Jul 23 (AD) Supreme Court, in a majority decision, today ruled Fundamental Rights have been violated through then Acting Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s orders to disperse the Aragalaya protestors from Galle Face on 17 July 2022, by resorting to Emergency Regulations under the Public Security Act. The majority of the judges on the three-member bench held that the Emergency Regulations promulgated by the then Acting Prez under more..

Jul 23 (AM) Court of Appeal dismissed an interlocutory petition submitted by the SL Broadcasters’ Guild seeking to intervene in an appeal filed by the Hiru TV against a decision made by the Right to Information Commission. The Guild filed the motion in support of Hiru TV, challenging the Commission’s ruling that the Hiru Media Network qualifies as a public authority under the RTI Act. The case originated from a citizen’s request for information from the Hiru institution, more..

Jul 23 (NW) The Supreme Court has granted leave to proceed with a fundamental rights petition filed by Attorney-at-Law Nuwan Bopage, who alleges he was unlawfully arrested by Police during the GotaGoGama protest at Galle Face. The petition claims that Bopage’s arrest and subsequent court presentation, carried out without just cause, violated his fundamental rights under the Constitution. A three-judge bench comprising Justices Kumuduni Wickremasinghe, Sobhitha Rajakaruna, and more..

Jul 23 (FT) SL’s politically tarnished centralised system of governance structure has continued to disenfranchise the majority of its citizens and has robbed its true potential before and since independence was granted, in spite of multiple constitutions and social uprisings. The need of the hour before we face a crash is to reimagine the country’s political and administrative systems to prioritise capable, service-oriented, and preferably apolitical leadership at the local levels. more..

Jul 23 (AD) Colombo High Court has ordered that the petition filed by former Minister Rajitha Senaratne, seeking a revision of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court order refusing him bail, be taken up for consideration on July 30. The petition was taken up today before Colombo High Court Judge Indrika Kalingawansa. During the hearing, the HC Judge observed that she was unable to issue an order on the petition as a copy of the relevant Magistrate’s Court’s decision rejecting bail more..

Jul 23 (DM) With Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon facing removal from office after being found guilty of gross abuse of power by a three-member Committee of Inquiry chaired by Supreme Court Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to nominate one or more candidates to the Constitutional Council (CC) for the appointment of the 37th IGP of the Sri Lanka Police, more..

Jul 23 (CT) PHU Leader Udaya Gammanpila has called for the immediate removal of Catholic Church Spokesperson Rev. Fr. Jude Fernando, accusing him of spreading misleading and inflammatory remarks regarding the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Gammanpila alleged that Fr. Fernando had violated the Ten Commandments by suggesting that former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Nilantha Jayawardena should be given a capital sentence, despite Jayawardena having provided more..

Jul 23 (FT) The Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday filed legal action in the Supreme Court challenging the National Audit (Amendment) Bill which was published in the gazette on 23 June 2025. The Bill is to amend the National Audit Act No. 19 of 2018. The petition has been filed in public interest. TISL said the National Audit Act is one of the key legislative tools to uphold financial accountability and combat corruption within the public sector. more..

Jul 23 (Island) Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne informed Parliament yesterday that the report of the Committee of Inquiry, probing allegations of gross abuse of power against suspended IGP Deshabandhu Tennakoon, has found him guilty of all charges and has recommended his removal. The following is the statement made by the Speaker: “Today, I wish to bring to the attention of this august more..

Jul 23 (EN) Japan has got a 15% tariff, President Donald Trump said in a social media post shortly after announcing a 19% rate for Indonesia and the Philippines as Sri Lanka continues talks. “We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made, Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the US, which will receive 90% of the Profits,” Trump said. “This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it. more..

Jul 23 (DN) Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody informed Parliament that the Rs.50 tax on fuel will be removed once the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s (CPC) debt which had been acquired by the Treasury under the previous govt is fully settled. He said nearly half of the Rs.884 billion debt of the CPC that had been acquired by the Treasury under the previous regime has already been settled and currently only standard Govt taxes are in effect. The Minister said that investigations more..

