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Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says that while other political parties have exerted various pressures on the judiciary at different times, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) is the only untainted political party that has made no such interference.

Addressing a public meeting in Galle yesterday (10), he warned that the National people's Power (NPP) government is engaging in an undemocratic act by extending the retirement age of judges.

He emphasised that the government intends to pave the way for a single party rule through these statutory amendments.

Highlighting past instances of judicial interference, the Opposition Leader noted that a previous political faction took measures to impeach and remove former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake from her office.

He also recalled how another political faction had previously threatened members of the judiciary, declaring that judges would be summoned before a Parliamentary Select Committee over decisions made regarding local government elections.

The Opposition leader stressed that while other political parties have repeatedly exerted pressure on the courts at different times, the SJB stands out as the only untainted political party in the country that has never compromised judicial independence.

A sophisticated cyberattack targeting WhatsApp accounts on older iPhones has reportedly affected users in Sri Lanka, prompting complaints to the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (Sri Lanka CERT).

Unlike common online scams that rely on victims opening links or scanning fraudulent QR codes, the reported attack can compromise an account without any action from the user. The threat is believed to exploit weaknesses in the way WhatsApp handles synchronization with linked devices.

Several people from Sri Lanka’s media and business sectors have reportedly encountered or raised concerns about similar incidents, suggesting that the threat has reached local users.

A forensic examination by an Italian cybersecurity company found that compromised WhatsApp accounts were allegedly used to contact other people with fraudulent requests for money. In some cases, victims reportedly did not see unfamiliar devices in their WhatsApp linked-device lists, potentially allowing the unauthorized access to go unnoticed.

The attackers have also reportedly gained administrator control of WhatsApp groups after taking over individual accounts.

The incidents are believed to involve iPhones operating on iOS versions older than 16.7.12, underscoring the security risks associated with using outdated software.

Cybersecurity experts are urging iPhone users to install the latest available iOS and WhatsApp updates. They also recommend activating WhatsApp’s two-step verification and Chat Lock features as additional security measures.

Users have further been advised to independently confirm any unexpected request for money or sensitive information, even if the message appears to have been sent by someone they know.

The reported incidents highlight how increasingly sophisticated zero-click attacks are being used by financially motivated cybercriminals and reinforce the need for users to keep both their devices and applications updated.

Three Sri Lankan nationals suspected of links to organised criminal networks are due to arrive in Sri Lanka today (10) after being arrested in Malaysia.

The suspects are expected to be escorted back by a special police team headed by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rohan Olugala. They are scheduled to travel on SriLankan Airlines flight UL 317, which is due to land in Sri Lanka at around 4.00 p.m.

Police sources have reportedly identified one of the suspects as a close associate of notorious underworld figure “Kanjipani Imran.” An Interpol Red Notice has also reportedly been issued against the individual.

The three suspects are wanted over allegations linked to several murder cases as well as other activities involving organised criminal groups.

Authorities are expected to commence further investigations and take necessary legal action against the suspects after they are handed over to Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities.

Traffic was disrupted on the Colombo-bound side of the Southern Expressway following a collision involving three vehicles this morning (11).

The crash took place near the 115-kilometre marker, along the stretch between the Kokmaduwa and Imaduwa interchanges.

One of the vehicles overturned as a result of the collision. Two people are reported to have sustained injuries in the accident.

Further details regarding the cause of the crash and the condition of those injured have not been disclosed.

The Colombo Central Crimes Investigation Bureau (CCIB) arrested Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam on Monday after he reported to investigators following an official summons.

The arrest forms part of an ongoing police inquiry into public remarks made by Kariyawasam regarding Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya.

The CCIB launched a special investigation into the politician after he delivered a media address at the party headquarters on 3 August.

During the briefing, Kariyawasam cautioned the Police Chief to serve the state and the public rather than the government, making reference to former police chiefs and suggesting that the incumbent could face a violent end on the roadside.

