Aug 5 (NW) Sri Lanka has blocked access to 24 illegal online gambling websites operating without the required licences, the Ministry of Digital Economy announced. The move was carried out by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of SL (TRCSL), which directed all telecommunications service providers to block access to the websites with immediate effect. Action follows a request from the Gambling Regulatory Authority, operating under Ministry of Finance, more..

Aug 5 (NF) The Colombo High Court today ordered that the case filed against former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa and two other accused be taken up again on September 28. The matter was called before Colombo High Court Judge Raveendra Premaratne. When the case was taken up, former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa, former Acting Director General of the Office for Reparations Sepalika Saman Kumari, and Keerthi Bandara Kotagama appeared before court. more..

Aug 5 (AD) SL athletes Rumesh Tharanga and Palitha Bandara, who brought glory to the country by winning gold and silver medals at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, arrived at the BIA today. Rumesh Tharanga secured the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event, while Palitha Bandara won the silver medal in the men’s para discus throw event at the Commonwealth Games. SL contingent arrived in the country via Dubai on Emirates flight EK-650, which landed at the BIA at around 4:50 p.m. more..

Aug 5 (AD) Former Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam has been arrested by the CIABOC over allegations of misusing employees recruited to the Office of the President’s Senior Advisor for personal work. CIABOC officials arrested the former minister today after he appeared before the commission to record a statement pertaining to the incident. According to the CIABOC, four employees recruited to the Office of the Prez’s Senior Advisorduring Kariyawasam’s tenure more..

Aug 5 (AD) Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has conducted raids on a total of 471 pharmacies islandwide so far this year as part of special operations to ensure consumer health safety, resulting in fines exceeding Rs. 2.2 million. According to the CAA, a total of 362 pharmacies were raided and investigations were carried out between Jan 1 and June 30, 2026, while a further 109 pharmacies were raided during a special programme conducted on Aug 3 and 4, with 86 violations detected. more..

Aug 5 (DM) Retired Consultant Community Physician Dr. Harsha Suranga Fernando, who has been appointed as the new Governor of the Central Province, was sworn in before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake today at the Presidential Secretariat. Dr. Fernando has served as an immunisation specialist with the World Health Organization (WHO) in several countries and previously worked as a Consultant Community Physician for the Kandy District. The swearing-in ceremony was held more..

Aug 5 (FT) Sometimes the most powerful measure of a nation's health isn't the one we notice. When conversations turn to the economy, most of us instinctively think about the rising price of groceries, the value of the rupee against the dollar, interest rates, or whether more jobs are being created. These are the figures that dominate television debates and newspaper headlines. Economists also rely on measures such as GDP, inflation, unemployment, exports, public debt, and foreign reserves more..

Aug 5 (FT) In July 2026, the World Bank re-classified Sri Lanka as an upper-middle income country with a per capita income of Rs. 1.6 million. Again, according to the World Bank, Sri Lanka had a poverty rate of 22.1% in 2025. Its poverty line was set at Rs. 16,690 in March 2026. This means over one-fifth of Lankans earn just Rs. 205,000 per year. In a country with an annual per capita income of Rs. 1.6 million, one-fifth of the population earn just Rs. 205,000 a year. more..

Aug 5 (DM) Two suspects, including the son of the owner of a well-known gate manufacturing and motor vehicle importing company, were ordered to be remanded till Aug 5 by Colombo Additional Magistrate over allegations of evading taxes amounting to millions of rupees through the import of luxury vehicles and raw materials for the construction sector. Suspects, Achini Dias, an employee of the company and Athila more..

Aug 5 (NW) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake chaired a pre-Budget discussion on the Ministry of Justice and National Integration on Tuesday, reviewing the progress of projects funded under the 2026 Budget and setting priorities for the 2027 Budget. The meeting focused on improving the justice sector through infrastructure development, institutional reforms, prison modernisation and enhanced forensic capabilities. Here are 11 key takeaways: more..

Aug 5 (Island) The govt will soon decide whether to continue with Army and Navy deployment at Keppapilavu and Vadduvakkal, respectively, in the former LTTE bastion in Mullaitivu. Authoritative military sources confirmed the ongoing discussions regarding the military presence in the two locations. Sources said so in response to The Island query over Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera chairing a high level meeting at the Mullaitivu Divisional Secretariat where the focus was more..

