June 18 (CT) Shared technology knits the corrupt and the cruel. As Israel bombs children going to collect food, I recall that my Secretary at Jaffna Uni went to collect milk in Mulliwaikal for her grandchild at the Army’s invitation and had bombs rained around her by our national-hero army. Like Israel ejecting Palestinians, Tamils in Colombo were ordered removed until M.A. Sumanthiran, PC, put a stop to it in Court. Few Sinhalese want prosecutions of the Armed forces for their cruelty more..

June 18 (ST) Now that came as a real shokku, as the Japanese might say. With the recently elected local govt mafiosos at each other’s throats trying to grab some dying garments to wrap around another’s neck, who would have time to spend on some visiting nonentities trying to sell second-hand ideas that even Trump will knock his tariffs on? But a sudden break in the impending fisticuffs made me turn to a newspaper lying around. Well, lo and behold. There is this coloured photograph on more..

June 18 (Island) The Opposition MPs, save a few, walked out of Parliament yesterday, claiming that the Speaker violated their constitutional right to have themselves heard in the House. The protesting MPs alleged that the Chair allowed the Chief Government Whip to speak freely while denying the Chief Opposition Whip and the Opposition Leader an opportunity to express their views on matters of national importance. Leader of the House and Minister Bimal Rathnayake lashed out at more..

June 18 (Island) A critical policy misstep by the administration of Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the substantial reduction in tax rates in late 2019, which significantly eroded govt revenue. This drastic contraction in the fiscal base severely undermined public finance sustainability and contributed to SL’s deepening fiscal and economic crisis in the years that followed. The intended purpose of these series of major tax cuts aimed at boosting the economy, including slashing VAT rate from 15% to 8% more..

June 18 (TM) Sri Lanka’s prison system is in a state of severe crisis, grappling with an alarming rate of overcrowding that has pushed facilities to their breaking point. With a capacity designed for just 12,000 inmates, the nation’s 36 prisons are currently housing a population that far exceeds this number. This has led to staggering overcrowding with the cumulative population of prisons standing at 260% capacity. more..

June 18 (TM) Sri Lanka’s recent experience with adverse weather moved the previous Govt and the incumbent to improve the island’s weather prediction system, which had long been mothballed and underfunded. Urgency of the need to have a better understanding of how the climate and weather changes was highlighted by recent spate of rough seas, flooding, landslides, crop loss, drought and a recent food insecurity crisis. However, there are many who include so-called leaders of more..

June 18 (CT) Plastic pellets have been washing ashore along SL’s Southern coastline, from Galle and Boossa to Dodanduwa, Patuwata, Kumarakanda, and Hikkaduwa, since Sunday afternoon. Small, lentil-shaped, and seemingly innocuous at first glance, they are now raising serious concerns among local fishing communities and environmental observers. While investigations are still underway, early speculation links these pellets to the recent fire aboard MV Wan Hai more..

June 18 (CT) Through a formal request made under the RTI Act, No. 12 of 2016, detailed financial data have been obtained exposing significant vehicle-related administrative expenses by the Presidential Secretariat of SL over ten years—from 2012 to 2022. This information, released under file number PS/RTI/04/2023, unveils the extent to which State funds have been expended solely on the procurement, leasing, maintenance, more..

June 18 (DM) At the recently held local govt election, NPP's captured power in 266 out of 339 local govt bodies.The election was held on May 06. The NPP was defeated, however, in the northern and eastern regions as the ITAK and the SLMC together won 42 local authorities. The SJB -– largest parliamentary opposition party -- won a mere 13 local bodies. The Crown jewel among the local bodies however, has always been the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). Though winning the largest number more..

June 18 (DM) Imagine a loved one goes missing: your child, sibling, spouse or parent, you would do anything in your power to bring them back, or at least find out what happened to them. Instead, your pleas fall on deaf ears. Govts and revolutions have come and gone, all promising justice, but ultimately failing to deliver. Yet, here you are, over 3,000 days later, still fighting. In Jaffna’s Chemmani-Sindubathi site, declared a mass grave on June 8, 2025, 19 human skeletons have been unearthed, more..