He also expressed a hope that the police chief would not go down in history as the 37th Inspector General of Police to be beaten to death by members of the public.

The comments immediately drew widespread condemnation from government officials, who viewed the statement as a direct threat against the top law enforcement officer.

The SLPP subsequently rejected allegations that the remarks constituted a death threat, claiming that the statement was taken out of context and was intended to highlight concerns over fair policing.

Two separate motorcycle accidents in Dambulla and Galle have claimed the lives of two young men, police said.

In the first incident, an 18-year-old youth died after the motorcycle he was riding crashed into a culvert in the Welihena area of Dambulla.

The motorcycle was travelling towards Bulagala when the rider reportedly lost control, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and collide with the culvert.

The teenager suffered critical injuries and was taken to Dambulla Hospital. He later died while undergoing treatment.

Dambulla Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

In a separate incident near Galgodadeniya Junction on the Galle-Udugama Road, a 27-year-old man was killed when the motorcycle he was riding struck a bus stop.

The motorcycle had been travelling towards Galle when the rider lost control and the vehicle veered off the road. Both the rider and the pillion passenger suffered serious injuries and were admitted to Karapitiya Hospital.

The rider later died from his injuries. He was identified as a resident of Udugama.

Akkmeemana Police are conducting further investigations into the second accident.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has initiated discussions with legal experts to challenge the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution following the official publication of the draft bill in the Government Gazette.

Sri Lanka's main parliamentary opposition party joined forces with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) to oppose the gazetted legislation, which aims to extend the retirement ages of superior court judges across the island.

Under the provisions approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 27 July, the retirement age for Supreme Court judges will rise from 65 to 67 years, while Court of Appeal judges will see their tenure extended from 63 to 65 years.

The amendment also mandates that the Chief Justice must step down upon reaching the age of 67 or after serving six years in office, depending on which milestone occurs first.

Speaking on the party's strategy, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara stated that the opposition had maintained a consistent stance against the proposal from its inception.

He said that the party was holding regular consultations with legal counsel to evaluate potential court challenges while simultaneously planning public demonstrations, political campaigns, and protest rallies to mobilize popular pressure against the government.

A 78-year-old man has died following an alleged assault with a sharp weapon in Thorapitiya, Laggala.

Police rushed the critically injured man to hospital after the incident, but he had succumbed to his injuries before he could receive treatment.

The deceased, who was from the Ma Oya area, is believed to have been attacked following an argument with his son-in-law.

According to preliminary police inquiries, the dispute between the two escalated before the alleged attack took place.

The suspect has reportedly fled the area following the incident.

Laggala Police have launched further investigations and are working to locate and arrest the suspect.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa accused the government of setting Sri Lanka on a path toward single-party rule by prioritizing constitutional changes to extend judges' retirement ages rather than fixing the country's severe economic hardship.

Speaking at the launch of the Samagi Vanitha Balawegaya branch in Ruwanwella, the Opposition Leader stated that altering judicial tenure would do nothing to alleviate poverty, unemployment, or widespread public distress.

He said that the government ought to direct its focus toward immediate agrarian and social needs, including fertiliser subsidies, irrigation repairs, and prison system reforms.

Premadasa alleged that the government was actively pressuring the bench to weaken democratic checks and balances and secure total political dominance.

He pointed out that state resources and appointments, such as those to youth societies and civil security committees, had previously been directed through a political party headquarters in Pelawatte.

Instead of shielding judicial appointments, Premadasa insisted the government should have introduced constitutional amendments guaranteeing rights for women, children, and senior citizens.

He noted that a critical portion of the population remained trapped in poverty while shortages in government hospitals forced vulnerable patients to buy essentials from private pharmacies.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader pledged that his party would work to turn those social protections into constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights when given the opportunity.

He added that the public entrusted the current NPP government with a mandate to deliver economic prosperity and raise living standards, not to protect judicial terms.

