Jul 8 (DM) Acting Commissioner General of Prisons Prasad Hemantha Kumara has defended the actions of an officer seen opening fire through a gate during the recent unrest at Negombo Prison, saying the officer acted to prevent a catastrophic prison breach and protect prison officers trapped inside. Addressing widely circulated social media footage of the incident, Acting Prisons Chief said the video showed only a small part of the confrontation and failed to capture the critical situation unfolding more..

Jul 8 (NW) Construction of Sri Lanka’s first public heated swimming pool began in Bandarawela on Tuesday (07), with the government saying the facility is aimed at improving access to modern training infrastructure for athletes from rural areas. The foundation stone for the project was laid at the Uva Provincial Sports Complex. The facility is being developed under the direct supervision of the Department of Sports Development at an estimated cost of Rs. 144,191,250. more..

Jul 8 (TM) Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry acknowledged yesterday that it did not carry out a direct assessment to determine whether the economic benefits that SL receives from mineral extraction and imports outweigh the related environmental, social, and economic impact and resource depletion costs before drafting this year’s National Mineral Policy. Subject Minister Sunil Handunnetti also said more..

Jul 8 (DM) The Sri Lanka Navy has continued its support for the national dengue prevention campaign for the third consecutive day, joining efforts to strengthen the Towards a Dengue-Free Colombo initiative. More than 50 naval personnel attached to the Western Naval Command took part in the campaign today alongside Medical Officers of Health, Public Health Inspectors, Divisional Secretariat officials and members of the International Committee of the Red Cross. more..

Jul 8 (NW) A man has been arrested by the CIABOC over an alleged fraud involving the illegal registration of two vehicles that were imported into Sri Lanka without customs clearance. The suspect is accused of assisting in the fraudulent registration of the two vehicles by allegedly working with officials at the Department of Motor Traffic to enter the vehicles into the department’s computer system. Investigators allege the vehicles had been imported without paying customs duties more..

Jul 8 (Island) A capacity-building programme for 30 officials from the National Audit Office (NAO) of SL was held at the International Centre for Information Systems and Audit (iCISA), Noida, India from 22 June to 03 July 2026. Text of the Indian HC statement: ”The programme was conducted at iCISA, a premier institution established in March 2002 and recognized as a Global Training Facility of the Int'l Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Working Group on IT Audit. more..

Jul 8 (Island) Book lovers in Sri Lanka are preparing to write a new chapter in its cultural history with the launch of the country’s first-ever Colombo Literary Festival, an ambitious six-day celebration of books, ideas, history, cinema and creative dialogue that organisers believe will, eventually, stand alongside some of the world’s most respected literary festivals. From July 24 to 29, the historic Arcade Independence Square will transform into a vibrant meeting place for readers, more..

Jul 8 (NW) UN Resident Coordinator in SL has expressed profound sorrow over the deadly violence at Negombo Prison, calling for renewed investment in the country’s prison system and welcoming the appointment of an independent committee to investigate the incident. In a statement, the UN said it was deeply saddened by the violence that claimed the lives of at least 27 people and left more than 100 others injured. more..

Jul 8 (FT) TAL Lanka Hotels, the owner and operator of the iconic Taj Samudra Hotel, has announced plans to raise Rs. 1.87 billion through a Rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet, repay borrowings and fund refurbishment work at its Colombo hotel. The company’s Board of Directors resolved yesterday to issue 66,836,785 ordinary voting shares through the Rights issue, offering 42 new shares for every 108 existing shares held by shareholders. more..

Jul 8 (FT) John Keells CG Auto (JKCG Auto), the authorised distributor of BYD and DENZA, recently welcomed BYD Vice President Liu Xueliang to SL as part of an official visit reviewing the remarkable growth of both brands across sales and aftersales. The visit reflects the company’s long-term confidence in SL’s transition towards new energy mobility and its place within that broader global momentum. Liu said, “SL holds a strategic place in BYD’s regional outlook for South Asia. more..

