Jul 3 (TM) SL’s gross official reserves are likely to miss the IMF's end-2026 target of $ 8.8 billion by roughly around 19%, as the current account transitions into a deficit and the Central Bank faces challenges in maintaining its existing pace of reserve accumulation, First Capital Research (FCR) has projected. Citing the last publicly available data for end-May, the unit noted: “Gross Official Reserves was recorded at more..

Jul 3 (NW) Leaders of the People’s Joint Opposition met the Mahanayake of the Amarapura Chapter, Most Venerable Karagoda Uyangoda Maithree Moorthi Thera, at the Devram Vehera Temple in Pannipitiya on Thursday to brief him on several issues facing the country. According to a statement issued by the alliance, the discussions focused on the country’s ongoing economic difficulties, including the foreign exchange shortage, the growing budget deficit and what it described as the unfair more..

Jul 3 (DM) Colombo Law Society (CLS), a premier professional association serving attorneys-at-law in SL has urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to refrain from proceeding with any Constitutional amendment seeking to extend the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, warning that such a move could undermine public confidence in the independence of the judiciary. In a letter dated July 2, Executive Committee of CLS said it had unanimously more..

Jul 3 (AD) Minister K.D. Lalkantha, states that a significant portion of the country’s tax revenue is spent on the farming community. Minister made these remarks while attending the event held to mark the renovation of the Maha Mankadawala tank bund and the construction of a gated spillway structure, implemented under the Vari Mahima Ape Urumaya (Grandeur of Irrigation, Our Heritage) national programme. more..

Jul 3 (NW) Court of Appeal today dismissed a revision petition filed by Yoshitha Rajapaksa seeking a ruling that the conspiracy charge against him in the money laundering case before the Colombo High Court could not be maintained. The petition challenged the conspiracy charge filed by the Attorney General under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, with Rajapaksa arguing that the charge was not legally sustainable. Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Amal Ranaraja and more..

Jul 3 (NW) Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe has instructed the Commissioner General of Labour to conduct a full investigation into complaints against Ceylon Newspapers Ltd, including the alleged non-payment of Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) contributions. The Labour Ministry said the investigation will also cover complaints relating to the alleged non-payment of salaries and gratuity, as well as the alleged termination of employees. more..

Jul 3 (AD) Ministry of Health has announced that steps have been taken to grant appointments to a total of 2,652 Health Service Assistants, Public Health Management Assistants, Field Assistants in Mosquito Control, and Overseers within the next month. The appointments, made on the instructions of Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, are aimed at improving the quality of the country’s free healthcare system, enhancing the efficiency of hospitals, and ensuring uninterrupted hospital administration more..

Jul 3 (AD) Govt has decided to provide 50 modern paddy drying machines to cooperative societies across the country with each machine reportedly capable of drying nearly 10 metric tonnes of paddy per day. Accordingly, the govt has allocated Rs. 500 million in decentralized funds to supply the machines, each valued at approximately Rs. 10 million, to active and financially stable cooperative societies. Cooperative societies requiring paddy dryers may apply by submitting a proper more..

Jul 3 (DN) Former SL Navy Commander, Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, was arrested today by the CIABOC after being summoned to record a statement in connection with an ongoing corruption investigation. CIABOC stated that the arrest was made at around 10 a.m. within the Commission premises by its investigative officers, following questioning related to alleged irregularities in the 2006 recruitment of more..

Jul 3 (NW) SL batsman Pathum Nissanka has successfully undergone wrist surgery in London, his manager Asanka Wijewardena confirmed. The operation was carried out today and was successful. Nissanka is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks as he recovers from the procedure. The surgery was performed at Sarum Road Hospital in London. Injury will rule him out of this year’s Lanka Premier League, but he is expected to be fit in time for SL’s upcoming Test series against India. more..

Jul 3 (DM) A delegation of the Tamil National People's Assembly (TNPA), led by its leader and MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, today met with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Joseph Vijay at the Tamil Nadu Govt Secretariat in Chennai and held discussions on several issues concerning SL Tamils. During the meeting, the TNPA submitted a written memorandum outlining its demands and concerns. Discussions focused on the political and human rights issues faced by Tamils in SL's N&E more..

