June 22 (NW) The govt officially launched the National Rural Road Development Program on Saturday, aiming to improve 1,800 rural roads by the end of the year, Transport and Highways Minister Bimal Rathnayake said. The project, which commenced with the development of the Kosgama South Kadugoda Pussella Road in the Seethawaka area, will see simultaneous work at 57 locations nationwide. The total estimated cost is Rs. 14 billion, with Rs. 65 million allocated for the initial site. more..

June 22 (PMD) A programme to recognise high-achieving students who excelled in the recent 2023/2024 GCE A/L exam at district level has been launched by the President’s Fund. The inaugural ceremony will take place today in Kilinochchi, under the patronage of Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne. As part of this initiative, 60 outstanding students from each district, demonstrating exceptional merit across all subject streams in the 2023/2024 A/L exam, will be selected to receive financial scholarships more..

June 22 (TM) SL’s latest Govt audit has called for immediate legal and disciplinary action against public officials and decision-makers responsible for the disastrous dairy cattle import project that has resulted in losses exceeding Rs. 1.75 billion in public funds. The audit report, tabled recently, has criticised the decision to release an advance payment of Rs. 1,749,672,697 for the importation of 15,000 dairy cattle under more..

June 22 (AD) Sri Lanka has extended its gratitude to the government of India for the timely assistance to evacuate Sri Lankans from Iran. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath said he is thankful to the government of India for the timely support in evacuating Sri Lankans from Iran alongside Indian citizens. This thoughtful act reflects the deep bonds and enduring partnership between Sri Lanka and India, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath added. more..

June 22 (DM) CEB has announced new flat tariffs for rooftop solar power systems under a 20-year agreement. According to the latest chart, smaller solar systems will receive higher payments per unit of electricity. Systems between 0–5 kW will get the highest rate of 20.90 LKR per unit. This is followed by 5–20 kW systems, which will earn 19.61 LKR. As the system size increases, tariff decreases. For example, 20–100 kW systems will receive 17.46 LKR, 100–500 kW systems 15.49 LKR. more..

June 22 (EN) The World Bank said it had approved a 150 million dollar program for Sri Lanka that will help finance 1000 MegaWatts of solar and wind energy and also strengthen the grid to avoid blackouts. The 150 dollar program includes US$ 40 million in guarantees which will reduce risks of private investors. “The program also supports the upgrades to Sri Lanka’s electricity grid, enabling it to better handle renewable energy and reduce power outages,” the World Bank said. more..

June 22 (Island) There was a time – not too long ago – when SL’s batting collapses were as predictable as monsoon rain in May. But in Galle, the tables turned. Bangladesh, after sitting pretty at one stage, lost six wickets for 37 runs in a classic case of snatching defeat from the jaws of dominance. And when SL, on the fourth morning, lost Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis in quick succession, the familiar ghosts of Galle past began to stir. Bangladesh were roaring, tails up and on the hunt. more..

June 22 (CI) SL batted out 32 overs in the final session and ensured that the first Test in Galle ended in a draw. But it wasn't a result without minor jeopardy, as SL lost four wickets on the way before Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis shut up shop for good. The teams shook hands with five overs left to play in the day, with the pair having played out 53 balls in their partnership. But reflection later on might leave Bangladesh with more..

June 22 (Island) CID Director Ashoka Karunathilaka told the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee probing the interdicted IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon that numerous flaws had been found in the investigations carried out by the Weligama Police into a shooting incident at the W15 Hotel. Giving evidence before the special inquiry committee, chaired by SC Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Karunathilaka said that the Weligama Police had proceeded with their investigation riddled with flaws. more..

June 22 (CI) Angelo Mathews had played more Test cricket than anyone else on the field in Galle, and even he thought the worst Bangladesh could do after making 495 in the first innings, was end up with a draw. Sri Lanka had had a small window in which they could have pushed for victory. But having been 4 for 377 at one stage in the first innings, they were all out for 485, which meant they actually registered a 10-run deficit in the first dig. Najmul Hossain Shanto made twin centuries in this game, more..

June 22 (CI) Life isn't perfect. SL careers are even less so. Angelo Mathews knows this better than most. Long cricketing lives the likes of which Mathews has had, rarely pass without incident. But in SL, they are further enlivened by fights with the board, fights with coaching staff, galling accusations from ex-players, invites from sleazy politicians, meddling incompetence of sports ministers, summary sackings from one group of selectors, more..

