���������������������������������

Former Director General of Sri Lanka Customs – Seevali Arukgoda has been appointed Senior Additional Secretary to the President of the Revenue Administration Reform and Modernisation Bureau (RARMB).

The appointment took effect yesterday (Aug. 10).

The RARMB is responsible for implementing reforms at the Government’s 03 main revenue-generating institutions – the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Sri Lanka Customs and the Excise Department.

Arukgoda had served in various capacities at Sri Lanka Customs for 37 years, most recently serving as a spokesman for Sri Lanka Customs.

1915-ஆம் ஆண்டு உருவாக்கப்பட்ட முதல் நாடு கடந்த இடைக்கால அரசின் பிரதமராக மௌலானா பர்கத்துல்லா போபாலி இருந்தார். தற்போது, அவரது பெயரில் இயங்கி வரும் பர்கத்துல்லா பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின் பெயரை மாற்றுவது தொடர்பான முன்மொழிவு குறித்த விவாதம் நடைபெற்று வருகிறது.

The Irrigation Department says there is currently no risk of flooding in any part of the country as rainfall has continued to ease across Sri Lanka.

Director of the Hydrology and Disaster Management Division of the Irrigation Department, Engineer L.S. Sooriyabandara, said this morning (Aug. 11) that the highest rainfall recorded over the past 24 hours was reported in the upper catchment areas of the Kalu and Mahaweli rivers. He said the rainfall in those areas was close to 20 millimetres.

Rainfall was also recorded yesterday (10) in the districts of Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, as well as in the Western, North Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces. However, rainfall recorded in these areas and other areas were below 10 millimetres.

The body of an unidentified man has been found in a coconut plantation in the Lunuwila area of Koswatta, according to reports.

Police said the deceased is believed to be around 70 years old and was wearing white shorts and a black long-sleeved shirt.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the man had died several days ago.

Further investigations are underway by the Koswatta Police.

The National Council for Road Safety has announced that wearing seat belts will be mandatory for all drivers and passengers travelling in vehicles on expressways from Sept. 19.

Chairman Manjula Kularatne said that implementation of the regulation, originally scheduled to come into effect in August 2025, had been postponed several times over the past year and would not be extended any further.

He said the grace period had been provided to allow owners of vehicles that do not have seat belts fitted to the middle and rear seats, as originally designed by the manufacturers, to have them properly installed.

Last week, Cabinet approval was granted to extend the deadline for installing seat belts in all passenger seats of vehicles travelling on expressways by a further three months, following requests from relevant stakeholders. 

This extended the deadline of the grace period until September 19, 2026 after the previous deadline expired on June

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is scheduled to hold a special discussion with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) tomorrow (Aug. 12) regarding the government’s proposal to increase the retirement age of judges.

The Presidential Secretariat said the discussion is scheduled to be held at 1.00 p.m. tomorrow.

Under the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Draft Bill, published in the Government Gazette on Aug. 07, 2026, the mandatory retirement age of Supreme Court judges would be increased to 67, while the retirement age of Court of Appeal judges would be raised to 65.

The BASL recently conveyed its position on the proposal to extend the retirement age of judges to the President in writing.

 Related News:

At least 132 killed in Colombia’s largest quake in years

2026-08-11 04:11:04

At least 132 people are dead and a state of emergency has been declared after Colombia was hit by one of its largest earthquakes in years.

The death toll is likely to rise, with more feared trapped under collapsed buildings.

The magnitude 7.4 quake struck at 07:34 (12:34 GMT) at a depth of 103km (64 miles) in Chocó province, the country’s geological service said. It was felt across an enormous area, stretching for hundreds of miles across western Colombia.

Many of the deaths have been concentrated in the city of Pereira, in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, with surrounding cities and the Valle del Cauca region also hit hard.

The epicentre of the quake was near the village of San José del Palmar, in Chocó province, but local mayor León Fabio Marín Moncada said that there had miraculously been no deaths or injuries – despite the roads in and out being damaged.

More than 480 people were injured in the quakes, Co

The issuance of passports was disrupted this morning (Aug. 11) due to a sudden failure of the Department of Immigration and Emigration’s computer system.

Controller General of Immigration and Emigration – Chaminda Pathiraja said measures are being taken to restore the system as soon as possible.