Aug 19 (FT) The Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) successfully concluded its 39th Annual Conference, held on 11 and 12 Aug at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo, under the theme Envisioning Sri Lanka: Beyond Recovery. Held under the patronage of OPA President Jayantha Gallehewa, with the leadership and guidance of OPA President-Elect and 39th Annual Conference Chairman Tisara De Silva, Conference brought together leading professionals, academics, more..

Aug 19 (AD) The govt has launched a programme to purchase quality paddy from farmers through small and medium-scale rice mill owners and cooperative societies as part of the 2026 Yala season paddy purchasing programme. The initiative is aimed at ensuring farmers receive a fair price for their harvest under the govt’s guaranteed price policy, while making rice available to consumers at affordable prices and strengthening the small and medium-scale rice milling sector. more..

Aug 19 (FT) Colombo District land values rose by 5.9% year-on-year (YoY) in the first half of 2026, extending their post-crisis increase but at a markedly slower pace than during the height of SL’s economic crisis in 2022-23. The CB Land Valuation Indicator (LVI) increased to 271.6 in 1H 2026 from 256.4 a year earlier, with all three categories recording what the Central Bank described as moderate YoY increases. more..

Aug 19 (FT) HSBC will scale up its Clean Waterways project, a public -private partnership launched in Jan 2026 to help restore Beira Lake, a key urban waterway in the heart of Colombo. The expansion will be delivered through a series of programs aimed at reducing incorrect waste disposal at source, supported by community -based education and a youth empowerment initiative. The expanded program will introduce two connected components: a Nature Literacy and a Green Enterprise more..

Aug 19 (SM) Organised crime figure Kankanamage Dimuthu Chathuranga Perera, alias Samithapura Chathu and Modara Chathu, has been brought back to SL from Oman this morning (18). He was brought from Muscat, Oman, to Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), after being arrested in Oman by a team of CID officers. The individual, who was wanted under an Interpol Red Notice, has been handed over to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) under tight security for further investigations. more..

Aug 19 (NW) Sri Lanka is moving closer to testing electric flying taxi technology, with Civil Aviation Authority of SL (CAASL) adopting a fast-track programme aimed at establishing the country’s first electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) regulatory sandbox. CAASL said it has adopted proposals presented by EHang Intelligent under the company’s Global Fast-Track Programme, with a target of achieving initial more..

Aug 19 (EN) SL signed a US$ 200 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to implement a five-year post-Cyclone Ditwah reconstruction and livelihood support project. This financial assistance will also support to finance the rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads damaged by the cyclone with enhanced climate resilience within the period of 2026-2030. The loan agreements were signed at the Treasury in Colombo on Tuesday by Harshana Suriyapperuma, more..

Aug 19 (FT) SL’s banking sector recorded a slower increase in willingness to lend during the second quarter of 2026 amid tighter monetary conditions following the policy tightening in May, CB’s latest Credit Supply Survey showed. The survey, covering Licensed Commercial Banks and Licensed Specialised Banks, found that banks’ willingness to lend increased across the retail, corporate, small and medium enterprise (SME) and State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) sectors during the quarter, more..

Aug 19 (FT) JAT Holdings recorded Group revenue of Rs. 3.04 billion for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, representing a 34% year-on-year increase, supported by growth across both its SL and international operations. Local revenue increased by 8% to Rs. 1.83 billion, while revenue from foreign operations increased by 110% to Rs. 1.21 billion. Gross profit increased by 29% to Rs. 1.07 billion, while gross profit margin moderated from 37% to 35%, reflecting higher input costs more..

Aug 19 (FT) Cabinet of Ministers approved entering into a revised agreement with Maga Engineering Ltd, for Rs. 25.58 billion (including value of completed work and payable amounts, but excluding contingencies, taxes, and daywork) for the completion of remaining construction work of Sethsiripaya Stage III. Urban Development Authority (UDA) initiated the Sethsiripaya Stage III project to meet the growing demand for administrative office space in the Govt and semi-Govt sectors. more..

