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..

June 21 (FT) Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe this week confirmed that the Govt is intensifying efforts to expand Sri Lanka’s international trade footprint, with renewed focus on deepening economic ties with Bangladesh and fostering strategic export partnerships. Speaking at the Bangladesh-SL Business Forum hosted by The National Chamber of Commerce of SL, he emphasised that SL’s deepening trade ties with Bangladesh are central to its broader more..

June 21 (DN) The dark shadows of the Iran-Israel conflict are falling on the SL economy, renowned economist Ven. Prof. Vijithapure Wimalarathana Thera said. It is not just a geopolitical tension limited to that region. It has become a massive crisis that, with the intervention of world powers, questions the stability of the global energy market, international trade routes and the entire world economy. The impact of this conflict is being felt even by nations thousands of miles away more..

June 21 (FT) SL’s much-awaited Nation Branding campaign, billed for grand unveiling mid-next week is now in danger of branding itself as yet another missed deadline. Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe yesterday said that unresolved regulatory and procedural hurdles may derail the Nation Branding launch, just two weeks after the SL Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) boldly announced the date, more..

June 21 (CT) Court of Appeal, on Friday, granted leave to proceed with a Writ Petition filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and several environmental activists, challenging the construction of a road through the Sinharaja Rainforest—an ecologically sensitive UNESCO World Heritage Site. The petition, filed in 2021, alleges that the road project was carried out under the personal intervention of former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa and without the legal authorisation of relevant more..

June 21 (DN) SL’s women’s tennis team booked their place in the Asia/Oceania Group 2 of the Billie Jean King Cup with a strong 2-0 win over Turkmenistan at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts in Colombo yesterday. Akesha Silva and Dinara De Silva were in top form, producing straight-set victories in both singles matches to seal Sri Lanka’s final tie in the Group 3 competition. In the first singles, Akesha Silva made a powerful start, crushing Aynur Movlyamova 6-0, 6-2. more..

June 21 (FT) The Colombo stock market yesterday staged a strong rebound though ending the week with losses. The benchmark ASPI and active S&P SL20 gained by 1.6% yesterday but saw a 1.8% decline during the week. Turnover yesterday was Rs. 2.5 billion (down from Rs. 3.9 billion average for the week) involving 98.8 million shares. First Capital said the Colombo Bourse concluded trading for the week on an upbeat note as positive sentiment led to a broader market recovery. more..

June 21 (FT) UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will undertake an official visit to SL from 23 to 26 June. This marks the first visit by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to SL since Feb 2016. During the visit, High Commissioner is scheduled to call on Prez and PM. He will also hold meetings with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism, several other Cabinet Ministers, MPs, senior Govt officials, religious leaders, representatives of civil more..

June 21 (CT) Despite a pledge made by Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake in Parliament on International Women’s Day 2025 that the NPP Govt had taken a policy decision to recruit women into various roles within Sri Lanka Railways, women remain barred from applying for the position of Station Master. A recent call for applications to fill 106 vacancies in this post stated explicitly that only male candidates are eligible. more..

June 21 (DM) Sri Lanka should join the Russia-led BRICS as it has become a grouping to be reckoned with, Former Prez who is on a visit to Russia said. “I don’t think Russia is isolated. It deals with many countries in the world, including our part of the world. Russia’s connections keep growing. BRICS became a large group. A group which is larger than any other economic grouping. It consists of countries in our part of the world. I thought we should apply for its membership during my regime. more..

June 21 (CI) Heading into the final day in Galle, players from both teams can see paths to victory. The most likely outcome feels like a draw, but as the World Test Championship points system discourages draws, home teams are especially motivated to pursue victories. With Bangladesh currently 187 runs ahead, though needing to get 10 SL wickets to seal the result, a Bangladesh win also seems a posssibility in this match, particularly as there is dust exploding out of the surface most times more..

June 21 (ST) The Health Ministry has decided to revise the list of schools found to be harbouring mosquito breeding sites before it is released to the media in a name-and-shame initiative. Authorities said that the initial list was based on inspections of schools carried out during the dengue control week (May 19 to 24), but since some time had lapsed since then, they would carry out inspections till the end of June before they more..

June 21 (FT) A host of media organisations have urged Prez Anura Kumara Disanayake to strengthen the Right to Information (RTI) Commission. They have sent an urgent letter to the President, calling for immediate action to address critical issues impacting on the institutional integrity of the RTI Commission. The organisations are SL Press Institute, its Constituents Newspaper Society of SL, Editors’ Guild of SL, Free Media Movement, SL Working Journalists Association, and more..

June 21 (DN) Wesley College’s Adeetha Siriwardana produced a sensational performance by breaking two new meet records on the fourth day of the 50th MILO All Island Schools Age Group Aquatic Championship, organized by the SL Schools Aquatic Sports Association (SLSASA) at the Sugathadasa Complex in Colombo yesterday. The 17-year-old Siriwardana stole the spotlight in the Boys U-18 events, first smashing the 800m Freestyle record with a superb timing of 9m 5s. more..

