it was his intention to see the Professional Sports Journalists Association (PSJA) operate as an independent body without turning into being a mouthpiece for anyone in this country. He made this comment as the chief guest, while addressing the AGM of the PSJA held in Polhengoda, Colombo on Saturday. The veteran sports administrator – also a household name in the nation’s telecom sphere, more..

Jul 14 (FT) A strategy provides value only when it is executed. By itself, it is worthless. The world of national and corporate leadership is rife with masterful strategic plans that have gathered dust because there was a lack of courage and belief to execute them. It is time that leaders killed the poetry, stopped waiting for the syntax to be perfect or for the stars to align. They must throw themselves into the chaotic, self-satisfying, brilliant fire of action. more..

Jul 14 (FT) As SL approaches the scheduled review of its inflation target, and with public consultations underway, the debate over the appropriate level of the medium-term inflation target has intensified. Some policy commentators argue that reducing the current 5% target to 2% would strengthen macroeconomic stability, enhance policy credibility, and align SL with global best practices. At first glance, this appears compelling - many advanced economies operate successfully with low inflation targets. more..

Jul 14 (TM) Six political parties representing SL’s Tamil-speaking communities have joined forces to urge the Govt to fulfil key pledges made in its Election manifesto, including the introduction of a new Constitution, conducting the long-delayed Provincial Council (PC) Elections and resolving longstanding land issues affecting minority communities. Representatives of ACMC, CWC, DTNA, ITAK, SLMC and TPA announced more..

Jul 14 (AD) Two more prison guards have succumbed to their injuries while receiving treatment at the National Hospital in Colombo, raising the death toll from the violent clash at Negombo Prison to 31. The latest fatalities bring the total number of deaths to 31, including 10 prison officers. Police said that the two prison officers succumbed yesterday and in the early hours of today while receiving treatment. The deceased have been identified as two prison officers aged 25 and 39, more..

Jul 14 (AD) SL has earned int'l recognition after being named among the Top 50 Food Destinations around the World for 2026, according to the latest editorial ranking released by Travel And Tour World (TTW). The annual list recognizes countries that are shaping the future of global culinary tourism. The rankings were curated by TTW’s editorial experts based on a range of factors, including culinary heritage, regional diversity, street food culture, fine dining, locally sourced ingredients, more..

Jul 14 (FT) Court of Appeal has directed the Attorney General to obtain an explanation from a senior SL Customs official after expressing serious concern over statements made to CoPF regarding ongoing Court proceedings in the high-profile dispute over the detention of more than 1,000 imported vehicles at Port of Colombo. The issue arose when a three-judge bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya more..

Jul 14 (NW) Construction of more than 100 rural bridges under the Govt’s Punarudaye Purawara national programme will commence on Tuesday (14) as part of a four-year initiative to improve rural connectivity and transport infrastructure. The project, implemented by the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Govt, forms part of a wider plan to develop 881 rural bridges identified by local authorities across the country. more..

Jul 14 (ST) The newly launched Sinhalese version of Arab News is making global and regional developments more accessible to SL migrant workers in the Middle East, their representatives say, as for many, language has until now been the main barrier to obtaining news. The Sinhalese are the largest ethno-linguistic group in SL, constituting about 75% of the multi-ethnic island nation’s population. Arab News launched its Sinhalese version as part of the AI-powered feature more..

Jul 14 (TM) Prison authorities have ordered all prison superintendents to prioritise searches for weapons in the possession of inmates, following the discovery of a large cache of weapons at the Negombo Prison, Prisons Commissioner A C Gajanayake said. He said that prison search operations are routinely carried out as part of normal prison security measures. "However, in the wake of the recent violence at the Negombo Prison, the Acting Commissioner General (CG) more..

Jul 14 (DM) Delayed marriage and childbearing among young people should be understood as responses to current economic and social conditions rather than a rejection of family life, Professor Manori Kaluthantiri Weeratunga said. Writing ahead of World Population Day 2026, Prof. Weeratunga, President of the Population Association of SL and Professor of Demography at the Uni of Colombo, said SL is undergoing significant demographic changes, including declining fertility, more..