Jul 8 (FT) SL is moving to bring cryptocurrency-related businesses within its anti-money laundering regime for the first time, with the Central Bank confirming that legislation now before Parliament is intended as an initial step towards regulating virtual asset service providers (VASPs) before the country’s next international anti-money laundering assessment. Appearing before the CoPF, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) officials said more..

Jul 8 (Island) Sri Lanka must urgently strengthen policy consistency, accelerate investment reforms and fully leverage Colombo Port City as a global financial and services hub if it is to emerge as South Asia’s premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), business leaders and policymakers said at a high-level Public Relations Association of SL (PRASL) forum on Monday. The discussion, themed Taking Sri Lanka to the World, followed an address by more..

Jul 8 (CI) After 1408 runs and 28 wickets, and even some rain delays over five days, the result that had long been telegraphed finally came to pass as Sri Lanka and West Indies played out a draw in the second and final Test in North Sound. The stalemate means it was a first Test series victory in 11 attempts for West Indies, their last coming in 2023 and for their last home Test series win you would have to go back to June 2022. And it was perhaps the significance - and rarity - of this achievement more..

Jul 8 (Island) Prison riots in Negombo have claimed 27 lives including those of seven officers and left more than 100 others injured. It is believed that a clash between a group of drug peddlers among inmates and those who opposed their illegal operations led to the deadly mayhem. A committee has been appointed to probe the violence. The drug Mafia has flexed its muscles again. The government has embarked on an ambitious campaign to rid the country of narcotics, and rightly so. more..

Jul 8 (ST) International competitive bids have been called to sell heavy mineral sands, including upgraded ilmenite extracted by processing beach mineral sands. The chairman of the Standing High-Level Procurement Committee, on behalf of Lanka Mineral Sands Limited in Pulmoddai, called for international bids to sell upgraded ilmenite, grades A and B ilmenite and zircon, rutile, hiTi ilmenite and crude rutile. Steps are taken to receive the bids online on customised order quantity more..

Jul 8 (ST) Parliament and universities may have different roles but share a common purpose – building a stronger nation, Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne said. He was addressing educationists who gathered at the University of Peradeniya Senate Room for the Excellence Awards to 22 men of letters who have served the university over the years. He said parliament makes laws and represents the people, while universities more..

Jul 8 (Island) Education is widely recognised as the foundation of a country’s development. In SL, free education has provided generations of children with the opportunity to attend school regardless of their economic background. Despite these advantages, many students still leave school before completing their education. School dropout is a significant social issue because it affects not only the lives of young people but also the country’s economic and social progress. more..

Jul 8 (DM) Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Ranel T. Wijesinha sharply criticised the banking sector, the accounting profession, and corporate entities for their collective failure to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in accessing the capital market. Speaking at the official launch of the SME Creditworthiness Rating Framework, Dr. Wijesinha expressed deep disappointment over the systemic reluctance to empower SL’s most vital economic sector. more..

Jul 8 (TM) If you are familiar with international news, you may have noticed that there is a huge debate going on about data centres. This is not a small or imaginary issue. It is a real global conversation, especially because of the sudden rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Every time we use cloud storage, stream a movie, send an electronic mail, scroll through social media, search on Google, or ask an AI tool a question, that information is processed somewhere. more..

Jul 8 (TM) The distressing events unfolding at the Negombo Prison over the last forty-eight hours have shocked the Nation. What began as an isolated clash on Sunday afternoon escalated into a major security crisis, drawing in the Police Special Task Force and leaving a trail of severe casualties. While the immediate focus of the Govt remains pinned on restoring complete order and containing active volatile areas, the public must look beyond the immediate chaos. more..

Jul 8 (SO) Admiral of the Fleet, Wasantha Karannagoda left the Colombo Magistrate’s Court on Friday wearing a smile after being granted bail in a high-profile corruption investigation that has brought one of Sri Lanka’s most senior naval figures back into the legal spotlight. Earlier in the day, Karannagoda, SL’s former Navy Commander and a decorated war veteran who also served as Governor of the North Western more..