Aug 19 (CI) The top order as a whole has never come close to producing the kinds of runs Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and TM Dilshan used to bring to the table. It has been more than ten years since they retired. SL's opening partnership stats have suffered substantially since the exit of Dimuth Karunaratne, the last SL Test cricketer to reliably make the annual ICC XI. And on the spin front, SL are weaker than more..

Aug 19 (GV) Plastics have plagued SL for decades. Since it was first introduced here in the 1940s, its innocent beginnings and promises of convenience have mutated into something quite sinister. Today, SL drowns in close to 1.6 million metric tons of plastic waste a year. For the last decade, the govt has tried to tackle this plastic cancer. But while the country has been issued repeated bans and restrictions, the enforcement behind them has often been inconsistent, under-resourced and more..

Aug 19 (ST) Has the govt – even with its formidable two-thirds majority in Parliament – bitten off more than it could possibly chew in stubbornly pursuing its declared aim to extend the retirement age of judges? Why has it thought fit to take arms against an impressive array of opposition forces that stand poised for battle rather than see the people’s liberties enshrined in the constitution defiled? Or to put it simply, has the govt gone off its rocker and thought it could take on these influential more..

Aug 19 (Island) The JVP-NPP govt has ignored sane counsel, thrown caution to the wind and let the genie out of the bottle. It presented the 22nd Constitutional Amendment (22A) Bill and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill to Parliament yesterday. Several petitions challenging 22A have already been filed before the Supreme Court (SC), which is required to communicate its determination to the Speaker within three to 21 days after considering such petitions. Ironically, the tabling of 22A coincided with more..

Aug 19 (Island) The 1950s saw the fruits of free education reach the university. SLFP-led govt, formed in 1956, transformed what had been reserved for a privileged few into a right for all who qualified by declaring that all who met the eligibility requirements should be entitled to a university education. The transformation was significant. Uswatte-Aratchi’s (1974) shows that while the student body in 1950 was almost exclusively from English-speaking backgrounds, more..

Aug 19 (SO) The Tissa Vihara in Thaiyiddy, Jaffna again became a topic of contention lastweek, amid claims that a road is to be constructed through the land belonging to the Buddhist temple. Last year, Sunday Observer published a detailed investigation examining the site’s history and the legal ambiguities surrounding it. Yet, it appears that certain groups continue to fuel tensions by circulating misinformation and more..

Aug 19 (SO) “The Duraiappah Stadium isn’t just brick and mortar. It’s a symbol of optimism and economic development,” Indian PM Narendra Modi said in 2015 while opening the renovated Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna. Modi’s visit to Jaffna was itself historically significant, as it marked the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Northern Province. Modi’s statement reflected the nature of India’s engagement with Northern Sri Lanka in the immediate post-war period. more..

Aug 19 (DM) There is much talk about referendums today, and it takes me back 44 years to Sri Lanka’s first, and so far only, national referendum, held in Dec 1982. President J. R. Jayewardene (JRJ) called it to extend the life of Parliament by another six years. The political circumstances were very different from today: the govt wanted the referendum, while the opposition strongly opposed it. But the statistics and constitutional arguments tell only part of the story. more..

Aug 19 (TM) That was how Veddah Leader Uruwarige Wannila Aththo summed up his community’s situation, addressing the gathering to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples at the Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Museum in Dambana on 9 Aug. Reflecting on 28 years of leadership, Wannila Aththo said the day had been used to bring together representatives from villages including Rathugala, Henanigala, more..

Aug 19 (CT) NPP govt gazetted the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution on 7 Aug 2026. The Bill was tabled in Parliament on 18 Aug and is currently under debate. The proposed Amendment seeks to: (1) raise the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65; and (2) increase the maximum number of Court of Appeal judges from 19 to 24. In response to mounting pressure, the govt has also proposed raising the retirement age of judges more..

Aug 19 (DM) The brutal assault and abandonment of a four-year-old girl in Wattegama by her mother last week is part of a broader, recurring pattern of abuse rather than an isolated incident. The mother of the child along with her paramour had brutally assaulted the girl at home, inflicted her with burn injuries with a lighter, and subjected her to repeated cruelty before abandoning her on a side road in Wattegama. Dropping a child of only four years old in a place 36 km away from her home, more..

