- President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the All-Party conference stresses the significance of discussing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution with all parties, as it is “a matter that affects the entire country”: highlights a decision on this matter should involve input from all relevant parties: The conference was organised to update the Parliament’s party leaders on the National Reconciliation Program and the North-East Development Plan.
- Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mohan Peiris deposits the instrument of ratification by Sri Lanka of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): The ratification comes after approval by the Cabinet and completion of the domestic ratification process: CTBT prohibits “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” anywhere in the world and has a network of detection stations in place to detect nuclear explosions anywhere in the world.
- Leading commercial banks reveal that the Sri Lankan Rupee has slightly appreciated against the US Dollar despite continuous depreciation over the past week: People’s Bank – buying price dropped to Rs. 321.15 from Rs. 322.13, selling price to Rs. 336.95 from Rs. 337.97; Commercial Bank – buying price to Rs. 323.41 from Rs. 324.64, selling price to Rs. 334 from Rs. 336; Sampath Bank – buying price Rs. 324 remains unchanged, selling price to Rs. 334 from Rs. 336.
- Japan’s Foreign Affairs Minister HAYASHI Yoshimasa to undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka from 28 – 29 July 2023; expects to have official discussions with his SL counterpart Ali Sabry and pay courtesy calls on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
- The Attorney General urges the Supreme Court to dismiss the petitions filed by NPP and PAFFREL claiming that their fundamental rights were violated by the non-holding of the LG Polls on March 09, without hearing: Claims the petitions were filed without having an understanding about the country’s economic crisis and other issues that follow: Petitions to be called again on October 02, 2023.
- Police fire water cannons to disperse protest march organised by the Inter-University Students’ Federation from the Lipton Circle to the University Grants Commission demanding the immediate release of student activists Kelum and Dilshan, who have been imprisoned for more than 200 days.
- Motor Traffic Commissioner General Nishantha Anuruddha Weerasinghe says the Driving Licence Printing Unit of the DMT which was operating under the control of the Army for more than two and a half years will be reacquired by the DMT from September, 2023: The Unit was taken over by the Army in January 2021 following a Cabinet decision based on a proposal by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
- The CEB warns several government hospitals of possible power outages due to the failure to settle defaulted payments of electricity maintenance and bills: These hospitals include Colombo National Hospital, Mannar District General Hospital, Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, Colombo East Base Hospital Mulleriyawa, Angoda Infectious Disease Hospital, Borella Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital, De Soysa Maternity Hospital, National Dental Teaching Hospital, National Institute for Nephrology Dialysis & Transplantation, and National Eye Hospital.
- Head of Mgt. of the Colombo Lotus Tower Prasad Samarasinghe says plans are underway to launch the Bungee Jumping Programme by December this year: Earlier, the Colombo Lotus Tower and Singapore Go Bungay Company signed a contract to start bungee jumping for the first time in Sri Lanka: This is said to be the world’s highest bungee jump.
- SL fast bowler Asitha Fernando reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day of the second Test against Pakistan in Colombo: Fernando was found to have breached Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”
