- Lanka Coal Company Chairman Shehan Sumanasekera warns operations at Norochcholai Power Plant will halt if funds for coal purchases are not sourced: says Rs.15.3 billion is required immediately and the Central Bank must provide the required amount (of about USD 41.3mn) in forex: laments 2 payments to suppliers already delayed: urges solution before the power plants run out of coal.
- Air Traffic Controllers’ Assn President Thisara Amarananda says the number of operational Air Traffic Controllers in Sri Lanka is at a critical low owing to the resignations of 19 of them within a year: warns if 4 or 5 more leave, air traffic movements will come to a standstill: requests immediate resolution of the matter to minimise the threat of losing Sri Lanka’s airspace to a neighboring country.
- President Ranil Wickremesinghe accepts 50 buses from Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay: the buses, supplied under the Indian line of credit are to be used by the SLTB to uplift the public transport service in rural areas.
- Treasury Secretary appoints Douglas N. Nanayakkara as a Member of the Public Utilities Commission: he is an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service.
- Chairman, Litro Gas announces that the price of a Litro LP Gas 12.5kg cylinder has been increased by Rs.334 and the new price will be Rs.4,743; 5kg cylinder increased by Rs.134 and new price Rs.1,904; 2.3kg cylinder increased by Rs.61 and new price Rs.883.
- CID arrests well-known Social Media activist Dharshana Handungoda at the Bandaranaike International Airport upon his arrival from Dubai.
- UK and US urge Sri Lanka to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and to “decriminalise” same-sex conduct: make the appeal at the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review Working Group.
- Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland says the “political and economic pressure on Sri Lanka can be destabilizing, isolating, and frightening”: assures that Sri Lankans are not alone, and are “a part of the special precious Commonwealth family”: critics however point out that many leading Commonwealth countries have been at the forefront of introducing adverse resolutions against Sri Lanka at various international fora.
- Bangladesh says it is in the process of concluding Preferential Trade Agreements and Free Trade Agreements with several of its South Asian peers, including Sri Lanka.
- President Ranil Wickremasinghe and former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa place the sacred relics casket on the tusker at the annual Navam Perahera of the Gangarama Temple in Hunupitiya.
