Approval had been granted at the Cabinet meeting held  2025-07-07 to allocate provisions through the Budget and pay compensation for the crop damage caused to paddy cultivation in the Matara District during seven consecutive cultivation seasons (from the 2019 Yala season up to the 2022 Yala season), due to flood conditions caused by the obstruction of the Nilwala River during the period of the construction of the salinity barrier across the river, following a proper assessment of the relevant damages.

Accordingly, compensation amounts have been calculated in accordance with the compensation payment methodologies of the Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board, taking into consideration costs and paddy prices, and an allocation of Rs. 1,200 million has been made through the 2026 Budget for the
payment of the relevant compensation.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the  Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Land and Irrigation to pay compensation to the farmers who are eligible for compensation as follows.

Season Proposed amount of compensation per one acre (Rupees)

In accordance with the water tariff formula approved at the Cabinet meeting held on 2024-07-15, the unit cost of water sales is required to be reviewed on a half-yearly basis, taking into consideration changes in major cost factors.

Based on the analysis carried out on the financial statements of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board for the year 2025, it has been confirmed that the prevailing water tariffs are
sufficient to cover the full operating costs.

Therefore, the Board of Directors of the National Water Supply
and Drainage Board has decided to maintain the unit cost of water sales for the first six (06) months of 2026 without any increase.

Accordingly, the consent of the Cabinet of Ministers has been given for the resolution furnished by the Minister of Housing, Construction, and Water Supply to maintain the prevailing water tariff without any revision during the first 6 months of the year 2026.

A Jackson Pollock artwork, described as one of history’s “first truly abstract paintings”, has sold at auction for $181m (£135m) in New York.

Number 7A, 1948, which went under the hammer at the renowned Christie’s auction house on Monday, smashed the previous record for the most a work by the late American artist has taken at auction.

The painting, which came from the private collection of media magnate SI Newhouse, is also now the fourth most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, according to ARTnews.

Also in the collection was a bronze sculpture by Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi, which sold for $107.6m – the second highest amount a sculpture has ever gone for at auction.

Pollock, who died in 1956, was a major figure in the abstract expressionist art movement. His drip painting technique is one the art world’s most recognisable and often imitated.

The previous auction record for one of Pollock’s artworks was $61.2m for his Number 17, 1951 painting, which was sold in 2021. Other pieces have sold for higher prices in private sales.

Christie’s called Number 7A, 1948, which depicts black drips of paint with touches of red on a huge canvas spanning more than three metres, a key piece of art history.

“It is with this work that Pollock finally frees himself from the shackles of conventional easel painting and produces one of the first truly abstract paintings in the history of art,” it wrote in its description of the piece online.

Other artworks sold at the Christie’s auction included pieces by Mark Rothko and Joan Miro, which also both broke previous records for works by the artists at auction.

[BBC]