June 17 (NW) Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence met today in Parliament under the Chairmanship of the Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Minister of Defence. Deputy Minister of Defence, Aruna Jayasekera, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Sampath Thuyacontha, and several officials representing the Ministry of Defence, including the Commanders of the Tri-Forces, were present at the meeting. During the Committee meeting, MPs drew attention to a range of more..

June 17 (GUK) Thank you Mr President, This statement is on behalf of the SL Core Group comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and UK. High Commissioner, We are grateful for your office’s work on SL. We welcome the holding of local elections in SL in May and note the more peaceful approach taken this year towards events commemorating the loss of life at the end of the armed conflict in 2009. At the same time, we remain concerned by Govt’s limited progress more..

June 17 (AJ) Less than 100 metres from a busy road, policemen stand on watch behind a pair of rust coloured gates that lead to a cemetery in the outskirts of Jaffna. The officers are guarding SL’s most recently unearthed mass grave, which has so far led to the discovery of 19 bodies, including those of three babies. The discovery of the mass grave has reopened old wounds for SL’s Tamil community, which suffered the worst violence more..

June 17 (NF) Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake to reappear on Nov 16, 2025, in connection with three cases related to alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as Chief Minister of Uva Province. The cases were heard today before Chief Magistrate Tanuja Lakmali Jayasinghe, who issued the summons following a review of the charges. According to the allegations, Dassanayake is accused of prematurely withdrawing funds more..

June 17 (Island) A Facebook party held with loud music at Gunnawatta in Mahabellana, Alubomulla, was raided in the early hours of Saturday leading to the arrest of 26 youth — including 10 university students — along with cannabis and hashish. Acting on a tip-off received by the Police Emergency Service number 119, a team, led by Alubomulla Police OIC, Inspector Sanjeewa Lakmal, surrounded the location and apprehended the suspects. Among those arrested were 16 individuals with more..

June 17 (Island) Prez Trump commuted the sentence of Imaad Zuberi, a major political donor who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the obstruction of a federal investigation into a Trump inaugural committee donation, falsifying records and a failure to disclose and pay tax on US$ 5.65 million received from the SL govt to lobby in Washington to improve its image. The donor, Imaad Zuberi, 54, had been a major supporter of more..

June 17 (TM) Cabinet has approved a proposal to provide a monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 for children and street children in institutional care or guardianship settings across Sri Lanka. Approximately 9,191 children are currently housed in 356 Children Development Centers operated by the Govt, voluntary organizations, and NGOs as of end-2024. According to the 2025 Budget, Rs. 1,000 million has been allocated for this initiative. Out of the monthly Rs. 5,000 allowance, more..

June 17 (AD) A former Deputy General Manager of SL Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC) has been arrested by officers of the Bribery Commission. The arrest has been made in connection with the investigation into allegations of corruption when selecting a company outside the procurement procedures for the opening ceremony of the first phase of the Weras Ganga Project, which was implemented under the SLLRDC, and for causing a loss to the govt through more..

June 17 (DM) The SJB and MP Ravi Karunanayake walked out of Parliament today accusing Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne of acting in a dictatorial manner. "We decided to walk out as we were not allowed to raise a question about the Middle East crisis, which is becoming extremely serious," Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka said. The crisis is going to affect Sri Lanka tremendously and it was unfair that we were prevented from raising questions," he added. more..

June 17 (AD) SL Embassy in Iran has been moved from its current location today in the wake of the continuous attacks on Tehran, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told the Parliament. He stated that embassies can no longer be maintained in Tehran due to the continuous attacks targeting the capital of Iran. Therefore, the embassy officials and 8 SL students who were taking refuge at the embassy have been moved to northern Iran, where they will remain at a temporary location more..

June 17 (CI) The first hour or so of play on the opening day of the Galle Test belonged to SL. But after that, it was all Bangladesh, as Najmul Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim struck centuries during an unbroken stand of 247, to seize control of day one. By stumps, Shanto was unbeaten on 136 and had Mushfiqur right behind him on 105 not out. Seamer Milan Rathnayake was the most economical of SL bowlers, his 12 overs going for just 19 more..