Powerful overseas drug kingpins are allegedly manipulating incarcerated addicts to engineer widespread violence across Sri Lankan correctional facilities following a major crack-down on contraband smuggling routes.

Security authorities and intelligence agencies revealed that major international syndicates are behind the recent wave of violent clashes at the Colombo New Magazine, Kuruwita, Mahara, and Pallansena prisons, which left four inmates dead and over 50 people injured.

The fatal unrest, which escalated after strict law enforcement measures effectively severed illicit drug supply chains into the facilities, stems from traffickers exploiting severe withdrawal distress among the high proportion of addicted prisoners.

Fatalities included a high-profile homicide suspect linked to organised crime who was beaten to death during a gang feud for dominance at the New Magazine Prison, an incident sparked when officers intercepted a narcotics-filled ball thrown over the perimeter wall.

Joint operations involving the Police, Special Task Force, and Tri-Forces were subsequently deployed under senior command to quell rioting, secure outer perimeters, and facilitate the immediate transfer of key instigators to separate facilities.

Official inquiries are proceeding swiftly, with forensic experts examining heavily damaged infrastructure such as the Kuruwita Prison Hospital while authorities await the formal submission of internal investigation reports and post-mortem results.

The sudden, coordinated outbreak of violence across multiple correctional centers within a single day underscores growing national security vulnerabilities as transnational crime networks attempt to destabilise state institutions from abroad.

Further multi-agency investigations led by the Police and intelligence services are ongoing to uncover the full extent of the suspected conspiracy, alongside magistrate inquests and comprehensive infrastructure damage assessments.

The two senior representatives of Sri Lanka’s leading organization advocating for prisoners’ rights have received death threats two days before three detainees died in renewed prison violence.

On Friday (7) three detainees had died in what the authorities described as ‘unrest’ in Colombo’s New Magazine and Kuruwita prisons.

A month ago, deadly clashes in the Negombo prison left at least 31 dead including prison officers. Some of the inmates transferred elsewhere had also met with violence.

The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) had complained to the UN and the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka that the second round of violence against transferred inmates was in retaliation to deaths of prison officers.

General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin on Thursday (6) revealed that the office of the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) had received two letters on 5th August threatening the Chairman and Convener with death and urging them to immediately stop intervening in cases involving violations of prisoners’ human rights.

The letters slammed the CPRP leadership for lodging complaints with the United Nations regarding the deaths of prisoners in custody.

"Both of them have received two threatening letters so far, demanding not to take any action in this regard, and emphasizing that if they do, they will be sent six feet under."

Two separate threatening letters, dated 17th July, were sent to the Chairman of CPRP, Attorney at Law Senaka Perera, and Convener, Sudesh Nandimal Silva, under the name "Patriotic Defense Unit."

"Aren't you ashamed to go to Geneva and gossip about the country? You should immediately stop trying to betray this country by going to Geneva and telling lies about the officials and the country," the two death threat letters seen by us stated.

After the two letters threatening to send them "six feet under" were received by the office of the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners on 5th August, the organization immediately contacted the Inspector General of Police.

A complaint was also lodged with the Borella Police on 6th August.

The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners said it also informed the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka during a discussion held with the Commission on Thursday.

Senior Teachers' Union leader Joseph Stalin emphasized that it is the responsibility of the government to investigate the matter.

"Because this is not something that can be taken lightly. Such acts have started in this country under various governments in this manner."

Joseph Stalin also stated that it is evident that various threats are being made even against journalists who visit the homes of deceased prisoners and investigate the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Stressing that suppressing organizations that raise the concerns of prisoners amounts to silencing the voices of prisoners, the Teachers' Union leader strongly urged the government to immediately investigate the death threats made against the two representatives of the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners.

Emphasizing that the CPRP is not isolated, the Ceylon Teachers' Union leader also stated at the press conference that they would extend their unconditional support to any action taken by the CPRP.