Aug 16 (CI) India ended their 20-Test wait for a century from No. 3 on a dominant but rain-curtailed first day with Devdutt Padikkal coming back into the team with a commanding unbeaten 131 off 178 balls. When Padikkal brought up his century, at the other end was Shubman Gill, India's last centurion from No. 3 and on the day the only wicket a bowler took, even though five men batted for India. Yashasvi Jaiswal was run-out for 32 when more..

Aug 16 (EN) Foreign investors bought a net 1,350 million rupees (US$ 4.1 million) worth of SL rupee bonds in the week ended on August 14, Central Bank data showed, amid a firmer rupee currency. The latest buying boosted the foreign buying in the government securities to 72.9 billion (US$ 220.8 million) in the nine straight weeks since June 19. The inflows boosted foreign holding to 194.2 billion rupees, the highest figure CB has published in its Weekly Economic Indicators. more..

Aug 16 (Island) It was only earlier this year that SL cricket became the laughing stock of the cricketing world when Shammi Silva’s Executive Committee pushed for a revamp of the national selection panel and installed a loyalist as Chairman of Selectors. In turn, the new selection regime dispensed with Charith Asalanka as captain with the T-20 World Cup just around the corner. What followed is well documented: Sri Lanka made a sorry exit from a showpiece event they co-hosted with India. more..

Aug 16 (TM) Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) President Pavithra Fernando is of the view that the National Sevens Team led by Srinath Sooriyabandara are well prepared to take a crack at a landmark medal at the forthcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. He dismissed suggestions that the opposition faced by the Tuskers during the Howard Hinton Sevens in France and at the London International Rugby Sevens were of inferior quality and maintained that, on the contrary, more..

Aug 16 (SO) SL secured third place in the 14th Asian Senior Netball C'ships 2026 when they defeated Malaysia 65-60 in the consolation final played in Hong Kong yesterday. Even then, SL conceded the opening quarter to their opponents by a solitary point (12-13) before staging a superb comeback to snatch the second quarter 19-17. SL suffered another setback as Malaysia fought back to claim the third quarter 17-15 but held their nerve in the deciding 4th quarter & went on to pull off a 19-13 victory. more..

Aug 16 (TM) For Prez AKD and his JVP-led NPP Govt, the election slogan A Thriving Nation, A Beautiful Life is increasingly becoming more than a campaign promise; it is turning into one of the Opposition’s most effective political weapons. Nearly two years into the JVP/NPP administration, the Opposition is seeking to change the terms of the political debate. Instead of getting drawn into arguments over IMF targets, fiscal deficits, more..

Aug 16 (TM) Former SL Captain Angelo Mathews in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Morning Sports in the lead up to the first Test match between SL and India, which began at the Galle Int'l Cricket Stadium on Saturday (15), confirmed that he had moved on from international cricket for good. Mathews, 39, who famously brought the curtain down on his red-ball career in June last year against Bangladesh, stated that every professional player should know when to move on. more..

Aug 16 (GV) For ten days in August, a scattering of galleries in Colombo and Galle Fort became something larger than the sum of their walls. ARTRA Trail Edition Two, the second edition of the platform’s circuit of exhibitions, artist talks and collector conversations turned the two cities into a single, loosely connected conversation about what SL carries beneath its surface. Four exhibitions and more than a dozen artists illustrate how the land, body and memory are never quite separate. more..

Aug 16 (TM) In September 2024, on the eve of a historic Presidential Election, the great majority of Sri Lankan voters had already made up their minds. The frontrunner was, in fact, the race’s dark horse: Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), riding a wave of public hunger for change. As the second anniversary of that vote approaches, few of the roughly 5.7 million people who backed him could have imagined they would, so soon, be forced to question their own decision. more..

Aug 16 (FT) India must always be Sri Lanka’s No.1 ally — not out of sentiment, but out of geographic reality. Twenty-two miles of the Palk Strait separate the two countries. No treaty, no summit, and no partnership with a distant power can change that. Sri Lanka should never do anything that triggers India’s core security concerns, because India is the neighbour who will always be there, long after other powers have moved on to their next strategic priority. US is now working hard to more..