June 17 (AD) Cabinet has granted approval to proceed with the preparation of a draft bill aimed at establishing an independent Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIBSL) in SL. Under the Civil Aviation Authority of SL Act No. 34 of 2002, Civil Aviation Authority is currently responsible for investigating aircraft accidents and related incidents occurring within SL territory. However, a safety oversight audit conducted in 2010 by the Int'l Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) more..

June 17 (TM) Cabinet has approved additional funding to complete the construction and operational setup of the Amaradeva Aesthetic and Research Centre, also known as Amaradeva Asapuwa, located in the Ape Gama Complex, Battaramulla. CECB has requested Rs. 21.745 million for the remaining work of Phase Two and Rs. 179.436 million for the final construction phase. An additional Rs. 20 million will be used to purchase essential goods to support the centre’s office operations. more..

June 17 (PMD) The govt is currently prioritizing the development of a country-specific Food Security Index, with the goal of completing the initiative within the next three months. This tailored index is expected to better reflect SL’s unique food security landscape, addressing the limitations of global indices such as the Global Food Security Index (GFSI), which have been criticized for failing to capture the nuances of the local context. more..

June 17 (CT) Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali, yesterday (16), ordered that a suspect who deposited Rs 50,000 into the bank account of Ishara Sewwandi, a woman suspected of involvement in the killing of Ganemulla Sanjeewa, be remanded until 20 June. Ganemulla Sanjeewa, a member of a powerful crime syndicate, was gunned down in the suspects’ dock at the Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court in February. The suspect, Sugath Abeysinghe, a resident of Kandy, more..

June 17 (Island) Retail liquor traders expressed frustration after the Excise Commissioner General and other top officials failed to attend an awareness programme organised by SL Liquor Licensees’ Association last Saturday at the Avenra Garden Hotel in Negombo. The event, held in line with Tax Week, aimed to educate liquor traders about strategies to increase excise tax revenue. Invitations were sent to retail liquor traders nationwide, with Deputy Minister Harshana Suriyapperuma more..

June 17 (NW) Govt has denied allegations against Commissioner of Dept of Local Govt of the Western Province claiming that she acted in an arbitrary manner in conducting a secret ballot to elect Colombo’s mayor. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the Commissioner had followed proper procedures in conducting the ballot and dismissed claims of arbitrary conduct. The comments come after the SJB alleged that Commissioner Sarangika Jayasundara acted unilaterally during the vote, more..

June 17 (DM) Railway Controllers' Union announced that it will launch a 48-hour token strike from midnight on Friday (20), protesting the authorities’ failure to address several longstanding issues. Speaking at a media briefing, the union’s spokesman said they had been urging the government for more than two years to resolve their demands. However, the railways administration had consistently failed to provide acceptable solutions, prompting the union to resort to strike action. more..

June 17 (AD) IMF’s Executive Board is scheduled to evaluate Sri Lanka’s fourth review under the EFF on July 1, IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director Dr. Gita Gopinath said. She noted that Sri Lanka has made lots of improvement and lots of progress in restoring macroeconomic stability at the midpoint of its four-year IMF-supported program. “At this point, again, lots of improvement that we have seen, lots of progress. more..

June 17 (EN) SL has signed an agreement with France to reschedule a debt stock of 390 million euros until 2042 with a 5 year grace period and a cap on original interest rates. The bilateral agreement was signed by Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana and William Roos, Assistant Secretary, Multilateral Affairs, Trade & Development Policies Department, Directorate-general of the Treasury, on behalf of the Govt of France. France is the fourth largest public creditor to SL, more..

June 17 (NW) Cabinet has approved the proposal submitted by the Minister of Justice to instruct the Legal Draftsmen to formulate 2 draft bills to limit the benefits afforded under the Presidents’ Entitlements Act No. 4 of 1986 and the Parliamentary Pensions Law, No. 1 of 1977. As such, the newly drafted bills will make it possible to cancel the special benefits granted to former Presidents and their families, as well as the pension of the MPs after the conclusion of their Parliamentary terms. more..

June 17 (DM) The govt has decided to introduce a special fixed deposit scheme for senior citizens, as proposed in the 2025 budget, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said today. He said the proposal was submitted by the Prez in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Plan Implementation. According to the plan, special fixed deposit scheme will be available for SL citizens aged 60 years and above, more..