June 22 (ST) When Prabath Jayasuriya walked off the field at Galle with figures of 0-154 from 48 overs at the end of Bangladesh’s first innings, it wasn’t just a bad day at the office—it was a damning symbol of SL cricket’s deeper malaise. For a bowler who had previously claimed 80 wickets in just 10 matches at this very ground, such returns were nothing short of catastrophic. Galle, the fortress where visiting batsmen have historically been reduced to nervous wrecks by spinning wizards, more..

June 22 (Island) St. Aloysius’ College, Rathnapura athlete Lahiru Achintha is among the top contenders to secure a berth in the country’s track and field team for the up coming Asian Youth Games, which will be held in Manama, Bahrain in October. The 16-year-old turned tables on South Asian Junior C'ship medalliat Shavindu Aviska to win the Under 18 boys’ 1,500metres at the recently held Junior National Athletics C'ship. He was also the winner of the 3,000 metres at the same c'ship. more..

June 22 (SO) In light of growing concerns over worker protection and wage disparities in Middle Eastern countries, Govt is considering the reintroduction of minimum wage policy for SL migrant workers. Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath responded to questions raised in Parliament over critical issues surrounding the welfare and wages of SL migrant workers in the Middle East, where over 1.3 million Sri Lankans are currently employed. more..

June 22 (DM) Moratuwa Municipal Council Member Lihini Fernando has criticised the conduct of MPs who either voted against or failed to support the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, calling it a betrayal of public trust. The NCM, which was defeated in Parliament by 113 votes to 73 with 38 MPs absent, has sparked outrage from several quarters. Fernando, voicing concern over what she described as a moral collapse in SL’s political leadership, more..

June 22 (TM) Despite the escalation of attacks on Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Iran, many Sri Lankans working in the country claim to be confident about remaining in Israel. Leaving Israel through the country’s airports has become an impossibility due to the closing of Israeli airspace. However some Sri Lankans in Israel say that they prefer to stay than to return even if they were offered the opportunity. more..

June 22 (Island) It is popularly said in this country that a politician out of power is like a banana without skin. These days, we see several such politicians being escorted in and out of various courts. They blatantly flouted the law with total impunity while in power, and roared like lions in Parliament and elsewhere. They may not have thought that they would have to face the consequences of their unlawful actions. Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama has made a shocking revelation more..

June 22 (CT) Democracy is arguably the most discussed concept in modern political discourse. As the well-known adage goes, Democracy is the power of equal votes for unequal minds. It captures a fundamental paradox — while each citizen holds an equal vote, the diversity of opinion and ideology among voters makes consensus elusive. This inherent tension also explains why electoral reforms are often contentious and slow-moving. It is nearly impossible to craft an electoral system more..

June 22 (ST) My dear Sajith, I am writing to you because the big news this week was that Colombo has fallen. Colombo Municipal Council, for almost seven decades a bastion of the Green party has finally fallen to the pink brigade of the maalimaawa sahodarayas. To be more precise, it will be headed by Vraie sahodariya. As a result, many questions are being asked. Again, your ability to take correct political decisions is being questioned. This is mostly because we remember you telling us more..

June 22 (ST) We look forward to receiving the High Commissioner for Human Rights in SL, concluded the SL Govt statement to the ongoing session of the UNHRC in Geneva. The reference is to the official visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, to SL starting tomorrow, according to a Foreign Ministry release which omits mentioning an invitation by the Govt. Given the relevance of the visit to the forthcoming September session of the Council where more..

June 22 (ST) The Navy has stepped up its patrolling activities in SL’s territorial waters as TN fishermen have once again begun to cross the IMBL and trespass into SL waters with the annual 61-day fishing ban ending on Monday. The ban is enforced annually by Indian authorities to protect the fish banks during the monsoon season breeding period. However, TN mechanised bottom trawlers often defy the ban and engage in harmful more..

June 22 (Island) What’s in a vote? That which we call a show of hands could still be as concealed as a secret vote. The newly elected Colombo Municipal Council has chosen NPP’s Vraie Cally Balthazaar as the City’s new Mayor, but on a secret vote and not in an open show of hands. Secret vote route appears to have caused much consternation among the SJB-UNP opposition forces at the Town Hall. The latter openly preferred an open show and are blaming the secret vote for the defeat more..