June 21 (FT) Prime Group, SL’s leading real estate conglomerate, has entered into a landmark MoU with the Federation of SL Local Govt Authorities (FSLGA) recently to launch a comprehensive capacity-building initiative for local govt officers across the island. It aims to empower and build capacity among Local Govt officials by providing training and knowledge-sharing programs, strengthening service delivery, transparency, and innovation in local authorities, carried out more..

June 21 (CI) If you watched Sri Lanka play Tests in Galle through the 2010s, you can probably close your eyes and still see him. Rangana Herath, waddling to the the crease pre-ball, Rangana Herath pivoting in his follow-through post-ball, Rangana Herath settling into one of his gentle celebrations post post-ball, the ball itself having taken sharp turn and collected an outside edge, or skimmed straight and clattered into stumps. more..

June 21 (Island) Vraie Cally Balthazaar is the newly elected Mayor of Colombo. On June 16, almost a fortnight after MC elections were held, she was voted in by secret ballot as Mayor, winning 61 votes against the main opposition candidate Riza Zarook from the coalition of a mixed bag of Parties, who got 54 votes. Cass would add to the epithet mixed – unholy and most unlikely of parties including the SJB, UNP and even the SLPP, banding themselves together to defeat the NPP. more..

June 21 (DM) How the NPP which had failed to secure absolute power in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) at the May 6 local govt elections finally captured power of the council last Monday is still a secret. It seems to be known only to a few NPP members of the council and 13 members from other parties and/or independent groups who supported them to achieve the feat. Others would not know who those 13 members are, sometimes to the rest of the current tenure of the CMC. more..

June 21 (Island) The Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) has taken about 44 vehicles including 15 SLTB and private buses off the road, following a random vehicle inspection on the Hatton-Kandy road on 19 June. About 115 vehicles underwent roadside checks, we are told. In other words, about 38% of vehicles inspected by the DMT randomly in one location in the central hills were found to be unroadworthy. This can be considered a microcosm of the overall situation in the country. more..

June 21 (FT) We were fab such a long time ago that most of us in this beautiful, Asian splendour, fertile and rich in diversity, emitting an overall colour of a deep green and glowing golden beaches, have long forgotten When We Was Fab. There was a time in the late 1960s when travel was easy and cheap, probably long and arduous. The fun I presume was so great that the length and the arduousness possibly never mattered. The Mainline from Colombo to Badulla rattled its way into the hills more..

June 21 (CT) In a historic council formation on 16 June, Vraie Cally Balthazaar of the NPP was elected as the new Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). This year’s LG Elections, often referred to as the little election (Punchi Chandaya), were exceptionally intense, with the Prez and key Opposition leaders actively involved in the campaigns. The CMC race stood out as particularly significant, viewed by NPP and more..

June 21 (CT) Iran–Israel aerial military confrontation is the latest and potentially the most dangerous act in the post-World War I mega-plot to redesign the Middle East to serve the imperial aspirations of Western powers. It was the American naval geographer Alfred Thayer Mahan who launched the phrase Middle East along with two other the Near East and Far East, and Zionism was planted in Palestine as the centrepiece of the choreographed reordering of that entire region after the fall of more..

June 21 (DM) Even though Sri Lanka has been acknowledged as a country with a satisfactory literacy rate, time has come to question whether the average Sri Lankan also falls into the categories of literate, educated and knowledgeable. Literate by definition is the ability to read and write. Educated by definition means having a good education while knowledgeable is defined as being well-informed and having an understanding about various topics. An average Sri Lankan could barely pass more..

June 21 (DM) Rasadurai Rasendram (64) from Intherapuram, Muhamalai, was displaced with his family of 9 on multiple occasions, once in 1996 and then again in 2000 as a result of the protracted civil war. Due to heavy contamination of the area with shrapnel, land mines and unexploded ordnances (UXOs), Rasendram and his family couldn’t return to their original homelands immediately after the war. But as a result of painstaking efforts by more..

June 21 (CT) On 23 June each year, the world pauses to mark UN Public Service Day, a moment to honour the value and virtue of public service, and to pay tribute to the countless individuals who work, often unseen, for the public good. The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2002, not merely to acknowledge the efforts of public servants, but also to encourage younger generations to consider careers in the public sector as noble and vital to national development. more..

June 21 (CT) The election of ruling JVP-NPP’s Vraie Cally Balthazaar of the NPP as the Mayor of the prestigious CMC is historic for more than one reason – or, at least, there are three reasons for justifying such a claim. First, this is only the third time that you have had a non-UNP Mayor in Colombo since the party’s formation in 1946. Once earlier, in 1954, Dr. N.M. Perera of the LSSP was elected Mayor, but of course, by the next year, the UNP got him voted out through a No-Confidence Motion. more..