Sri Lankan AI News Summary

SRI LANKA DAILY NEWS DIGEST - Tuesday, August 4, 2026 WEATHER AND DISASTERS Heavy rain across the Central highlands has killed two people and left several others missing amid flooding and landslides, according to the Disaster Management Centre. In the worst single incident, an earth mound collapsed onto a house at Morahenagama in the Polpitiya police division, Hatton, leaving at least four people missing. The Meteorology Department says the wet spell should ease by this afternoon, though Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Sabaragamuwa and parts of the Western Province will see continued rain overnight and into the morning. ECONOMY The Committee on Public Finance has approved a Rs. 71.7 billion relief package under Supplementary Estimate No. 03 of 2026, aimed at households and sectors hit by the economic fallout of the Middle East conflict. Separately, the Central Bank said it tightened monetary policy through the first half of 2026 to protect price stability. Global markets offered some relief: oil prices fell about 5 percent to a three-week low on Monday after US President Donald Trump held off on a fresh strike on Iran while pursuing a deal that could increase Gulf supply. On the investment side, Rush Lanka Group's flagship Rush Metropolis residential development in Dehiwala has received Board of Investment approval. GOVERNANCE AND POLITICS President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met an alliance of six Tamil and Muslim parties at the Presidential Secretariat, discussing elections and a comprehensive new Constitution, and reaffirmed the need to abolish the executive presidency. The office of the Commission on Public Sector Salaries and Pensions, tasked with reforming state sector pay and pensions, opens today. Commentators continue to press the question of whether Sri Lanka can finally deliver a public transport service commuters trust. COURTS AND ACCOUNTABILITY The Court of Appeal has fixed September 22 to deliver its order on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's writ petition seeking to prevent his arrest over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks investigation. The Bribery Commission has filed indictments in the High Court against Yoshitha Rajapaksa and former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, alleging recruitment requirements were altered to suit Yoshitha while he was still a civilian. FISHERIES The Fisheries Department has warned fishermen and multi-day trawlers in southern waters to stay alert for containers that fell overboard two days ago. In the north, the Communist Party has urged the President to act urgently on Indian trawlers encroaching into Sri Lankan waters and undercutting Jaffna fishermen's livelihoods. SPORT Sri Lanka took gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with organisers crediting the city for saving and reinventing the Games before the baton passed to Amdavad. India's Test squad arrives in Sri Lanka today ahead of the two-Test series starting August 15; Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out with a left knee problem, and Jammu and Kashmir pacer Aaqib Nabi earns a maiden call-up in his place. Elsewhere, a cricket milestone in Tanzania, a major anti-corruption ban and a fresh FIFA leadership row dominated global sports news. INTERNATIONAL Ukrainian drone strikes hit military, energy and civilian sites deep inside Russia on Sunday, killing at least eight. At least five people died and dozens remain missing after the ferry Mutiara Sentosa 2, carrying 271 people, caught fire between East Java and South Sulawesi in Indonesia. India is working to repair relations with Bangladesh after ties soured following Sheikh Hasina's ouster. Morocco has named its 1,055 km Tiznit-Dakhla expressway the Donald J. Trump Highway, citing US backing for Rabat's claim over Western Sahara.