Jul 8 (ST) Perusing the morning papers the other day, I was struck by an editorial in our sister paper that did raise my eyes. Prez Dissanayake’s near-monthly peroration to parliament has amused the editorial writer. What seems to have amused rather than enraged the editorialist are Prez’s chosen words to castigate the country’s media. He has described the local media as being in a garbage pile, and if it does not extricate itself from its current place of habitation, it will not survive. more..

Jul 8 (DM) Tourism has two sides or images which complement each other like the two faces of a coin. First comes the visitors’ perception of a country and its people. Unless they like what they see, they won’t come. Then there is the not-so-obvious other side of the coin – the local perception of what the tourists are like. If they don’t behave, they are not going to be welcomed. Sri Lanka is generally well liked as a tourist destination. With few exceptions, visitors looking for authenticity and more..

Jul 8 (TM) SL’s public healthcare infrastructure is being pushed to its absolute limits as a catastrophic dengue epidemic sweeps across the island. With nationwide infections officially surging past the grim milestone of 55,000 cases, nearly 800 new patients admitted daily, and emergency treatment units filling up, the country has now entered a critical phase. While the alteration in the epidemic’s rhythm has been attributed to more..

Jul 8 (DM) The World Bank last week upgraded five countries - Vietnam, SL, Philippines, Jordan and Micronesia - from lower-middle to upper-middle income category. This is the second time SL achieved this important milepost in the recent past. Although SL came under the same World Bank income classification in 2019 for the first time, within a year it again sank into the previous lower-middle income group of countries, due to the shortsighted economic measure including massive tax cut more..

Jul 8 (DM) Coinciding with the 136th Archaeology Day, the national archaeology conference titled Breathing Life into Heritage (Urumayata Jeevayak), organised by the Dept of Archaeology, is scheduled for July 7 and 8 at the SL Foundation Institute. The opening ceremony of this conference will commence on July 7 at 9:30 am, under the patronage of PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. At this conference, several scholars who have rendered distinguished service to the field of archaeology are set to be more..

Jul 7 (DM) The Govt has decided to pay compensation of Rs. 1 million each to four patients who lost their eyesight or suffered vision impairment following eye surgeries after the use of Prednisolone Acetate eye drops at government hospitals during the tenure of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. According to a decision based on investigations into the incident, compensation has already been paid to 17 patients who developed vision problems after undergoing eye more..

Jul 7 (AD) Concerns over mineral extraction, environmental damage and alleged irregularities in the issuance of mining permits were raised in Parliament by ITAK MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. MP raised the issue following a recent mineral resources and gemstone mining conference organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in Colombo, which was attended by the Minister of Industries Sunil Handunneththi. Responding to the concerns, the Minister acknowledged more..

Jul 7 (AD) Cabinet has approved a proposal to make the installation of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) mandatory for approximately 1,500 fishing vessels operating in SL waters. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, along with other illegal activities carried out using fishing vessels, including drug smuggling, human trafficking and migrant smuggling, are serious challenges faced not only by SL but also by other countries more..

Jul 7 (DM) Dept of Prisons has paid tribute to the seven prison officers who lost their lives during the recent unrest at Negombo Prison, describing them as heroes who sacrificed their lives in duty. In a post, department honoured the officers for their dedication and bravery, expressing profound gratitude for their service. It also extended its deepest condolences to the bereaved families on behalf of the Commissioner General of Prisons and the entire prison staff. The officers remembered are Sergeant more..

Jul 7 (DM) Twenty-nine people injured in the recent clash at Negombo Prison are currently receiving inpatient treatment at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, with 12 of them being treated in intensive care units, the Health Ministry said. Patients include 15 prison officers and 14 inmates who sustained injuries during the incident. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa visited the National Hospital this afternoon to inquire about the condition of the injured officers and inmates. more..