Jul 24 (DM) The no-confidence motion brought against Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara was defeated in Parliament by a majority of 116 votes, with 36 MPs voting in favour and 152 against. Some MPs were absent at the time of voting. These included members of Tamil parties and some MPs from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). The Daily Mirror reliably learnt that Tamil parties would vote with the opposition in the future if the government fails to hold Provincial Council elections. more..

Jul 24 (DM) Fraudsters posing as police officers and Central Bank officials are increasingly pressuring victims to purchase and transfer cryptocurrency after convincing them their National Identity Cards or bank accounts are linked to criminal investigations, prompting police to issue a fresh warning over an evolving wave of financial scams. SL Police have issued an urgent public warning over a surge in financial scams involving fraudsters impersonating police officers and other govt officials to more..

Jul 24 (NW) Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam has called for an immediate investigation into allegations that hotels operating in the Pasikudah tourism zone have failed to pay the statutory 1% tax due to the local authority under the Pradeshiya Sabha Act for several years. Speaking in Parliament, Shanakiyan said Pasikudah is home to 17 hotels, which reportedly make payments to the SLTDA but have allegedly neglected their mandatory contributions to the local council. more..

Jul 24 (NW) Indian MP and renowned author Shashi Tharoor joined the launch of the Colombo Literary Festival 2026 in Colombo on Friday (24), as SL officially opened what organisers describe as the country’s first international trilingual literary festival. Tharoor attended the opening ceremony at the Arcade Independence Square alongside Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, Colombo Mayor Cally Balthazaar, Festival Director more..

Jul 24 (NW) The CIABOC today announced the arrest of former Southern Province Chief Secretary Rannulu Chandrasiri de Soysa over corruption charges. According to the Bribery Commission, in 2019, under the Southern Provincial Ministry, the Southern Provincial Development Authority allocated Rs. 16.5 million from council members’ proposals to provide chairs for voluntary organizations. A manufacturing institution was selected outside the prescribed procurement process, more..

Jul 24 (Island) More than 108,000 complaints of child abuse had been received by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) between 2015 and 2025, Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj told Parliament yesterday. Responding to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa under Standing Order 27/2, the Minister said 4,421 child abuse cases were pending before High Courts as of April 30 this year, with indictments already filed against the accused. more..

Jul 24 (FT) Japanese automotive giant Niterra Co. Ltd, the proprietor of the NGK brand (with Douglas and Sons Ltd being its sole authorised agent for NGK spark plugs in SL), recently pursued criminal action directly against several wholesale entities including Sajana Motors, involved in selling and possessing counterfeit NGK-branded spark plugs in SL. As a result, the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) conducted criminal raid operations against the said spark plug dealer located in Horana, more..

Jul 24 (AD) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vijitha Herath, held separate bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of the Netherlands, Canada and Singapore on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, the Philippines. In a post on X, Minister Herath said he held a productive discussion with Netherlands Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, during which both sides explored ways to further strengthen relations and enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest. more..

Jul 24 (NW) Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara says SL's prisons are holding around four times the number of inmates they were designed to accommodate, as the Govt looks at legal reforms and technology-based alternatives such as house arrest to tackle severe overcrowding. Speaking at the opening of the new Pugoda Court Complex, Nanayakkara said the country’s prisons have capacity for 10,375 inmates but more..

Jul 24 (NF) As part of a grant extended by the Govt of Japan, seven low-floor buses have arrived at the Hambantota Port, marking the latest step in efforts to strengthen SL's public transportation sector. Cabinet approval for the acceptance of the buses as a grant was granted in May this year, paving the way for their transfer to Sri Lanka. The donation is the result of discussions held last year between Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Japan's Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs more..

Jul 24 (Island) Minister Bimal Rathnayake yesterday criticised the conduct of MP Archchuna Ramanathan in Parliament, describing the behaviour of certain lawmakers as uncivilised, disgraceful and indecent, while a heated exchange followed between government and opposition members. Rathnayake made the remarks when Ramanathan attempted to raise a point of order during parliamentary proceedings. “This parliament has one or two members who behave in a very uncivilised, more..

