Mon, Aug 3, 2026
12 headlines
SRI LANKA DAILY NEWS DIGEST — Monday, August 3, 2026
PRISONS
Authorities have restored order at Mahara Prison after unrest broke out inside the facility on Saturday afternoon. The Department of Prisons said calm was regained through a joint operation involving prison officials, Sri Lanka Police, the Police Special Task Force and the Tri-Forces. A total of 104 inmates have been transferred out of the prison.
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said he suspects outside influence behind the Mahara unrest, and stressed that the incident is fundamentally different in nature from the disturbance earlier reported at Negombo Prison.
JUDICIARY
The Attorney General has granted legal clearance for a draft bill seeking to extend the retirement age of judges by two years. The clearance paves the way for the legislation to proceed to the next stage.
NORTH
Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd.) chaired a high-level Civil-Military Coordination Meeting at the Mullaitivu Divisional Secretariat, taking up long-standing land issues and regional development in the Northern Province.
NARCOTICS
Q Branch police seized 292 kilograms of ganja near Ramanathapuram that was being smuggled to Sri Lanka. Three people were arrested in connection with the consignment.
SPORT
Sri Lanka Women clinched the three-match T20 International series against Pakistan Women with a match to spare, sealing it with a six-wicket win in the second T20I at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday.
India's Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss the two-Test series against Sri Lanka beginning in Galle on August 15. The seamer continues to feel discomfort in his left knee following an assessment at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, and has been advised a full recovery rather than an early return.
INTERNATIONAL
Iran has denied reports that it agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting US President Donald Trump's claim that an outline of a deal with Tehran included the "immediate, complete and total" reopening of the strategic waterway. "There is no agreement," Iranian officials said Sunday.
Five people are dead and 41 remain missing after an Indonesian ferry carrying 271 passengers and crew caught fire at sea, officials said.
Two helicopters collided in mid-air in Greece while battling wildfires, in the latest setback to firefighting efforts there.
Flight attendants at Canada's WestJet went on strike on Sunday after talks with the country's second-largest carrier collapsed, grounding flights at the height of the summer travel season.
SCIENCE
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have successfully grown Red Russian kale and Wasabi mustard green sprouts, part of research into sustainable food production for future long-duration space missions.
— Compiled from Daily Mirror breaking news reports.