Aug 16 (CT) There were men in the hall on the morning of 29 July who have spent much of the past decade attacking one another in public: Ali Sabry, Justice and then Foreign Minister under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Udaya Gammanpila, a Minister of the same period who has fought much of Colombo’s political class in court and on air and M.A. Sumanthiran of the ITAK, who spent a career litigating against govts the other two sat in: more..

Aug 16 (SO) For months, those opposing the NPP Govt’s proposal to extend the retirement age of judges sought to frame the issue as a fundamental threat to the independence of the Judiciary, a move towards authoritarianism and a Single Party State, a rupture in the constitutional order. In politics, the side that succeeds in defining the terms of a debate usually wins it. The detractors of the proposal – mainly the Opposition political parties, whose leaders are facing corruption allegations more..

Aug 16 (Island) It is doubtful whether the discerning public expected anything worthwhile to come of Wednesday’s meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and a delegation from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). There was no space for a meaningful discussion on the contentious issues concerning the proposed 22nd Amendment (22A) to the Constitution to extend the mandatory retirement ages of the judges of the Supreme Court (SC) & Court of Appeal (CA). more..

Aug 16 (SO) The possibility of reintroducing the death penalty for drug-related offences has once again entered the national debate, after attention was drawn to capital punishment during a meeting of the Ratama Ekata (Country Together) National Operation Council chaired by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Monday. The meeting focused on the escalating drug crisis and more..

Aug 16 (Island) Why are there such strong feelings generated by us on seeing an elephant? Is it their immense size and power? Or is it something deeper, more fundamental that elicits these emotions of either love or dread? To be honest, not many have the privilege of seeing an elephant in the wild. Their experience is limited to pictures and videos, zoological gardens, captive elephants and the media; the latter which tend to seek sensational headline, rather than give balanced, more..

Aug 16 (SO) The launch of direct flights between Colombo (IATA Code CMB) and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon, IATA Code SGN) today by the full service national carrier Vietnam Airlines signifies a new chapter in the relations between the two Asian countries. Vietnam Airlines’ thrice-weekly flights will be augmented by Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet’s flights linking the two cities, also on a thrice-weekly basis from August 18. These flights were announced back in May this year more..

Aug 15 (AD) Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a stock of school textbooks worth approximately Rs. 800,000, which had been issued by Educational Publications Dept for distribution among students in the Eastern Province. Investigations conducted by the Thalangama Police have revealed that the driver of the lorry transporting the textbooks had sold the stock to a person collecting used bottles and more..

Aug 15 (AD) Notorious drug trafficker Shiran Basik, who was arrested in Dubai and subsequently brought to Sri Lanka, has been handed over to the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) in Colombo for further investigations. Along with the suspect, two other individuals suspected of being members of an organised criminal gang were also handed over to the CCIB for questioning and further investigations. The suspects were brought to BIA from Abu Dhabi last night (14). more..

Aug 15 (DN) Araliya Group Chairman Dudley Sirisena, said that paddy harvests will be purchased at Govt-certified prices from today (15) morning, following discussions with Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Sirisena said the agreement was reached during a meeting with the President, Ministers K.D. Lalkantha, Wasantha Samarasinghe and other Govt officials yesterday. He said the discussion focused on the difficulties currently faced by paddy farmers and possible solutions. more..

Aug 15 (FT) Central Bank of SL (CBSL) has projected economic growth of 4-5% in 2026, but warned that the outlook remains exposed to geopolitical, external and climate risks. In its Monetary Policy Report for Aug 2026, CBSL said near-term growth prospects had improved as the economic spillovers from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East were less severe than previously anticipated. Improving domestic demand more..

Aug 15 (DN) The practice of marking sensitive intelligence information as FNA (For Necessary Action) and passing it down does not release a senior officer from accountability, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Dileepa Peiris has said, explaining the basis for the recent death sentences handed down to former IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Peiris, who led the prosecution against the former IGP, said more..

