Jul 13 (Island) It is always a joy to arrive in Sri Lanka and I thank President Rajeev Amarasuriya for his kind invitation. There is something in the air of this beautiful island that drains the stress of big city living. I feel lighter and happier whenever I arrive, and last night was no different. I thank you for the kind words of introduction. In November 2018, I found myself in the book-lined study of the Indian jurist and friend of Sri Lanka, the redoubtable Fali S. Nariman. more..

Jul 13 (Island) Govt has come under heavy criticism over its decision to abandon a plan to convert the former Bogambara Prison, Kandy, into a modern hotel complex, restore the status quo ante and repurpose the Mahamodara Hospital, Galle, as a prison. Desperate times are said to call for desperate measures. Recent riots in the overcrowded Negombo Prison have jolted the govt into addressing the issue of overcrowding. Prison congestion did not arise after 2024 regime more..

Jul 13 (TM) The queue outside the Negombo Prison stretched along the roadside on Monday (6), with anxious families clutching parcels of food and clothing while desperately hoping for a glimpse of loved ones they feared had become casualties of one of the bloodiest prison riots in Sri Lanka’s recent history. Hours earlier, news bulletins had begun reporting that violence had erupted inside the prison, yet those waiting outside more..

Jul 13 (DM) The cause of the Negombo prison riot, which left 25 dead, is yet to be ascertained. But, as in the case of previous prison riots, it could be traced to certain chronic deficiencies in the Sri Lankan prison system. These deficiencies were identified by the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (PRP), a civil society organisation dedicated to advocating for prisoners’ rights. In its Status of Prisoners in SL 2025 Annual Report, it pointed to a range of issues within SL’s prison system, more..

Jul 13 (ST) People are sent to jail either as remandees or as convicts by judges of competent courts to serve specific terms of imprisonment and to be denied liberty as punishment for offences specifically spelt out in the penal code. Not to be sprayed down by rifle fire in cold blood nor to prematurely meet their maker. Six years ago, when riots at Mahara Prison broke out over corona safety concerns within the premises and prison guards’ gunfire killed 11, leaving over 100 injured, more..

Jul 13 (SO) Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara responds to questions over the deadly riot, the use of force, alleged retaliation against inmates, possible political links and reforms needed to address SL’s prison crisis. SL watched in shock as violence erupted on July 5 and escalated on July 6 in Negombo Prison, with disturbing scenes emerging of chaos, clashes and a deadly confrontation unfolding within country’s more..

Jul 13 (CT) The whole nation, and indeed many countries beyond Sri Lanka, have been shocked by the events that took place at the Negombo prison. These events have raised questions that go beyond the immediate issues of deaths and injuries. A central question is this: how much protection is actually available to prisoners, to the prisons themselves, and to those who are the guardians of these prisoners? The primary obligation to protect those in the custody of the state more..

Jul 13 (SO) Sri Lanka is no stranger to violence in prisons. In 1983, the UNP allowed racist thugs to attack and kill Tamil inmates in Welikada in a bid to divert public attention from its disastrous policies, to postpone elections that would have cost its supermajority and to proscribe several Leftist parties including the JVP that led the resistance against the UNP’s rule of violence and impunity. In 2012, a number of prisoners were targeted and killed at the same prison allegedly by more..

Jul 12 (ST) This week saw the NPP govt jolted out of its sense of complacency following the incidents at the Negombo Prison which left 29 people, including eight prison officials, dead. It’s the worst such incident since the NPP took power in Sept 2024 and one that has found the govt wanting on many fronts. While all the details of what led to the unrest at the prison, which later escalated into a full-blown revolt by the prisoners, more..

Jul 12 (ST) The govt is proposing to extend the retirement period by two years for all judges, revising its previous position of granting the extension only to Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judges. Govt sources said they have taken into consideration the shortage of judges and delay in concluding cases and have proposed to extend the retirement age of magistrate, district and high court judges in addition to the superior court judges as proposed earlier. The extension of the retirement age of more..

Jul 12 (ST) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was scheduled to undertake an official visit to France later this month, has postponed it until the end of the year due to domestic compulsions, including the fallout from the Negombo prison violence. The French authorities have been informed, and a new date later this year has been requested, Minister Vijitha Herath said. The invitation for Prez Dissanayake to visit France had been extended by French Prez Emmanuel Macron when more..