Jul 3 (DM) The data released by DMC and Central Bank of SL indicate that Govt of SL has so far disbursed more than Rs. 24.4 billion in relief and compensation for those affected by Cyclone Ditwah. According to the data, the principal compensation payment has been the Rs. 25,000 house-cleaning allowance, which has been paid to 423,914 households. This represents more than 97% of the affected households. more..

Jul 3 (NW) Professor Fazeeha Azmi has assumed duties as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador-designate to Iran, becoming the country’s first female envoy appointed to the post. She formally assumed duties at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Tehran on June 30. Addressing embassy staff, Prof. Azmi outlined the Govt’s priorities and stressed the importance of strengthening Sri Lanka’s longstanding ties with Iran, as well as with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, where she is also accredited. more..

Jul 3 (DN) Homagama Magistrate’s Court ordered the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) depot in Homagama to pay a fine of Rs.25,000 for maintaining dengue mosquito breeding grounds on its premises. The legal action was initiated following an inspection by the Homagama Medical Officer of Health (MOH) Office, which found mosquito larvae at multiple locations within the depot. Recent inspections by the Homagama MOH uncovered active dengue mosquito larvae breeding more..

Jul 3 (FT) Over the next six months of this year, we will see significant changes in monetary policy and the use of macroprudential policy tools to bring private credit growth back, at least to a moderate level of around 13% or so. The objective is to stabilise and prevent significant volatility in the foreign exchange rate. A stable exchange rate is crucial to a country’s economic growth. This is true for a country that plans to increase Foreign Direct Investment to balance Balance of Payments more..

Jul 3 (FT) If you are a lawyer, and you have taken an oath to uphold and safeguard the law of this land, then live by that oath. Ethics cannot be selective. Integrity cannot be situational. If you are a President’s Counsel, your obligation is even greater. With seniority comes responsibility. With stature comes accountability. You cannot preach principles in public and practice compromise in private. You cannot speak of justice while participating in systems that undermine it. more..

Jun 3 (Island) The CIABOC probing bribery allegations pertaining to the recent arrest of attorney-at-law Rakitha Rajapakshe, former SJB Horana organiser Charitha Abeysinghe and another person is expected to question drug dealer Nadun Chintaka alias Harak Kata being held under the PTA. CIABOC arrested Rakitha and Charitha Abeysinghe and former Director of Airport and Aviation Services Aruna Sri Chathuranga more..

Jun 3 (DM) A unique operation set to mark a historic moment in SL’s railway history is scheduled to be carried out tonight, with a locomotive being transported between Kandy and Peradeniya without using railway tracks. Accordingly, M5 class locomotive No. 781 is being prepared to travel from Kandy to Peradeniya via the highway, in what is believed to be the first such movement in the country’s history. The Department of Railways said the decision was taken as restoration work more..

Jun 3 (Island) Deputy Minister Hansaka Wijemunige states that the Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex and Reserve in Gampola is a public property and therefore it will be taken over by the govt soon. Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex and Reserve in Gampola is currently managed by the Ambuluwawa D.M. Jayaratne (former PM) Religious Centre and Bio-diversity Complex Trust Fund. It was established as a statutory body corporate under a dedicated Act of Parliament (Act No. 44 of 2009). more..

Jun 3 (Island) Denying social media claims that Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith used the 2019 Easter Sunday attack to have his term extended, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in SL (CBCSL) has declared its confidence in him. The CBCSL emphasised that only His Holiness the Pope has the full authority to decide the date on which the retirement of a Bishop will officially take effect. more..

Jun 3 (AD) An Extraordinary Gazette Notification has been issued introducing amendments to the food colour-code labelling regulations for sugar-containing liquid food products. The amendments were issued by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa under Section 32 of the Food Act, No. 26 of 1980, and were published in the Extraordinary Gazette dated June 23. According to the new amendments, new regulations have been introduced for the design and display of red, amber & green colour logos more..

Jul 3 (NW) Former Minister S.M. Chandrasena was served with indictments before the Colombo High Court in connection with corruption charges filed by the Bribery Commission. The indictments were presented before High Court Judge Ravindra Premaratne, who ordered Chandrasena’s release on cash bail of Rs. 50,000 and two surety bails of Rs. 1 million each. The case has been fixed for hearing on July 22. The charges relate to the period between Jan 1 and Dec 31, 2014, when more..