Aug 15 (FT) Govt has approved a three-year project to strengthen nutrition services for pregnant and lactating mothers and children below five years in four districts identified as facing serious nutritional challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. The move was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers this week that the Maternal and Early Childhood Nutrition Services Project will be implemented in Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee, more..

Aug 15 (NW) A video circulating on social media claiming to show Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara livestreaming while driving on August 13, 2026, is actually footage recorded three years ago, a fact-check has found. According to Fact Crescendo SL, the video dates back to Aug 13, 2023, when Nanayakkara was serving as the NPP’s Moratuwa electorate organizer, before he became a Cabinet minister. The video resurfaced on social media after more..

Aug 15 (DN) Minister Dr. Upali Pannilage said the Sign Language Bill will be presented to Parliament soon. He was speaking to the media before leaving the country to participate in the 35th session of the Committee under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is planned to review the first report submitted by SL in this regard. Minister emphasised that under the new Govt, many policy decisions have been taken for people with disabilities overthe past 18 months more..

Aug 15 (DN) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has not used his powers vested in the present Constitution to appoint a Chief Justice to his liking targeting a specific person, even though he could have appointed a lawyer from the private bar as Chief Justice if he wished, like past instances where Executive Presidential power was abused in appointing the Chief Justice, Minister Harshana Nanayakkara stated. more..

Aug 15 (ST) A team of medical specialists at the National Hospital, Kandy has successfully performed surgery and saved the life of a man who had a piece of timber embedded approximately 10 inches deep beneath his eye. Accident occurred on Aug 6 while 53-year-old H A R Kumara, resident of the Wattegama area, was working at a timber shed. A piece of timber approximately 4 feet long, 4 inches wide and 2 inches thick had penetrated approximately 10 inches deep into left side more..

Aug 15 (ST) The second death anniversary of the late Most Ven. Galboda Sri Gnanissara Thero, also known as Podi Hamuduruwo, was marked last Sunday with the awarding of scholarships to 460 beneficiaries under the Nena Isura scholarship programme. The scholarship programme was initiated in 2024 under the guidance of Ven. Kirinde Assaji Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Hunupitiya Gangarama Temple, with the aim of empowering children facing economic difficulties across more..

Aug 15 (DN) Sri Lankan Netball team gave a disappointing performance when they lost to Singapore by a big margin of 82-54 in the 14th Asian Netball Championship semi-final played in Hong Kong yesterday. With this defeat, Sri Lanka missed the chance of entering the final as well as taking part in next year’s World Cup in Australia. Only the two finalists will qualify for the World Cup, and Singapore is getting that chance once again, while SL has to come back empty-handed this time. more..

Aug 15 (CI) The last time India toured SL for Tests they were bang in the middle of a golden era and ended up making the hosts look ordinary. A lot has changed since then, including the frequency and the length of Test series between two teams that always made for close contests in SL. To that great Indian team that toured in 2017, SL was more home than India. The pitches offered more bounce and consistent turn, allowing the Indian spinners to dominate and outbowl the hosts despite more..

Aug 15 (DN) SL captain Dhananjaya de Silva backed his team to challenge India in the opening Test of the two-match series, which will commence today at Galle. The series forms part of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle, and both teams are expected to put up a good fight. This match is a significant occasion as it is the 50th Test at Galle Stadium, and Dhananjaya is privileged to lead the team at this ground, which is familiar to him more..

Aug 15 (FT) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa thanked UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite for raising concerns over the proposed 22nd Amendment, saying they echoed warnings by the BASL, the legal fraternity and the Opposition over its implications for judicial independence. Premadasa questioned the Govt’s decision to extend the proposed higher retirement ages to sitting SC judges, rather than limiting the change to more..

Aug 15 (FT) Japan has confirmed that construction of the long-delayed second passenger terminal at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will commence before November this year, following the revival of the project with Japanese assistance. The confirmation was given during discussions between Minister Anura Karunathilaka and a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) delegation led by Senior Vice President Hara Shohei and Chief Representative Honzu Shigeo. more..