Jul 24 (FT) Digital Economy Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne yesterday stressed that the tone for data protection within organisations must be set from the top, calling on business leaders to elevate data privacy and cybersecurity from an IT function to a priority. Addressing a packed 2nd Data Privacy and Protection Summit 2026, he said privacy and data protection must be designed into digital systems from the outset rather than more..

Jul 24 (AD) The Lalith Athulathmudali Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund has announced that the final selection list of recipients for the 2024/2025 Mahapola Scholarship has been forwarded to the respective universities, urging selected students to complete their online registration by August 17, 2026. According to the Trust Fund, students whose names appear on the final selection list must register through the Mahapola online website more..

Jul 24 (NW) Communities in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province are spearheading mangrove restoration in Nayaru Lagoon, Mullaitivu District, under a climate resilience project funded by the Adaptation Fund. The initiative, implemented by UN‑Habitat with the Ministry of Environment and the Mullaitivu District Secretariat, has already planted 24,000 saplings, achieving nearly half of the target of 50,000. The programme places communities at the centre of restoration. more..

Jul 24 (FT) CPA’s latest poll made headlines. The headline-getter was the contrast between President AKD’s approval rating and that of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. “…The survey found that 75.5% of respondents are satisfied with President Dissanayake’s performance, compared to 29.4% for Opposition Leader Premadasa”. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If AKD was even remotely as popular as the CPA figures claim, it just does not figure why the ruling JVP-NPP fails to: more..

Jul 24 (FT) The proposed 2027 Budget presents Sri Lanka with a historic opportunity to move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation and begin genuine economic transformation. While achieving a (i) primary surplus, (ii) reducing inflation, and (iii) restoring fiscal discipline have laid the essential foundations for recovery, these achievements alone cannot deliver long-term prosperity or generate the resources needed to repay external debt. This article argues that the 2027 Budget more..

Jul 24 (AD) Sri Lanka is among 60 countries to be hit by new import tariffs from the US ranging from 10 to 12.5% - scheduled to take effect today. US Prez Donald Trump's administration is set to impose sweeping tariffs on 60 trading partners, including SL, India, Pakistan, UK & EU, according to a notice from US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer's office released on Thursday. Greer said Thursday that the 10% to 12.5% tariffs were more..

Jul 24 (TM) SL Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has set a target of securing overseas employment opportunities to 250,000 Sri Lankans during 2026. These job opportunities will be facilitated through SL Govt and recruitment agencies registered with SLBFE. Although the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has led to a slight decline in the number of Lankans seeking overseas employment, bureau is taking steps to direct workers towards higher-paying jobs in safer destinations. more..

Jul 24 (NW) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized that a change in attitudes is essential to make sport an integral part of people’s daily lives and a culture. The President stated that fostering such a sporting culture would play a vital role in addressing current social challenges, including the rising number of road accidents and the increasing involvement of young people in drug abuse, while helping to build a healthy, disciplined and responsible future generation. more..

Jul 24 (FT) The Govt is preparing to restore criminal sanctions for serious foreign exchange offences after investigations into approximately $ 715 million remitted overseas through fraudulent import transactions exposed a gap in Sri Lanka’s legal framework. Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando said that the Govt intends to present a Cabinet paper to amend the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017. more..

Jul 24 (FT) Negombo Magistrate’s Court has been informed that 17 of the 28 deaths linked to the incident inside Negombo Prison were caused by gunshot injuries, while the remaining 11 resulted from assaults with blunt weapons. Negombo Chief Magistrate Shilani Perera disclosed the findings in open court after considering the results of 28 post-mortem examinations submitted by the JMO. After the findings were presented, the Magistrate said the court would not differentiate between more..

Jul 24 (AD) Dept of Examinations has announced that the 2026 Grade 5 Scholarship Exam will be held on Aug 9, from 9.30 am to 12.15 pm, at 2,723 exam centres across the island. The attendance records of candidates who applied for the exam have been forwarded to the relevant Zonal Education Offices through their respective schools. If any amendments to candidates' information are required, the facility has been provided to make such corrections online from today (23) to August 03. more..

