Aug 12 (Island) City of Dreams SL has completed its first year of operations with its leadership expressing confidence that the landmark integrated resort can help position Colombo and Sri Lanka as a destination for high-end tourism, entertainment and int'l business. The first anniversary was marked with a special celebration bringing together customers, business partners, vendors and other stakeholders who supported the project through its development and first 12 months of operations. more..

Aug 12 (ST) Twenty20 cricket has transformed the role of spin bowlers, demanding far more than wicket-taking ability. According to legendary left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, the most effective spinners are those who can build pressure by combining attacking intent with control. “Spinners have a crucial role to play in T20 cricket. A spinner may be called upon to bowl in the powerplay, the middle overs, or at the death, so understanding the demands of each phase is essential,” Herath said more..

Aug 12 (ST) SL is setting in motion the most far-reaching transformation of its urban public transport in several decades with the launch in Colombo of 7 new metropolitan routes next month, served by 121 low-floor, wheel-chair accessible, and air-conditioned buses. Since a trial run in April, demand for the spacious, 32-seater, nearly 39-foot buses with audio-visual displays, and picture windows offering panoramic views of the city more..

Aug 12 (FT) China Communications Construction Company Ltd., (CCCC) is exploring further investments in Sri Lanka spanning renewable energy, trade and logistics, and digital services, alongside existing and proposed projects centred on Colombo Port City. The President’s Office said yesterday the investment plans were discussed during a meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and a senior CCCC delegation led by President Zhang Bingnan in Colombo. more..

Aug 12 (EN) 99x, a global product engineering company rooted in SL, has partnered in an initiative to rebuild IT laboratories in schools that lost them during the Cyclone Ditwah disaster. 99x teams worked with the PM’s Office, SLASSCOM and school communities, selecting 3 schools in Mahiyanganaya to establish IT laboratories. Volunteers from 99x travelled to Mahiyanganaya to complete the restoration of IT laboratories at Hebarawa Maha Vidyalaya, more..

Aug 12 (FT) Govt yesterday urged over a million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to scale up to go global especially via exports to better harness growth opportunities. The call came from Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe during his remarks at the National SME Forum Scale Up 2.0 organised by The CCC’s Centre for SMEs at the Taj Samudra, Colombo. Under the theme Connected. Competitive. Ready to Grow the forum more..

Aug 12 (Island) The Cricket Transformation Committee headed by Eran Wickramaratne has received much praise for the manner in which it has gone about its business since being put in charge earlier this year. While bringing transparency and accountability to the affairs of Sri Lanka Cricket, an institution criticised for years over corruption and waste, the committee has also kept its eye on its primary task: drafting a new constitution for the administration of the game. more..

Aug 12 (TM) Ministry of Finance is in the process of lowering its long-end yield rates, as the performance of short-term T-bills extended its decline at the last auction, and the Ministry is compelled to accept bids for securities at a lesser rate, NSB Fund Management Chief Dealer Surendran Edwatd said, speaking during a COPE meeting held last wee. “Now, today itself the market has come down. At the last auction, even the T-bills, the short turners all dipped because the Ministry of Finance more..

Aug 12 (SO) The Ministry of Digital Economy and SLT-Mobitel, have launched Sri Lanka AI Week 2026 on the theme AI Amplified. The initiative aims to transform Sri Lanka’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) ambitions into measurable outcomes through thought-provoking discussions, showcasing of cutting-edge AI innovations, and collaboration among policymakers, businesses, researchers, start-ups and students to accelerate the development of a thriving AI ecosystem. more..

Aug 12 (SO) Sri Lanka must build a stronger startup ecosystem, improve policy consistency, attract global technology investment and develop a larger skilled workforce if it is to achieve its ambitious target of creating a US$5 billion information technology (IT) industry by 2030, GovTech SL, Board Member Chandima Cooray said recently. At an industry workshop, Cooray said Sri Lanka’s current growth trajectory alone would not be sufficient to triple the industry’s value, stressing that more..