June 22 (GV) On the quiet shores of Mannar Island, something powerful is unfolding – not just a protest but a collective cry for justice, dignity and the right to live in harmony with the land. In recent weeks, this coastal region has become the epicenter of rising tensions between local communities and Colombo based extractive interests seeking to exploit the island’s mineral rich sands. What began as a covert land survey attempt has since erupted into a unified resistance, one that cuts across more..

June 22 (TM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his JVP-led NPP Govt have been on victory laps with the securing of power in a majority of the Local Govt (LG) bodies where the party had failed to secure a majority at the elections held in May this year and the accelerated action on its anti-corruption drive with probes being initiated against a host of former members of govts and cases filed on some of these matters. more..

June 22 (TM) As tensions in the Middle East escalate, the world watches anxiously. But for Sri Lanka, this is not merely a diplomatic concern; it is a looming economic threat with the power to derail what has thus far been a fragile recovery. The Israel-Iran conflict, which may soon draw in the US directly, has reached a tipping point and while the rest of the world is scrambling to cushion its impact, the Govt of Sri Lanka appears to be preoccupied with domestic politicking. more..

June 22 (SO) The Iran-Israel War has entered its second week, with US Prez Donald Trump injecting more uncertainty into unfolding events by declaring a two-week period for contemplating whether to become the third player in the conflict. Israeli PM Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu is itching to involve the US, as only the latter has the equipment needed to destroy Fordow, the deepest nuclear research centre in Iran some 80 metres underground. Indeed, this is exactly what Prez Trump has to decide on more..

June 21 (FT) In a startling revelation made in Parliament, Minister Bimal Rathnayake alleged that the service area of the Southern Expressway was leased for a mere Rs. 10,000 for a 99-year period during the tenure of the Rajapaksa administration. He asserted that because the Southern Expressway was the first of its kind in the country, initial designs and feasibility studies were vulnerable to alterations, many of which more..

June 21 (DM) SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa has accused Minister Bimal Rathnayake of misleading Parliament following the latter’s remarks about alleged irregularities in the construction of the Southern Expressway. Rajapaksa expressed his disappointment over what he termed "false narratives" aimed at discrediting the Rajapaksa family. "It is disappointing to see Minister Bimal Rathnayake misleading Parliament with false narratives just to spread hatred towards more..

June 21 (AFP) The alms bowl is a symbol of monks, yet in SL artisans are struggling as cheap substitutes flood the market, igniting a debate over Buddhist tradition and quality. The village of Panvila has long been associated with craftsmen who produce the humble paathra, the special bowl that forms part of the eight essentials donated to monks and which is used to ask for food. Thenuwara Badalge Sarath, 65, says he is the only blacksmith left in a village that once supplied much of the country. more..

June 21 (ST) SL’s multimillion-dollar loan to buy dairy cows from Australia in a failed bid to boost local milk production was borrowed from a Dutch bank now at the centre of a money laundering investigation. Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office or Openbaar Ministerie (OM) has announced that it would subpoena Rabobank U.A. as it had “structurally violated the Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act”. more..

June 21 (EN) Two Boeing official had a meeting with the SL Civil Aviation and Colombo Airport Authority (CAASL) on the Boeing 777-9 operations at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), the Airport Authority said, a week after Boeing Dreamliner crash in India. More than 240 people were killed when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London crashed moments after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad on June 12 in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade. more..

June 21 (DM) A complaint has been lodged with the FCID today (20), alleging the misappropriation of Rs. 27.5 million from the President’s Fund during the tenure of former President Maithripala Sirisena in 2019. The complaint was filed by Lakshman Jayawardena, Vice Chairman of the Eppawala Cooperative Society, who claims that the funds were intended for the construction of a conference hall on land belonging to the society following a request made to the President’s Office in 2017. more..

June 21 (ST) Investigations into the theft of a macaw from the Dehiwala Zoo ten days ago have so far yielded no results, National Zoological Gardens Director General Dr. Chandana Rajapaksa said. He said the investigators had yet to identify the person who entered the macaw cage on the night of June 4 to steal the bird. The theft came to light the following morning when an animal keeper noticed the cage’s padlock was broken, although the cage remained closed with no bird inside. more..