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Centre for Human Rights and Research Sri Lanka has strongly condemned the government and key justice ministry officials for failing to manage chronic prison overcrowding following deadly unrest at Mahara Prison.

The human rights group pointed to Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara and Ministry Secretary Ayesha Jinasena, stating they failed to safeguard the lives of inmates and officers.

Gunfire and building fires broke out inside the complex, prompting chaotic scenes outside as families attempted to breach barricades.

Security forces used water cannons and imposed a local police curfew. Reports from prisoner rights advocates indicated multiple deaths and casualties, alleging officers opened fire and prevented inmates from helping the injured.

The Mahar Prison unrest comes after deadly riots at Negombo Prison which claimed around thirty lives.

Rights monitors stressed that these events stem directly from administrative delays under the Ministry of Justice, with Sri Lankan prisons operating at up to five times their design capacity.

At the time of the unrest, Mahara held over four thousand prisoners, while facilities such as Welikada, Colombo Remand, Magazine, and Negombo held thousands past their limits.

A National Audit Office investigation identified prolonged delays in obtaining Government Analyst reports as a primary driver, leaving over fifteen thousand suspects detained without resolution.

Additionally, nearly two thousand inmates remain incarcerated simply because they cannot afford small fines. Audit findings also indicated that housing drug offenders alongside the general population has allowed organized crime networks to thrive behind bars.

The executive director of the organisation, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, stated that the state bears full responsibility for protecting lives in custody and called for immediate access for the Human Rights Commission.

He demanded an independent investigation into forensic delays, fine related detentions, and overall management, urging the government to publish a clear timeline to reduce overcrowding to safe levels.

A 65-year-old man has died after being trapped beneath a collapsed earth embankment in the Solankanda area of Nawalapitiya as severe weather continues to affect parts of Sri Lanka.

Director of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), Pradeep Kodippili, confirmed the fatality during a special media briefing held today (03) on the ongoing impact of the adverse weather conditions.

Heavy rainfall has also triggered minor flooding in the Nawalapitiya area of the Kandy District, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from vulnerable locations.

According to the DMC, 138 people from 38 families have been relocated to safer places due to the flood risk.

Authorities said they are closely monitoring the evolving situation and have urged residents in affected areas to remain alert as adverse weather conditions persist.

Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa questioned the government's capacity to lead the nation following fresh unrest within the country's penal system.

Speaking at a public gathering in Maligakanda, Borella, the Opposition Leader asserted that a government incapable of maintaining order across Sri Lankan correctional facilities cannot be trusted to uplift the living standards of the island's 22 million citizens.

Political victory marred by Mahara Prison unrest

The criticism follows recent parliamentary developments where the NPP government defeated an Opposition-led no-confidence motion against the Minister of Justice and National Integration.

Premadasa noted that while government parliamentarians celebrated the legislative victory and mocked the Opposition, the breakdown of order at the Mahara Prison occurred just days later.

According to the Opposition Leader, the recurring breakdown of law and order within correctional facilities demonstrates a pattern of administrative failure that threatens national stability.

He said that the current leadership is actively undermining state institutions rather than driving national recovery, adding that a government failing at basic facility management cannot deliver economic or social progress.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has filed eight indictments before the Colombo High Court against former Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda and Yoshitha Rajapaksa.

The indictments center on Rajapaksa’s participation in a Royal Navy training course in the United Kingdom between 2006 and 2007.

According to the anti-corruption agency, Karannagoda facilitated Rajapaksa's enrolment in the overseas programme outside standard procedures, causing a substantial financial loss to the State.

Rajapaksa, the second son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, stands accused of obtaining an undue benefit and personal advantage through the high-profile arrangement.

A shipping container has washed ashore near Owakanda Junction beach within the Rathgama Police Division this morning (03), police said.

According to Rathgama Police, the container is white in colour and measures approximately 40 feet in length. Authorities suspect that it may have fallen into the sea from a vessel while at sea.

Meanwhile, a similar white-coloured container was found washed ashore yesterday (02) on the beach behind a tourist hotel in the Induruwa area.

Initial reports suggest that the Induruwa container may have been an empty container that fell into the sea from a vessel operating in waters off Colombo two days ago.

Sri Lanka's headline inflation surged past the official comfort zone to reach 7.3 percent in July 2026, driven primarily by a sharp escalation in food costs.

The latest figures released by official statistical authorities highlight a clear acceleration from the 6.8 percent recorded in June, deepening concerns over household stability across the island.