Aug 18 (NW) SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa has questioned how a govt minister could predict that he would be imprisoned before a court has delivered its verdict, raising concerns over the independence of the judiciary. “I really want to ask the minister one simple question. How does he know that I am going to prison in a few days when the court has not even given its verdict?” he said. Rajapaksa said he had confidence in the courts and would respect any decision reached after considering the case more..

Aug 18 (NW) Cabinet has granted policy approval to amend SL’s Foreign Exchange Act to make unauthorized transfers of funds out of the country a criminal offence. The proposal to amend the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017 was presented by the Prez in his capacity as Minister of Finance. Under the proposed changes, specific provisions will be introduced to enable unauthorized overseas transfers to be treated as criminal offences under Foreign Exchange Act. more..

Aug 18 (EN) Sri Lanka telco SLT-Mobitel said it was accelerating its nationwide fiber expansion, data infrastructure upgrades, and artificial intelligence integration as it shifts from a traditional voice carrier into a broad-based digital technology enterprise. “Broadband is where we are really pushing hard and which will connect the whole country digitally,” SLT CEO Riyaaz Rasheed said. The company said it has laid more than more..

Aug 18 (NW) Cabinet has approved the publication and subsequent tabling in Parliament of the new bill aimed at addressing shortcomings in Sri Lanka’s existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said. The proposed legislation, titled the Protection of the State from Terrorism Act, has been drafted to introduce a new legal framework addressing shortcomings identified in the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979. more..

Aug 18 (FT) The commencement of Vietjet’s operations between Colombo and Vietnam today, with three flights a week, marks an important new chapter in SL’s aviation, tourism, and trade connectivity with Vietnam and the wider Asian region. The new service is much more than another airline connection. It opens a new gateway for SL travellers to Vietnam and onward to key destinations across Asia, while creating greater opportunities for Vietnamese & Asian travellers to discover SL. more..

Aug 18 (NW) A total of Rs. 74 billion was allegedly transferred overseas through 10,151 transactions using 89 bank accounts, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa revealed, providing further details on an investigation that has already led to the arrest of four officials attached to private banks. Jayatissa said the investigation was launched following a complaint made to the FCID by the Additional Director General of SL Customs in Jan 2026. more..

Aug 18 (Island) Kandy and Gampola Range DIG Sudath Masinghe yesterday disclosed that a large number of vehicle passes had been requested from various institutions during the Kandy Esala Perahera season, and while several media institutions have also requested permits from the police for perahera duties, the police will not issue special permits to any of them. DIG said that there was no hindrance for journalists engaged in covering the perahera activities to carry out their media coverage more..

Aug 18 (DM) SL is making notable progress in publishing fiscal data, yet ordinary citizens remain almost entirely locked out of shaping how public money is spent. According to the Open Budget Survey 2025, the island scored an encouraging 43 out of 100 for transparency, but a dismal 9 out of 100 for public participation. As preparations for the 2027 budget gather momentum, govt faces a critical test: moving beyond internal ministerial consultations to grant civil society a meaningful voice. more..

Aug 18 (Island) The Court of Appeal has ordered a retrial of six former soldiers acquitted by the Anuradhapura High Court in connection with the 1996 massacre of Tamil civilians, at Kumarapuram, in Mullaitivu. The six had been indicted on 101 charges, including the murder of 24 civilians and causing injuries to 25 others. They were acquitted and released by the Anuradhapura High Court in 2016. A Bench comprising Court of Appeal Justices Amal Ranaraja & Sumudu Premachandra more..

Aug 18 (Island) PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila yesterday questioned President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent declaration that the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks case, heard before the High Court Trial-at-Bar, would be concluded within a month. Former MP and Attorney-at-Law questioned how the President could make such a prediction. Gammanpila pointed out that President Dissanayake had made that declaration during his meeting with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. more..