Jul 3 (NW) JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said JVP and the Communist Party of China (CPC) have strengthened bilateral ties through a MoU signed during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visit to China in early 2025, with the agreement already leading to training and exchange programmes for party members. Addressing an event marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Silva said the MoU has enabled several JVP and NPP activists to more..

Jul 3 (DM) Sri Lanka’s national tea sale average declined in June from the previous month, reflecting weaker prices across all elevations, although year-to-date averages remained marginally higher in rupee terms compared to 2025. According to data, the national tea sale average for June 2026 stood at Rs. 1,153.49 per kilogram, down Rs. 31.07 from Rs. 1,184.56 recorded in May. In dollar terms, the average fell to US$ 3.45 from US$ 3.65 a month earlier. more..

Jul 3 (DM) Sri Lanka has been ranked the Best Island in the World by global travel platform 'Big 7 Travel', topping its annual list of "The 50 Best Islands in the World" for 2026. Now in its seventh edition, the ranking recognises the world's most outstanding island destinations based on a combination of previous media coverage, social media popularity, emerging travel trends, and assessments by Big 7 Travel's editorial team. more..

Jul 3 (NW) Four suspects have been arrested and remanded over the alleged assault of two students from a technical college in Kurunegala following an incident that was circulated on social media, in which the victims were reportedly attacked after refusing to hand over Rs. 100. According to the police, the incident occurred on 25 June. The two 19-year-old students, who were residing in Bamunugedara while studying at Wayamba Tech Technical College, were allegedly assaulted following an argument more..

Jul 3 (FT) GovTech Sri Lanka Ltd, yesterday announced the appointment of Shevan Goonetilleke as its CEO, effective 19 Aug. His appointment marks an important milestone as GovTech enters its next phase of execution in delivering Sri Lanka’s national digital transformation agenda. GovTech Sri Lanka Ltd, is the Govt of SL’s lead implementation agency for national digital transformation. GovTech drives the design and delivery of digital infrastructure, platforms, and services that modernise more..

Jul 3 (DN) SL Export Development Board (EDB) and Import Promotion Desk (IPD), Germany, signed a MoU, reaffirming their long-standing partnership to strengthen export development and enhance market access for SL Export Oriented SMEs MoU was signed in the presence of Dr. Julia Bellinghausen, Head of IPD, together with Marcus Schwenke, Director Int'l Markets, Federation of Wholesale Foreign Trade & Services (BGA), Stephanie Weber, other distinguished representatives of IPD. more..

Jul 3 (CI) After seven defeats across their previous eight Tests, an innings victory was the proverbial monsoon in the desert as far as West Indies were concerned. A statement victory to start off the new World Test Championship cycle, and one that has no doubt reignited belief within this young West Indian outfit. Whether it was Amir Jangoo and Roston Chase's epic partnership or the fire-breathing exploits of Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph, more..

Jul 3 (NW) Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the Govt aims to reduce waiting times for cardiac catheterisation procedures from around one year to one month by expanding the country’s cath lab network. Speaking at the commissioning of two new cardiac catheterisation laboratories and a renovated Cardiology Day Case Unit at National Hospital, Minister said the number of operational cath labs across the state health more..

Jun 3 (FT) Scouts, Sri Lanka’s pioneering intelligent drone and robotics company, yesterday said it has closed a funding round at a valuation of Rs. 1.6 billion. In a market that has historically exported its engineering talent rather than retaining it, the round represents something more than a financing milestone. The company offers an economically viable solution for security, from small farmers to large solar farms. Scouts provides drone security services, taking responsibility for more..

Jul 3 (DN) Sri Lanka’s motor racing super star Yevan David continued his steady progress in the FIA Formula 3 Championship after producing another impressive recovery drive to gain nine places in the Sprint Race at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, despite seeing his Feature Race end in a first-lap accident. Competing in his fourth FIA Formula 3 weekend with AIX Racing, the 18-year-old showed growing confidence and maturity throughout the weekend. After learning valuable lessons in Barcelona, more..