Jul 12 (TM) The CID has deployed six specialised investigation teams as part of a parallel probe into the Negombo Prison riot that left 28 people dead, as authorities seek to establish how one of the country’s worst prison disturbances in decades spiralled out of control. The tragedy, one of many which have plagued the island’s corrections system, exposes systemic issues of overpopulation, under-resourced administrative structures, more..

Jul 12 (CT) The Uni of Moratuwa has temporarily closed its campus for two weeks amid a dengue outbreak, as Sri Lanka recorded 65,034 dengue cases in 2026, with 45 dengue-related deaths reported so far. The country’s dengue case fatality rate stands at 0.07%, according to the latest data from the National Dengue Control Unit. The university closure, effective 6 July, was announced after authorities identified an increased risk of dengue transmission within the premises. more..

Jul 12 (FT) The Colombo stock market ended an eight-session slide yesterday to close the week on the up. During the week, the ASPI fell 1.86% or 413.17 points and the S&P SL20 fell 1.88% or 116.76 points. Yesterday, the ASPI was up 0.31% or 67.84 points at 21,765.56 with 135 counters closing in red against 77 in red. The active S&P SL20 was up 0.25% or 14.94 points at 6,081.43. Market turnover was over Rs. 2 billion on nearly 65.4 million shares traded. more..

Jul 12 (CT) ITAK MP S. Sritharan has alleged that gold jewellery belonging to Tamil civilians, which was taken from banks in the former LTTE-controlled areas and transported in containers, is still being preserved after being allegedly taken to Uganda. MP said that former Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Minister Basil Rajapaksa had invested assets seized from Tamil people through former LTTE arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP in several countries. more..

Jul 12 (Island) SL’s excise revenue has surged by more than 60% over the past three years following the introduction of a revenue sticker system for liquor products, which authorities say has helped curb widespread tax evasion and counterfeit operations without costing the govt a single rupee. Excise Dept’s revenue increased from Rs. 170 billion in 2022, when the programme was launched, to Rs. 226 billion in 2024, with further growth recorded in 2025, according to a senior dept official. more..

Jul 12 (TM) COPF has concluded that the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) cannot completely absolve itself of responsibility for the $ 2.5 million cyber fraud that disrupted the Govt’s foreign debt repayment process, despite legal arguments that primary responsibility rested with Ministry of Finance and Public Debt Management Office (PDMO). In its investigative report tabled in Parliament on Friday, committee found that the fraud was more..

Jul 12 (ST) Sprinter Ayomal Akalanka Liyanage clocked an impressive timing of 49.03secs to claim the silver medal of the Men’s 400m Hurdles event at the Asian Under-23 Athletics Championship 2026 at Ordos, China yesterday, which renewed a two-decade long Sri Lanka record. Ayomal made an impressive run from Lane 7 among nine competitors to finish behind China’s Xinfeng Xu, who finished the race at 48.68secs to create a New Meet Record and his personal best timing. more..

Jul 12 (CT) With less than a month remaining before the 14th Asian Senior Netball Championship, SL's national women’s team received a timely and demanding test against Lincoln University New Zealand in a six-match international series, gaining valuable experience ahead of the continental showpiece. The series highlighted the competitive standard SL can expect at the Asian C'ship, with the visitors edging the home side 5-1 after six closely contested encounters. more..

Jul 12 (NW) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on Friday alleged that the govt prevented him from raising issues related to paddy prices and farmers’ concerns at a parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee meeting, describing the move as an attempt to silence the opposition. Premadasa said the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Sustainable Development had been scheduled to discuss paddy procurement and SL’s rice requirements. more..

Jul 12 (DM) Govt plans to expand the use of locally produced rice beyond household consumption by allowing it to be used in the production of beer, animal feed and other value-added products, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. Speaking at the launch of the second phase of the Anuradhapura North Water Supply Project yesterday, the President said the Govt has removed the gazette notification that previously prohibited the use of rice for non-food products. more..