Aug 12 (TM) Former National Cricket Selection Committee Chair Pramodya Wickramasinghe has instructed his lawyers to institute legal action against SLC's Transformation Committee, he said. He said that as there had been no positive response to a Letter of Demand (LOD), which he had sent to the Transformation Committee over the arbitrary termination of his contract, he had advised his lawyers to institute Court action more..

Aug 12 (Island) SL is witnessing an unprecedented effort to challenge a culture of impunity, with senior political figures, public officials and others facing investigation and prosecution. The significance of the present moment is whether Sri Lanka can establish a system in which no person, regardless of political position or social status, is above the law. The credibility of accountability depends significantly on an independent judiciary capable of deciding difficult cases without fear or favour. more..

Aug 12 (ST) Fouci – remember him? Does the name ring a bell? The American immunologist and expert on tackling viral outbreaks who shot to international stardom six years ago as the undisputed Czar of Covid? America’s scientific prophet who, breathing hellfire and brimstone, scared the wits out of the world to get COVID-vaccinated, masked, and isolated – and frightened the pants out of world govts, which religiously followed his dictates, to order lockdowns that ruined world more..

Aug 12 (Island) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has at long last agreed to meet a delegation from the Bar Association of SL (BASL) today to discuss issues concerning his govt’s efforts to extend the mandatory retirement ages of judges through a constitutional amendment. One can only hope that today’s discussion is not a ruse for the government to gain some legitimacy for the draft 22nd Amendment (22A), which exemplifies pretextual legislation or constitutional camouflage. more..

Aug 12 (TM) For half a century, the death penalty in Sri Lanka has existed in a state of suspended animation. The law retains it, courts routinely pronounce it, yet no President since 1976 has brought themselves to sign a death warrant. The last inmate to walk to the scaffold was D J Siripala, popularly known as Maru Sira, whose controversial execution at Bogambara Prison on 23 June 1976 left a lasting mark on the national consciousness. Since then, a strict de facto moratorium more..

Aug 12 (TM) When the distinct green-and-white units of the 1990 Suwa Seriya ambulance service first rolled onto SL’s roads on 28 July 2016, they represented a modest pilot project consisting of just 88 vehicles operating across select western and southern corridors. Ten years later, what began as a targeted intervention has fundamentally re-architected the island’s healthcare infrastructure. Today, the service stands as a ubiquitous more..

Aug 12 (CT) There is an important aspect of our present tax structure that deserves serious public discussion. The highest rate applicable to the corporate sector is 30%, with the higher 40% rate applying to specific sectors such as liquor and gambling. Corporate profits distributed as dividends may, in turn, be subject to taxation in the hands of the recipients. Against this background, it is worth asking whether it is reasonable for an individual taxpayer to be pushed into a 36% marginal more..

Aug 12 (DM) SL is once again caught between two extremes. In one part of the year, families queue for water bowsers, farmers watch their crops fail, and entire provinces struggle through months of drought. Then, almost without warning, the skies open. Within hours, roads disappear, homes are flooded, and lives are lost. This is not bad luck. This is a failure to plan. Just days ago, heavy rains triggered floods and landslides that killed people and forced thousands to evacuate in the central highlands. more..

Aug 12 (SO) Three prisons. Three deaths. Dozens injured. Tear gas, shootings, pelting of stones, damaged buildings and the deployment of police, the STF, the Army and Air Force. Within little more than 24 hours, SL’s prison system was confronted with simultaneous unrest at the New Magazine Prison in Borella, Kuruwita Prison and the Pallansena Youth Correctional Centre in Negombo, raising questions that go far more..

Aug 12 (DM) Minister Bimal Rathnayake explained in Parliament that the Govt had decided to revise the Gazette notification issued last month, which had suspended the publication of public representatives’ asset declarations and triggered widespread debate. Under the revised approach, declarations of politicians and other elected public representatives will remain available for public scrutiny. The publication of politicians’ asset declarations is, in reality, the latest chapter in a story more..

Aug 12 (GV) The country does not merely need better govt. It needs a state that protects its citizens, commands public trust and unites a diverse people through equal citizenship. SL has changed govts many times since independence. Yet the deeper challenge has remained largely unresolved: what kind of state do we want to build? The economic and political upheaval of 2022 gave the country an uncomfortable answer. The crisis was not merely the consequence of fiscal mismanagement or more..