Jul 14 (Island) Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara, has told Parliament that land within the High Security Zones of the North-East, considered essential for national security, would not be returned to its original owners. He said that 1,661 acres would be permanently acquired for military infrastructure. Jayasekara said the Palaly area had been designated a critical High Security Zone (HSZ) and that legal procedures more..

Jul 14 (DM) A new container cargo ferry service connecting Karaikal in India with Kankesanthurai (KKS) and Trincomalee in SL is scheduled to commence in late August or early Sept 2026, offering regular maritime freight services between the two countries. The service will be operated by Chennai-based Connect Maritime LLP, through its SL agent IndSri Ferry Services Lanka Ltd. The service will provide Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Load (LCL) transport more..

Jul 14 (NW) The temporary 50% surcharge imposed on selected vehicle imports should not be extended beyond its three-month period, as doing so could create uncertainty in the market, Advocata Institute CEO Dhananath Fernando said. Govt imposed the temporary surcharge with effect from May 16 under an Extraordinary Gazette. The measure, which applies to selected motor vehicle imports, will remain in force for three months, until 16 Aug, 2026. Fernando said abrupt changes to import taxes more..

Jul 14 (TM) SL has emerged as one of the fastest-growing international destination wedding markets for Indian couples, according to the Destination Wedding Report 2026 released by Indian wedding planning platform WedMeGood. The report highlights a significant shift in wedding preferences among Indian couples, with destination weddings now accounting for nearly 25% of all weddings in the country. Figure is projected to rise to between 30 and 32% by 2028 as more couples opt for intimate, more..

Jul 14 (Island) Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hosted the first of a new series of country-wide investor forums on the iconic CSE trading floor on 25th June and 9th July in Sinhala and English respectively. Investor forums collectively attracted over 180 participants, with many first-time investors taking the opportunity to speak to members of the SEC, CSE, Unit Trust Associations and Stockbrokers from 5 PM onwards. more..

Jul 14 (DM) SJB MP Harsha de Silva said that Sri Lanka’s economy is stabilised because AKD’s govt is following previous govt’s stringent economic policies. He further stated that Sri Lanka needs to build bridges with other countries without being isolated. De Silva also stated that he is strongly opposed to govt’s anti-democratic practices such as going after politicians who are politically opposed in the guise of fighting corruption. more..

Jul 14 (FT) Outside of those directly engaged in the science, climate change has typically been spoken of in the future tense — as mitigation against risks still appears to be over the horizon. Yet after Cyclone Ditwah became our nation’s deadliest and most economically devastating weather event in living memory, it’s now clear that mitigation can no longer be our first priority. More than 640 lives were lost, with an estimated 10% of the population impacted across every district. more..

Jul 14 (FT) SL Export Development Board (EDB), in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Union (EU), successfully conducted the 7th Provincial ExpoNavigator Program under SL Export Excellence Initiative (SLEEI) 2026 on 9–10 June 2026 in Batticaloa. Implemented under the EU’s regional program Accelerating Climate Smart and Inclusive Infrastructure in South Asia (ACSIIS), the initiative aims to enhance the export readiness more..

Jul 14 (DM) SL’s economic comeback has won praise from the creditors, multilaterals and investors. Yet, beneath the headline numbers is hidden a more uncomfortable question: Can the island nation create enough jobs, attract enough investment and remain competitive in an increasingly uncertain world? In an exclusive interview, World Bank Group Country Manager for SL Gevorg Sargsyan offered a frank assessment of the opportunities more..

Jul 14 (TM) Colombo Stock Exchange's ASPI is to move flat within the range of 20,500 to 22,500 for the rest of 2026, before gaining bullish momentum in 2027 – when current levels of inflation and OPR are relaxed, alongside an earnings rebound and improved turnover, First Capital Research's (FCR) mid-year outlook for 2026 shows. "Ceasefire uncertainty, elevated oil prices, moderating earnings, and a tighter OPR should keep ASPI sideways within 20,500-22,500 for the balance of 2026E. more..

Jul 14 (DM) SL’s tourism strategy is shifting from a focus on raw arrival numbers towards prioritising high-yield markets, as data shows regional Asian and Middle Eastern visitors consistently outspending traditional European travellers. SLTDA Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam last week emphasised that striking a balance between high-volume baseline markets and premium niche segments is critical to meeting national tourism revenue targets. Long-haul travellers often record longer stays but more..