Jul 24 (DM) The Ministry of Defence has reviewed progress on measures to strengthen Sri Lanka's domestic aviation sector, with discussions including a proposal to establish a dedicated helicopter landing facility within Colombo Port City. The progress review meeting was chaired by Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd.) and focused on balancing operational efficiency in domestic aviation with national security requirements. more..

Jul 24 (FT) Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) has exited its investment in unlisted Canwill Holdings Ltd., recovering its Rs. 5 billion capital after transferring its stake to the Govt as part of a restructuring arrangement, Central Bank of SL (CBSL) officials said yesterday. The investment no longer appears in the EPF’s portfolio following completion of the transaction by the end of last year, allowing the Fund to redeploy the recovered capital into other income-generating assets. more..

Jul 24 (EN) Sri Lanka has declared July 27 to 31 National Integrity Week in an effort to curb public sector corruption and foster a transparent governance culture. The initiative, originally scheduled to align with Anti-Corruption Day in 2025 and later postponed in March due to practical difficulties and fuel-related obstacles, will now be spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Adm alongside the Presidential Secretariat and more..

Jul 24 (DM) Opening a new chapter in the SL literary landscape and book publishing, the first ever Colombo Literary Festival (CLF), will be opened today and will go on till July 29 with multiple events including discussions, talks, music and cinema at the Independence Arcade Premises Col 7, and at the Goethe Institute. The special feature of this festival is that it will run as a Trilingual Literary Festival and would bring all communities with events taking place in all three languages more..

Jul 24 (ST) Agriculture Dept introduced pears to Badulla some 50 years ago under the name Rahangala Pears, but growers are still struggling to find a reasonable price for the produce. The Welimada, Boralanda, Rahangala, Uva Paranagama, and Luckyland Gommalikanda areas have the ideal climatic conditions, while growing pears in the Ragala area of the Nuwara Eliya district is reported to be thriving. W.A. Sangadasa, a cultivator in Gommalikanda, said more..

Jul 24 (NW) SL sprinter Yupun Abeykoon has rejected claims that he demanded US$300,000 from the Govt as a condition to continue representing SL, saying the request was related to unpaid dues and long-standing commitments made by previous administrations. Responding to recent remarks by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage, Abeykoon said the amount was linked to payments due to him and his support team over several years, including outstanding payments dating back to 2021. more..

Jul 24 (DN) India U-19s recorded a convincing 211-run victory over Sri Lanka U-19s in the second and final four-day match yesterday to secure the series 1-0. Chasing a challenging target of 472, SL resumed the final day on 155 for four, still needing 317 runs for victory. However, the Indian bowlers dominated the morning session, dismissing the hosts for 260 in 77 overs. Sri Lanka lost their remaining six wickets for just 105 runs as India wrapped up victory about an hour after lunch. more..

Jul 24 (NW) Supreme Court has ruled that the 2022 arrest of social activist Thisara Bandara over his involvement in the GoHomeGota 2022 campaign violated his Fundamental Rights, holding that the Police acted without objectively reasonable grounds. In a judgment delivered on July 23, a 3-judge bench held that petitioner’s rights under Articles 12(1) and 13(1) of the Constitution had been infringed by the then Senior DIG more..

Jul 24 (FT) CB's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) repeatedly warned successive Governments from 2021 that advance import payments were being used for trade-based money laundering, years before investigations uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars remitted overseas for imports that never arrived, CoPF heard this week. FIU officials told the Committee that strategic analysis undertaken in 2021 identified trade-based money laundering as one of SL’s highest financial crime risks. more..

Jul 24 (DN) Colombo Kaps bounced back from their defeat to Jaffna Kings with a 23-run victory over Kandy Royals in their Lanka Premier League match played at the Dambulla International Stadium yesterday. It was an impressive all-round performance by Colombo Kaps, who posted 192 for nine before restricting Kandy Royals to 169 for eight. Opener Rubin Hermann struck 53, while Janith Liyanage remained unbeaten on 52 to steer Colombo Kaps to a competitive total. more..