Jul 12 (DM) At 1 p.m. on a weekday in Colombo, thousands of people are standing under the same sun. But they are not experiencing the same heat. One person is sitting inside an air-conditioned office with tinted glass and a cardigan on, because the room is too cold. Another is directing traffic at a junction with no shade in sight. A mason is laying bricks on an exposed rooftop in Maharagama. A delivery rider is weaving more..

Jul 12 (Island) Dambulla Sixers Pink Match calls Sri Lankans to wear pink, fill the SSC, and take the TLC (Touch, Look, Check) message home There are days when cricket is about the result. There are days when it is about pride, rivalry, form and the final over. And then there are rare days when cricket is asked to carry something far greater than the game itself. Sunday (19), will be one of those days. At 3 p.m. at the SSC Grounds, the Dambulla Sixers will meet the Jaffna Kings in the LPL. more..

Jul 12 (AD) A large stockpile of sharp weapons, allegedly used by inmates to attack prison officers during the clashes at the Negombo Prison, has been discovered by police during their investigations. The items recovered included more than 1,000 clubs and poles. Investigations have also revealed that inmates had taken coconuts from the prison kitchen and used them to throw at officers during the unrest. The tragic incident at the Negombo Prison resulted in the deaths of more..

Jul 12 (ST) Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) former administration spent millions of rupees intended for the game’s development on legal fees and related disbursements, amounting to more than Rs. 681mn in just three years. Fees of Rs. 681,171,261.89 were disbursed between 2023 and 2025, payment vouchers seen by The Sunday Times reveal. The 7-year Shammi Silva administration was forced out by the current political leadership more..

Jul 12 (EN) Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) will start buying Yala season paddy on July 13, at 120 rupees a kilo for Nadu, 130 rupees a kilo for Samba, and 140 rupees a kilo for Keeri Samba, PMB Chairman Manjula Pinnalanda said. State purchasing will start in the Ampara and Ruhuna regions, as well as parts of the Mullaitivu and Trincomalee Districts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where harvesting has already begun. Operations in other areas are scheduled to start on July 20. more..

Jul 12 (EN) A 31-member business delegation led by India’s top export promotion body, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), visited SL this week, aiming to explore new opportunities for enhancing bilateral trade and business partnerships between the two countries. The delegation, which was in SL from July 8-10, included representatives from diverse sectors such as pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, apparel and textiles, food and agricultural products, and infrastructure. more..

Jul 12 (EN) Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves fell 6.2% to US$ 6,450 million by end June 2026, from 6,873 million dollars a month earlier amid central bank purchasing US$ 70.5 million on a net basis in the last month. CB has been aggressively buying dollars to boost the reserves last year, but it was not able to purchase as much as it wants amid dollar sales in May with sharp depreciation of the rupee currency. The CB has net bought US$ 556.4 million in more..

Jul 12 (Island) Bar Association of SL (BASL) has been urging Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake to take action to fill four vacancies each in the Supreme Court (SC) and the Court of Appeal (SC), but in vain. It has renewed its call, in a letter to the Prez, who however remains impervious to public opinion and fervent calls for filling the judicial vacancies. BASL has warned that the prolonged delay in filling them could undermine the administration of justice more..

Jul 12 (CT) The tragedy at the Negombo Prison last week sent shock waves across the citizenry of the unprecedented nature of the violence that was witnessed, and many related issues that demand change within the prison system. The gang rivalry between two groups within the prison premises on 5 July reached to an incident of a violent riot which claimed the lives of 28 prison inmates and jailors and left at least 100 injured; some still in more..

Jul 12 (TM) No revenue shortfall is expected from the reversal of the earlier decision to reduce the mandatory Value-Added Tax (VAT) registration threshold from Rs. 60 million to Rs. 36 million, according to the Government. Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security R.M. Jayawardana said that the original decision to propose the reduction of the mandatory VAT threshold to Rs. 36 million from Rs. 60 million had been intended to increase the VAT base. more..

Jul 12 (CT) The killing of 28 persons, both inmates and prison officials of the Negombo prison, in a violent riot reportedly between two rival gangs within the prison, and leaving a further 100 injured leaves a serious threat to the country’s prison system. The incident, which also saw some inmates having access to arms from the prison armoury, is now being examined under three different investigation bodies, including the CID, and a Special Three-member Presidential Committee headed by more..