- President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that no vacuum should be allowed to occur in state power, as such a situation could lead to a serious disaster. He further stated that state power must always be smoothly transferred from one party to another. Referring to Bangladesh’s current situation, the President pointed out that the inability to fill a power vacuum has led to a national crisis. He recalled that in 2022, Sri Lanka too faced a similar threat, but he intervened to prevent it.
- Sri Lanka’s main opposition leader said he’ll reopen negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on its $3 billion loan if he wins next week’s presidential election to ease the financial burden on working class people.
- National People’s power presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake issued a strong challenge to independent presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe during a business meeting held in Matara. Dissanayake dismissed Wickremesinghe’s political tactics as mere drama, emphasizing the need for responsible leadership to address the country’s crises.
- President’s Counsel Kaushalya Nawaratne has resigned from his position as the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) with immediate effect. The Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) on August 31 had unanimously decided to call for the resignation of BASL President Kaushalya Nawaratne.
- The Cabinet of Ministers approved the IMF proposal, based on the Sri Lankan Government’s proposal, to reduce the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax from next year, says Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena. He stated that the proposal will be presented with the next budget proposal in November this year.
- A luxury house worth Rs. 100 million, located in Bambalapitiya, was forcibly seized by Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thero. The Colombo Additional Magistrate Pasan Amarasinghe, ordered Gnanasara Thero and two other respondents to immediately vacate the property, which had been unlawfully seized.
- Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe says that the Cabinet of Minister has decided to allow the import of vehicles under several stages starting from October 01. He stated that restrictions on importing public transport vehicles will be removed from October 01, 2024 while the restrictions on importing commercial and goods transport vehicles will be lifted from December 01, 2024.
- Major General Dinesh Nanayakkara of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment has been appointed as the new Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). He has been appointed to the position by the Commander of the Army, effective from September 16, 2024
- The Supreme Court has directed the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration to appear before the court in person with regard to his failure to implement the order issued by the court over the electronic visa matter. The directive was issued by the Supreme Court after considering motions filed over the non-implementation of the interim order issued by the court regarding the issue.
- Sri Lanka’s Hasitha Disssanayaka has won the Gold medal while Senura Hansaka won Silver in the Men’s Triple Jump event at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships 2024 held in Chennai, India. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has also secured the Gold medal in the Men’s 4x400m relay event.
