Central Province Governor Sarath Abayakoon to resign on July 21

Central Province Governor Professor Sarath Abayakoon has announced his decision to step down from his post on July 21, saying the move was based solely on personal reasons and was not due to any external pressure.

Speaking to the media yesterday, after the Kandy District Development Committee meeting, held at the Kandy District Secretariat, Prof. Abayakoon said no one had pressured him to resign and that the decision had been under consideration for some time.

He said his resignation had been delayed due to his responsibilities in serving the public, particularly during natural disasters, such as ‘Ditwah’.

Prof. Abayakoon said he had informed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake when he assumed office that he intended to hold the gubernatorial position only for a limited period.

“Therefore, I must reiterate that this decision was taken purely due to personal reasons,” he said.

Responding to a query from a journalist on whether July 21 would be his final day in office, the Governor confirmed that he had officially informed the President of his intention to relinquish the post on that date.

Text and Pic by SK Samaranayake

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Iran issues chilling 'zero hour' warning as US forces hit bridges and collapse tower

Iranian officials say recent US strikes have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds and have promised swift retribution

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Eight killed, at least 34 missing after landslide in China’s Chongqing

Rescuers are rushing to locate dozens of people missing in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, after a deadly landslide buried homes in the area, according to Chinese authorities.

The landslide took place around 9:10am (01:10 GMT) on Friday in Chongqing’s Pengshui county, killing eight people, leaving 34 unaccounted for and displacing more than 1,100, reported state media.

Footage shared by China’s CCTV broadcaster showed a huge buildup of rocks and dirt covering part of a residential and commercial street at the bottom of a mountain in the region.

Ten people have been rescued from the debris, including two who are seriously injured, reported China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

Water, electricity and gas supplies were cut off within a one-kilometre (0.6-mile) radius of the landslide to prevent further disruptions. More than 800 rescuers have gone to the site, reported CCTV.

Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a landslide in Pengshui county in Chongqing, China, July 17 [Aljazeera]

Authorities said they sent more than 8,000 disaster relief items to Chongqing, including tents, folding beds and family emergency kits.

Pengshui county is located in the southeast part of Chongqing, bordering the provinces of Hubei and Guizhou.

The area where the landslide happened is known for “unpredictable” steep terrain, a local official told a news conference, adding that dangerous rocks remain along the sides of the cliff.

The government has allocated 50 million yuan ($7.36m) in natural disaster relief funds to support the rescue and relief operations and to provide assistance to affected residents, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management said.

[Aljazeera]

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Overwhelming fire power and stubborn resilience

Friday 17th July, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must be on cloud nine. The US is now doing exactly what he wanted it to do; it is attacking Iran without Israeli involvement. Israeli officials have told the media that they do not expect Israel to become directly involved in the new phase of fighting though the Israel Defence Forces remain on alert should the conflict expand. This can be considered another dream come true for Netanyahu, who said after the first round of US-Israeli airstrikes which killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he had been dreaming of attacking Iran for 40 years.

What is unfolding in West Asia is an asymmetric conflict where the US firepower is far superior to that of Iran, which is resisting Trump’s “Epic Fury”. Tehran’s resilience is remarkable. The US cannot go on carrying out airstrikes indefinitely. Only a ground war will determine a clear winner.

Trump has threatened a ground assault in Iran, but he has the war powers resolution passed by the Congress recently to contend with. A ground operation won’t be a walk in the park. Deploying ground troops is a high-risk gamble that did not pay off for the US in Vietnam and Afghanistan. A steady flow of body bags from a foreign theatre of war that lacks popular support at home has the potential to unsettle any government.

Weapons stockpiles are not unlimited for any nation however mighty and wealthy it may be. The ongoing conflict has depleted the weapons inventories of both sides to it. However, it can be considered a matter of greater concern to the US than Iran in that Washington has to fire a large number of missiles at multiple targets in Iran as part of its strategy to keep Tehran under pressure. Michael O’Hanlon, who leads the Brookings Institution’s foreign policy research, has been quoted by the media as saying that the US weapons stockpiles are doubtlessly lower than Washington would prefer.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, has reportedly said that by the time full-scale fighting between the US and Iran stopped in April, the Pentagon had fired at least half of its THAAD ballistic missile interceptors, nearly half of its Patriot air defence interceptors, and around 30% of its Tomahawk land-attack missiles. This revelation runs counter to President Trump’s boastful claim that the US has a never-ending supply of missiles. Besides, in March, Trump said that his officials had met the heads of US arms manufacturing companies and they had promised to increase production.

