- Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella says a crucial programme under the guidance of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to prevent future shortages of medicines in the country will be implemented; asserts the government has taken measures to enhance the efficiency of the procurement process for importing medicines, with a particular focus on “ensuring their quality.”
- The Finance Ministry announces the government’s domestic debt optimisation strategy will be made public within the next two days; adds the DDO programme will also be submitted to the other parties including the Employees Provident Fund.
- Trade Minister Nalin Fernando says the government is working to drop out from the Co-operative Service Programme, in the absence of a proposal from the Co-operative on what kind of intervention should the government be making for the moving forward of the service; adds if the Co-operative Service is affected by the government’s intervention, the government should refrain from intervening in its activities.
- Social Empowerment State Minister Anupa Pasqual says the list of eligible persons for the welfare benefits entitled to the differently-abled, elderly and sick persons will be made public next week; adds there is still time to submit the appeals or objections pertaining to the “Aswesuma” beneficiaries list, if such submissions have not yet been made: Trade Unions Director General and provocative UNP advocate Saman Ratnapriya says anyone not interested with the appeals process can refer a copy of the relevant appeals to the Presidential Secretariat.
- Archbishop of Colombo HE Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith urges the President not to consider appointing SDIGs Nilantha Jayawardena and Deshabandu Tennakoon as the IGP; reminds the final report of the PCoI on Easter bombings clearly sets out that SDIG Tennakoon had merely conducted himself as a messenger and had failed to discharge his duties in the given circumstances; adds SDIG Tennakoon had spearheaded the Police probe into the discovery of a hand grenade at All Saints Church in 2022, which led to the arbitrary and baseless arrest of workers of the church; stresses PCoI report also says that SDIG Jayawardena was the most responsible person for the inaction that resulted in the April 2019 bombings.
- SLPP MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena calls JVP/NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake “a hypocrite” over his recent tour to Australia, accusing him of being accommodated “a business class flight” when his party speaks of Sri Lanka’s economy.
- Sri Lanka reports four more dengue-related fatalities, rising the death toll to 31: According to the Epidemiology Unit, 49,559 cases have been reported so far, with the highest number from the Gampaha District which stands at 10,879: The Epidemiology Unit recognises 61 MOH areas most vulnerable to dengue.
- Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena to travel to Beijing soon to work out nitty-gritties, with China pledging to fully cooperate in the external debt restructuring process: China being the largest bilateral creditor to Sri Lanka to observe discussions among Japan, India and France regarding the island’s debt restructuring process: The Chinese government has authorised EXIM Bank to engage with the SL authorities on debt restructuring.
- Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva chairs a special discussion between the civil aviation authorities of Sri Lanka and Israel regarding the commencement of direct passenger flights from Tel Aviv to Colombo: Civil Aviation Authority says a MoU between the two countries is to be signed soon.
- Sri Lanka qualifies for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, after beating Zimbabwe by 09 wickets in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and securing a place in the final of the ongoing qualifying tournament: Chasing a target of 166 (32.2 overs), SL were anchored by Pathum Nissanka, who scored 101 off 102: Spinner Maheesh Theekshana and left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka play well by sharing seven wickets between them.