Aug 5 (DN) Eight people have died, and one remains missing as floods and landslides swept across nine districts following days of heavy monsoonal rain, DMC said. A total of 4,088 people from 1,045 families have been affected, with three people injured and 1,902 people currently in safe locations. Of the reported deaths, one occurred on August 3 when a mound of earth fell on a 65-year- old man in Nawalapitiya. more..

Aug 5 (FT) Ministry Consultants Procurement Committee (MCPC), the selected consultancy firm will be responsible for providing consultancy services for the establishment of the investment platform. Ministry said interested consultancy firms must demonstrate experience in at least three national-scale or equivalent consultancy assignments completed during the past 10 years. Firms are also required to submit details of similar assignments, experience under more..

Aug 5 (NW) Dialog Axiata has relaunched its e-Kunu electronic waste management programme in partnership with the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), allowing the public to hand over designated electronic waste at Dialog outlets across the country. The initiative was officially launched on Monday at the CEA, alongside the signing of a MoU between the two organisations. Under the programme, Dialog will accept a range of electronic waste items, including mobile phones, laptops, chargers, more..

Aug 5 (TM) Govt Radiological Technologists' Association (GRTA) warned that it would be forced to withdraw from extra-duty work unless the Health Ministry revised extra-duty payments for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (PSM) staff, which it said had remained unchanged since 2004. GRTA President Chanaka Dharmawickrama said that successive Govts had failed to revise the extra-duty payments paid to PSM staff for more than two decades despite repeated requests more..

Aug 5 (DM) Only two reservoirs under the Irrigation Department were reported to be spilling as of 12.30 pm today (4), while the average storage capacity of the country's 73 major reservoirs remained at 39.3%. The dept said the Ambewela Reservoir in Badulla District, a major reservoir on the Mahaweli Ganga, is spilling through one overflow section. Bomuruella Reservoir, also located in Badulla District on the Mahaweli Ganga, was reported to be spilling through three overflow sections. more..

Aug 5 (TM) Information has been received regarding possible disturbances at two or three more prisons, and the Prison authorities have been instructed to remain on high alert and take all necessary preventive measures, Justice Minister, Harshana Nanayakkara said. He said the Justice Ministry had already alerted Prison officials after concerns emerged that the recent Prison violence could spread to other prisons. more..

Aug 5 (NW) SJB MP Ajith Perera today (4) called on the Chief Justice to appoint a full 11-member Supreme Court bench to hear any legal challenge against the proposed Bill to increase the retirement age of judges. Speaking in Parliament, Perera argued that the proposed amendment could not be enacted solely with a two-thirds majority in Parliament and would also require approval at a referendum. He said constitutional provisions relating to judicial independence, including more..

Aug 5 (Island) Three individuals were injured in a clash between two groups of political rivals outside the Patha Hewaheta Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) yesterday. The injured are receiving treatment at the hospital there, Thalathuoya Police said. Gamini Rajanayake (SJB), who served as the Chairman of the PS recently resigned from his post, and the election of a new Chairman was scheduled to take place yesterday. However, the PS could not elect a Chairman for want of a quorum. more..

Aug 5 (FT) National Sales Average (NSA) of tea increased in July on both a month-on-month and year-on-year basis, according to Forbes and Walker Research. Tea auction prices strengthened in July, with the national sales average rising above Rs. 1,176 per kilogram, supported by improved prices for High and Low Grown teas despite continued weakness in the Medium Grown category. The national tea sales average for July 2026 increased to Rs. 1,176.10 ($ 3.50) per kilogram more..

Aug 5 (ST) Northern Chamber of Industries (NCI) is organising the Northern Int'l Trade Exhibition (NITE2026) on Aug 28-30 at the Thiruvalluvar Jaffna Cultural Centre. The event is being held during the annual Nallur Festival, SL’s premier Hindu festival, approaches which is being held from Aug 16 to Sept 12, taking advantage of a great influx of people at the festival where daily attendance is estimated between 60,000 on ordinary days and 200,000 on the main festival days. more..

