The building housing the Suwa Seriya headquarters in Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte has overcharged the rent by millions over the officially assessed value.

An audit by the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that as a result over Rs.05 million than the officially assessed value had been paid every year.

According to the NAO report, the building’s owner rejected the government’s valuation and submitted a separate, higher assessment, which was ultimately accepted contrary to regulations.

Regulations require that when leasing a building, the institution’s head must first obtain an assessment from the Chief Valuer. As per established procedures, such disputes should be referred to the relevant ministry secretary if the Chief Valuer’s assessment is not accepted.

However, the audit found this process was not followed.

In response, Suwa Seriya management told the NAO that a decision was taken at a Board of Directors meeting in March 2025 to forward the rental matter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Health for approval.

(Source: Aruna)

A 24-year-old university student from Asgiriya, Gampaha, has gone missing while swimming in the sea off the Colombo Port City beach.

The incident occurred yesterday morning (June 26) when a group of students from the Universities of Colombo and Moratuwa were snorkeling and observing the seabed at leisure.

The student failed to resurface, prompting a complaint to the Colombo Port Police.

Lifeguards later recovered the snorkel believed to be belonging to the missing student.

A joint search operation involving Navy divers from the Colombo Port and Rangala Navy Division is currently underway. Further investigations are underway by the Colombo Port Police.

In a boost to bilateral trade, China’s S.F. Airlines launched its inaugural Kunming-Colombo cargo flight yesterday, marking a new chapter in Sri Lanka’s logistics connectivity with Yunnan Province.

S.F. Airlines deployed a Boeing 747-200 aircraft for the inaugural flight, which arrived at BIA from Kunming at 10:50 a.m. yesterday (26), carrying 22 metric tons of cargo.

S.F. Airlines – a major Chinese logistics carrier.