Military analysts are of the view that it could take between one to four years for the US to replenish its vital munitions stockpiles and restore them to the pre-Iran war levels, according to an Al Jazeera report. Speculation is rife in international defence circles that if the depletion of the US weapons stockpiles continues at this rate, Washington may find it difficult to face a military conflict elsewhere.

Global oil prices are rising again due to the closure of the Hormuz Strait. A US naval blockade will be of little use. The global economy will be the biggest loser. Oil supply disruptions will take a heavy toll on the US economy as well. The first phase of the Iran war sent the US fuel prices up, and the closure of the Hormuz chokepoint will make the situation far worse. Trump is fighting a war that a vast majority of Americans are opposed to, according to opinion survey results. US farmers have been complaining of production cost escalations due to the knock-on economic effects of the West Asia conflict, according to media reports. US midterm elections are due in a few months and the Republicans are not doing well on the political front.

The White House will have to justify the colossal amounts of funds being spent on the current war. The financial cost of the conflict is still being calculated, but according to some estimates the direct military cost ranges from about USD 40 billion to more than USD 100 billion, with equipment losses, base repairs and weapons replenishment being taken into account. The cost continues to escalate. These politico-economic factors will also have a bearing on Trump’s military campaign.

 

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Trump's press secretary updates the world before 'very important announcement'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fielded questions about President Donald Trump's upcoming election integrity speech.

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Committee to look at unified tripartite management of workers’ retirement funds

The government has initiated what could become one of the most significant reforms of Sri Lanka’s social security system in decades by appointing a Senior Officials’ Committee to examine the feasibility of bringing the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) under a unified tripartite governance framework representing the government, employers and employees.

Cabinet approval was granted following a proposal submitted by the Minister of Labour. According to Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, the committee has been mandated to study whether the two institutions could operate under a common governance structure based on internationally recognised principles promoted by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

He stressed that the committee has been appointed only to examine the feasibility of the proposal, and no final decision has been taken to merge the two funds.

The official Cabinet statement notes that the EPF, established under the Employees’ Provident Fund Act No. 15 of 1958, has more than 2.5 million members and assets exceeding Rs. 4.9 trillion, making it Sri Lanka’s largest social security fund.

Custody of the fund, investment management, financial administration and payment of benefits are currently handled by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, while the Department of Labour is responsible for member registration, employer compliance, recovery of arrears and safeguarding employee rights.

The ETF, created under Act No. 46 of 1980, is administered by a tripartite board comprising representatives of the government, employers and employees. It manages assets of approximately Rs. 637 billion and provides coverage to more than 2.5 million active members.

The Cabinet paper highlights that tripartite governance of social security institutions is an internationally recognised best practice and a fundamental principle promoted by the ILO, which forms the basis for examining a common governance model for both funds.

The proposal is expected to attract close scrutiny from the business community, trade unions and financial market participants, given that the combined assets of the EPF and ETF exceed Rs. 5.5 trillion, making them among the country’s largest institutional investors.

Economists note that any governance reforms should strengthen transparency, accountability, professional investment management and public confidence while safeguarding workers’ retirement savings.

By Ifham Nizam

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Sri Lanka’s National Policy on Preventing Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Combating the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction for 2026-2030

Severe threats are posed to the Sri Lankan economy and the global financial system due to financial crimes such as money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of weapons of mass destruction.

Financial transactions have become more complex with rapid technological advancements, and it has become a challenging task to identify and block the methods used by criminals to launder the proceeds of these crimes.

Accordingly, the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has conducted the third National Risk Assessment of Sri Lanka on financial crimes during the period 2024/25 in accordance with the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental policy-making body dealing with financial crimes.

In order to manage the risks identified in the assessment of the aforementioned national risk, “Sri Lanka’s National Policy on Preventing Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism, and Combating the Financing of the Proliferation
of Weapons of Mass Destruction for 2026-2030” has been formulated.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the  President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development to implement the aforementioned national policy during the period 2026-2030.

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