Aug 5 (FT) The motor vehicle industry generated Rs.896.4 billion in Customs revenue while more than 327,000 new vehicles were registered during the first six months of 2026, underscoring the sector’s contribution to Govt revenue and signs of market recovery, according to the CCC’s Motor Vehicle Industry Report 2025/26. The report, released after a six-year hiatus following SL’s suspension of motor vehicle imports, more..

Aug 5 (ST) Batting in Twenty20 cricket has transformed over the past decade, but South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks continues to prove that solid technique and strong fundamentals remain the cornerstone of consistency. While the modern game demands innovation, Hendricks believes that the basics of the sport have never changed. “Even though the game has evolved, the basics remain the same. Obviously, depending on the situation and conditions, you have to adapt accordingly and more..

Aug 5 (Island) Emerging javelin thrower Themiya Thabrew heads to the World Athletics Under-20 Championships carrying expectations similar to those that surrounded Rumesh Tharanga four years ago as the global showpiece gets underway at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on Wednesday. Commonwealth Games 2026 gold medallist Tharanga travelled to the 2022 World Under-20 Championships in Cali ranked among the top 40 in the age category at the time. more..

Aug 5 (Island) SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday told Parliament that a constitutional amendment seeking to extend the retirement age of Supreme Court judges would require people’s approval at a referendum. He cited a 2022 Supreme Court determination which, he said, held that such a change would adversely affect the independence of the judiciary. Making a special statement under Standing Order 27/2, more..

Aug 5 (DM) Sri Lanka’s tariff reforms could leave a bitter aftertaste for the local confectionery industry, with manufacturers warning that cheaper finished imports and heavily taxed production inputs are a recipe for an uneven playing field. A senior industry source, speaking exclusively to Mirror Business on condition of anonymity, said the sector fully supports the govt’s tariff modernisation drive and commitments under the IMF-backed reform programme. more..

Aug 5 (TM) SL netball team head coach Somitha de Alwis is nonplussed as to why the Netball Federation of SL (NFSL) is insisting on the retention of an injury-plagued 18-year-old schoolgirl in the tour squad to Hong Kong, shortly. Sri Lanka is due to leave Colombo on today for the 14th Asian Netball Championships taking place from 8-15 August, with the winners and runners-up of the tournament set to book their berths at the Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia next year. more..

Aug 8 (TM) SL’s Export Development Board (EDB) officials recently engaged with Bogala Graphit’s management to discuss the way forward and the barriers in the graphite industry, as part of this initiative of intensifying efforts to unlock the country’s graphite potential, a statement made by the EDB said. The initiative is closely aligned with the National Export Development Plan (NEDP), which has identified minerals and mineral-based products as one of SL's thrust export sectors. more..

Aug 8 (Island) In 2024, Sri Lanka’s customs records show the country exported a modest US$ 41 million worth of goods to Thailand, cinnamon, coconut products, rubber, and assorted manufactured goods, ranked 47th among SL’s export destinations. It is a small, unremarkable trading relationship by any measure. Except that when researchers at Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based think tank that tracks illicit financial flows, applied their standard mirror trade methodology, more..

Aug 8 (ST) High-level discussions with health authorities this week with regard to the vaccine – QDENGA or TAK-003 – against dengue were very positive. High-level discussions with health authorities this week with regard to the vaccine – QDENGA or TAK-003 – against dengue were very positive, the Sunday Times learns. Top officials from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, headed by Dr Eduardo Bittencourt de Gomensoro, met with Minister more..

Aug 8 (ST) LAUGFS Supermarkets is expanding its retail presence with a focus on integrated convenience formats and localised community supported by strategically placing stores in suburban areas. “We will be setting up 100 supermarkets within a short time,” Dr. W.K.H. Wegapitiya said. The company will be deploying flagship LAUGFS Super large outlets alongside compact LAUGFS SuperMart convenience stores tailored for quick top-up shopping, he said. more..

Aug 5 (CT) To chart the trajectory of modern SL governance is to witness a democracy fundamentally haunted by its own antiquity. For decades, a complicit political class has labored under the illusion that rewriting state texts could tame the ghost of authoritarianism. Yet, despite the modern veneer of parliamentary debate, SL cannot boast about centuries of decentralized power. Right throughout her history, she was ruled by a monarch. That ancient power dynamic has not only more..