Jul 23 (EN) Parliament will not debate an amendment to the Electricity Act on July 24 as scheduled. The business committee had made the decision on Tuesday. “This decision has been taken due to technical matter related to the SL Electricity (Amd) Bill and the Bill is scheduled to be debated on a future parliamentary day after the relevant matters are completed,” the statement said. A sectoral committee of the parliament has raised a number of questions on the bill raising questions more..

Jul 23 (DN) Rasara Wijesooriya, SL long distance athlete set up a new 10, 000m women’s National record at the World Uni Games which is now in progress in Germany. Rasara finished 8th in 32minures and 52.20 seconds also renewed her own SL 10,000m record of 33 minutes and 21.62 seconds which she set up in 2025 South Korea Asian Championship. Rasara was placed seventh at the Asian Championship and surpassed the previous record of 33 minutes and 55.06 sec more..

Jul 23 (EN) SL’s central bank said it will keep its policy rate unchanged at 7.75%, saying it will increase the cost of living on the public the level it wants to and push up growth. In SL there is a belief that high inflation is needed for growth. “The Board arrived at this decision after carefully considering both domestic and global developments,” CB said. “The Board is of the view that the current monetary policy stance more..

Jul 23 (DN) North Western Province Netball team made a superb team effort to win National Sports Festival (NSF) Netball Championship. The three-day netball competition was held at the Kotawila District Indoor Stadium, Matara over the weekend. Many National players were in action representing their respective provincial teams. The final between North Western Province and Central Province turned out to be a keen contest and North Western Province won the title with a narrow two points lead 50-48. more..

Jul 23 (DN) Chairman of the BOI Arjuna Herath said that SL is strategically important as a German automotive manufacturing hub in the region where the country has now established macroeconomic and political stability. Following the Prez’s visit to Germany, German investors have shown keen interest in investing in sectors such as energy, logistics, manufacturing, tourism and digital transformation, said Martin Kloss, SL Head of the German Institute of Industry and Commerce. more..

Jul 23 (ST) A 21-year-old youth from Mawanella, who had been detained for nine months under the PTA following his arrest for allegedly posting an anti-Israeli message on social media, was released on bail this week by Mount Lavinia Magistrate. The magistrate ordered the release of the suspect, Mohammed Suhail, on two personal bail bonds of Rs. 500,000 each. Producing the suspect in court, Dehiwala OIC Anuradha Herath said the AG had recommended the granting of bail. more..

Jul 23 (DM) The Export Development Board (EDB), as part of its strategic approach to fostering further economic relationships with Japan on one hand and exploring new markets in Japan on the other, together with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tokyo is to organise a SL Business forum and Networking session at the World Expo 2025 at Osaka, Japan, on 26 Sept 2025. It will gather top-level business representatives of SL export-oriented companies & will provide them with a high-impact meeting, more..

Jul 23 (ST) Sri Lanka lost 1,489 doctors, including specialists, to brain drain in the three-year period from 2022 to 2024, following the unprecedented economic crisis, resulting in a huge estimated financial loss of around Rs. 12.5 billion (US$ 41.5 mil) to the govt and taxpayers, a study has found. This migration has strained healthcare infrastructure, particularly in rural and underserved areas, led to shortages in more..

Jul 23 (FT) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) submitted its Parallel Report to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance ahead of the Committee’s 29th session to be held from 22 Sept to 3 Oct. At this session, Committee is scheduled to review SL’s fulfilment of obligations under the Int'l Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Convention). HRCSL’s 25-page report contained several key observations and recommendations on SL’s implementation of more..

Jul 23 (FT) Under Armour, a world-renowned brand in the sports apparel industry, successfully obtained an interim injunction from the Commercial High Court of Colombo against House of Fashions for selling counterfeit Under Armour garments. In the Plaint, Under Armour Inc. claimed that House of Fashions was involved in the sale of counterfeit garments unlawfully bearing its registered Under Armour trademarks and logos. When the case was first filed, Commercial HC Judge more..