Aug 11 (DM) Cabinet has approved the signing of financial agreements to secure a US$100 million facility from the World Bank’s Int'l Development Association (IDA) to implement an integrated regional development programme in N&E Provinces. The funding is part of a broader commitment by the World Bank Group to provide US$1 billion to SL between 2026 and 2031, with US$100 million earmarked for the N&E Provinces Integrated Regional Development Programme. more..

Aug 11 (DM) Cabinet has approved a plan to convert 30,000 metric tonnes of paddy held by the Paddy Marketing Board into rice and release it to the market. The decision follows a recommendation made at the 34th Food Policy and Security Committee meeting held on July 22, 2026, with the aim of supporting the govt’s paddy procurement programme and ensuring an adequate rice supply. Under the approved programme, CWE will arrange for the 30,000 metric tonnes of paddy more..

Aug 11 (EN) Sri Lanka has decided to grant long-term leases on 247 hectares of underutilized state plantation land to returnee migrant workers and young entrepreneurs who remit foreign exchange to the country. The land plots belong to three state-owned plantation entities. Govt will dispose of 117 hectares from the SL State Plantations Corporation, 88 hectares from Janatha Estates Development Board, and 42 hectares more..

Aug 11 (Island) A 29-member delegation of professionals from SL’s Gem and Jewellery sector recently participated in a specialised training and capacity building programme in India. Indian HC said that the programme was organised pursuant to the announcement made by PM of India, Narendra Modi, during his visit to SL in April 2025, under which India committed to offering 700 customised training slots, annually, for SL professionals, as part of ongoing bilateral capacity-building more..

Aug 11 (NW) Bar Association of SL (BASL) has responded to Attorney-at-Law Jagath Abeynayake over concerns he raised regarding recent statements targeting the incumbent Chief Justice amid the debate over extending the retirement age of judges. In a letter dated Aug 11, BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya & Secy Nalin De Silva expressed concern that Abeynayake’s letter had appeared on social media before the association had an opportunity to formally consider its contents. more..

Aug 11 (EN) Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to provide equity to Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt) Ltd, allocating 800 million rupees within this year and an additional 267.5 million rupees for operations in 2027. The funds will be utilized for infrastructure development, including a central workshop in Ekala, modern bus depots in Talangama, Kadawatha, Ratmalana & Homagama, as well as internal roads and parking yards, more..

Aug 11 (DN) The Department of Govt Printing is set to commence operations of a newly installed double-sided four-colour printing press and relaunch its revamped official website today. The events will be held at the Dept of Govt Printing under the patronage of Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa. The new printing press has been installed to increase the Department’s printing capacity and improve its efficiency in meeting govt printing requirements. more..

Aug 11 (NW) The Cabinet has approved the award of a contract worth US$ 3.04 million and Rs. 2.796 billion, excluding VAT, for the construction of three new fuel storage tanks at the Muthurajawela terminal. The project, funded by the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL), involves the construction of two 15,000-cubic-metre fuel storage tanks and one 10,000-cubic-metre tank. Cabinet approval for the project was initially granted on June 2, 2025. more..

Aug 11 (NW) Cabinet has approved long-term contracts for the supply of petrol, Murban crude oil and diesel to the CPC, following an evaluation of bids submitted under a limited international competitive procurement process. The procurement was conducted among suppliers registered with the CPC. The approved contracts cover three petroleum products to be supplied between Sept 2026 and Feb 2027. Aditya Birla Global Trading (Singapore) Pte Ltd was selected to supply 1.2 million barrels, more..

Aug 11 (DM) The provision is aimed at facilitating the implementation of a biometric data entry system for electronic passports to be issued in the future, under a new Immigration Bill approved by the Cabinet. Cabinet has approved the publication of the Bill in the Govt Gazette and its subsequent submission to Parliament for approval. The Bill is intended to replace the Immigration and Emigration Act No. 20 of 1948. A previous Bill prepared for this purpose had been presented to Parliament, more..