Data from the Colombo Consumer Price Index showed food inflation nearly doubling within a single month, climbing from 3.6 percent in June to 6.3 percent in July as essential supply chains experienced severe cost pressures.

Central Bank officials explained that external factors played a major role in the spike, with escalating Middle Eastern geopolitical conflict forcing domestic fuel prices up by almost 47 percent.

The central monetary authority noted that statistical base effects from low price levels in the previous year mathematically amplified the headline figure alongside stubborn urban utility fees and housing rents.

While non-food inflation experienced a mild decrease from 8.4 percent to 7.8 percent, core inflation rose to 4.4 percent, demonstrating that underlying price pressures have broadened across non-volatile sectors.

Economists observed that standard public sector wage increases of 5 percent failed to keep pace with overall inflation, resulting in a severe drop in real purchasing power for salaried workers despite modest informal sector income growth.

Central Bank policy experts maintained that earlier monetary adjustments, including a key interest rate hike of 100 basis points, will eventually curb demand and bring consumer prices back down towards the medium-term target of 5 percent.

The sudden inflationary surge poses a severe threat to Sri Lanka's fragile economic recovery by squeezing real incomes and risking a persistent wage price spiral. Financial markets and consumer groups now await the next central bank policy review to determine whether further tightening will be implemented ahead of the upcoming harvest season.

Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory framework faces serious allegations of total collapse as healthcare workers warn that delayed approvals and chronic medicine shortages are endangering patient lives.

Chairman of the Medical and Civil Rights Doctors' Union Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa raised grave concerns over the prolonged two year delay in registering the Qdenga dengue vaccine, urging a formal investigation into possible negligence at the National Medicines Regulatory Authority.

Severe shortages continue to cripple the healthcare sector, with over forty essential pharmaceuticals including crucial oncology drugs Oxaliplatin and Filgrastim remaining unavailable for extended periods.

The union pointed out that while life saving treatments remain stuck in bureaucratic delays, advanced diabetes and weight loss medications like Mounjaro are circulating freely on the black market without cold chain guarantees.

Flawed price regulation policies have reportedly driven reputable global pharmaceutical brands away from the local market, allowing inferior quality alternatives to fill the void.

These rigid pricing structures have also affected private medical laboratories, forcing facilities to rely on lower grade reagents that risk producing faulty diagnostic reports.

The union urged health authorities to implement an online tracking mechanism for drug approvals, introduce WHO standard testing for imports, and establish a flexible pricing formula reflecting global economic realities.

Neither the Ministry of Health nor the National Medicines Regulatory Authority has issued a formal response to the claims.

At least 14 people ​were killed in a suspected suicide bombing outside ‌a police station in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, a rescue group and a regional police official said, as the country battles widening ​insurgencies.

The explosion took place in the Kabal area ​of Swat, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ⁠province.

A pro-police rally of local residents was taking place ​in the same area on Sunday, but it was not ​immediately clear whether the rally was the intended target.

Fida Hussain, a regional police official, said the victims included five police officers and ​eight civilians. The 14th person was believed to be ​the suicide bomber, he told Reuters.

At least 18 people were wounded, according ‌to ⁠a police statement. It said an operation had been launched to arrest anyone who may have assisted the attack.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group in a statement claimed responsibility ​for the attack.

Prime ​Minister Muhammad ⁠Shehbaz Sharif in a statement expressed "deep grief and sorrow over the suicide blast".

Militancy in ​Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent ​months, ⁠targeting mainly the military and police.

The Pakistani government blames the Afghan Taliban for the escalation, accusing it of providing support ⁠to ​the militants. The Taliban government has ​denied the accusations.

Source: Reuters

An opposition Member of Parliament has accused the government of attempting to seek a Supreme Court opinion on constitutional language discrepancies to extend the terms of the Executive President and Parliament.

MP Dayasiri Jayasekera made this allegation following a gazette notification issued by Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe intended to rectify differences between the English and Sinhala versions of the constitution.

He explained that while the English text requires a referendum to extend the terms of the President and Parliament beyond six years, the Sinhala text specifies a referendum for either increasing or decreasing those terms.

Jayasekera highlighted arguments from a lawyer claiming that the Nineteenth Amendment of 2015 is invalid because no referendum was held when terms were reduced.

He saidthat this legal argument is being used to propose a one year extension for both the President and Parliament subject to a Supreme Court ruling.

The opposition lawmaker noted that the Election Commission Chairman has already formally brought this matter to the attention of the President.

He cautioned the public to remain vigilant against potential attempts to bypass scheduled elections through legal technicalities.