Jul 23 (TM) In the wake of criticism over him holding top positions in multiple power-related entities such as the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Lanka Transformers Private Limited (LTL), the Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, Prof. Udayanga Hemapala said that there is no conflict between the CEB and the ministry, and that steps have already been taken to resolve the issue of overlapping roles between the CEB & LTL more..

Jul 23 (FT) The appointment of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has been referred to the Attorney General (AG) for an opinion over alleged conflict of interest. Following a competitive process, in January this year, the CSE announced the appointment of highly qualified Vindhya Jayasekera as the incoming CEO succeeding Rajeeva Bandaranaike, who was due to retire during the course of 2025 after serving for 11 years in that capacity. more..

Jul 23 (DM) Sri Lanka’s unit trust industry has demonstrated a significant expansion in its investor base over the past year, a positive indicator for financial inclusion and capital market depth. However, the total net asset value (NAV) of funds under management saw a decline. As of June 30, 2025, the number of unitholders grew to 126,837, a notable 17.6 percent increase from 107,876 recorded a year earlier, signalling growing investor confidence and market participation, more..

Jul 23 (FT) DIMO, a leading diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka, has successfully secured the order for design and supply of a comprehensive Low Voltage (LV) power distribution system for Marina Square – Colombo. This is one of the most prestigious and luxurious real estate developments in Colombo. This landmark project sets a new benchmark for upscale urban living in Sri Lanka, featuring 1,088 luxury apartments, a high-end retail mall, and premium amenities. more..

Jul 23 (FT) SriLankan Cargo, the air freight arm of SriLankan Airlines, has joined WebCargo by Freightos, a leading digital booking and payment platform for int'l freight. The integration allows over 10,000 freight forwarding offices worldwide to seamlessly access SriLankan Cargo’s capacity, request quotations, make bookings and process payments in real time. “By joining Freightos’ WebCargo platform, we’re not just digitalising our booking process – we’re expanding our more..

Jul 23 (FT) As exporters face mounting pressure to meet the European Union’s (EU) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), legal expert Shyamali Ranaraja recently made a strong case for a shared national compliance infrastructure to support the country’s predominantly small and medium-sized manufacturing sector. Delivering a comprehensive analysis of the implications of CSDDD more..

Jul 23 (Island) The Central Bank of SL has started a special awareness campaign called Anti-Pyramid National Awareness Week from July 14 to 18, 2025. The theme is Pyramid is a trap – don’t get into the wrong track. This campaign is meant to warn people about pyramid schemes, which are fake money-making plans that can cause big financial losses. During this week, Central Bank will reach out to schoolchildren, teachers, police officers, govt workers, and the general public through more..

Jul 23 (GV) Communal violence in Sri Lanka did not erupt overnight. The tragic events of July 1983 were not simply a spontaneous reaction to the killing of 13 soldiers by Tamil militants. Rather, they represented the culmination of decades of political manipulation, systemic discrimination and calculated brutality. Evidence points to the direct involvement of ruling party officials in orchestrating the violence, making it a state-sponsored pogrom rather than a sudden outburst of communal anger. more..

Jul 23 (Island) It looks as if SL had more than its fair share of flawed laws. Parliament rises from its slumber, occasionally, and goes at full throttle to make some progressive laws, most of which are full of flaws. It lets the grass grow under its feet when the need arises to amend such laws. The Regulation of Election Expenditure Act (REEA), No. 3 of 2023 is a case in point. But candidates and political parties/independent groups continue to spend colossal amounts of undisclosed funds on more..

Jul 23 (TM) A financial crisis which has plagued SL’s rural areas, particularly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, is continuing to worsen as microfinance borrowers face mounting pressure from debt recovery actions. This situation has disproportionately affected women. A process which was once envisaged to help those in poverty and women, has today become a curse for many who are being exploited. The use of the parate execution law by banks and financial institutions has more..