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A Sri Lankan-origin doctor at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children has been arrested and charged with possessing and accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material, Toronto Police said in a press release.

Dissanayake, 44, was held by officers from the force's Internet Child Exploitation Unit after an investigation into the alleged use of an electronic device to access and download child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

Police said the investigation began in January 2026. In February, investigators executed search warrants at the Hospital for Sick Children and a private residence, where they seized multiple electronic devices, including a work computer.

Dissanayake has been charged with possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material and accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material. He was scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on Tuesday. The allegations against him have not been tested in court.

Toronto Police said investigators have found no evidence that the alleged child sexual abuse and exploitation material is connected to Dissanayake's work as a physician.

The investigation remains ongoing.

In a statement published on its website, the Hospital for Sick Children said it was "deeply upset and dismayed" by the allegations and condemned the behaviour described by police.

The hospital said Dissanayake was placed on immediate leave after it became aware of the investigation. It added that Toronto Police had advised there was no evidence linking the charges to his medical practice and that it had not been informed of any risk to patients or their families.

The hospital also said that families of patients who received care from Dissanayake can contact its patient relations team with any concerns.

Source: TOI

The Southern Provincial Education Department has postponed the Grade 9 Geography and Civic Education question papers scheduled to be held today (22) under the second term examinations.

According to the Southern Provincial Director of Education, the examinations will now be conducted on July 24.

The decision was made after the question papers could not be distributed to the relevant divisional education offices due to delays in the printing process.

Officials have informed all school principals in the respective education zones about the revised examination schedule.

More than 300 illegally imported high-end smartphones, including the latest Apple iPhone models, with an estimated value of around Rs. 50 million have been seized during a raid at a shop in Colombo's Liberty Plaza.

Police said the operation was carried out by the Walana Anti-Vice Squad.

The raid led to the seizure of the devices, which were allegedly being sold illegally.

A suspect was arrested in connection with the alleged illegal sale of the smartphones.

Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.

The Opposition has convened an emergency meeting after the government refused to allow a parliamentary debate on the independence of the judiciary.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa chaired the meeting today (22) at his office in Parliament, with many Opposition Members of Parliament in attendance, to discuss the way forward following the government's rejection of the request.

The dispute traces back to the recent Party Leaders' meeting, at which the Opposition had called for a parliamentary debate grounded in core democratic principles, namely the tripartite system of governance comprising the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary, alongside the doctrines of separation of powers and checks and balances.

The government declined to agree to the request, prompting Opposition MPs to convene separately to determine their response.

During the emergency meeting, Opposition MPs stressed that matters affecting the independence of the Judiciary must be allowed to be debated openly in Parliament, underlining that the separation of powers and mutual checks and balances between the three branches of government form the very foundation of a democratic system of governance.

Opposition Leader Premadasa said that denying an opportunity to hold a parliamentary debate on judicial matters undermined democratic principles of governance.

The meeting was attended by MPs Rohini Wijerathna, Chitral Fernando, V. Radhakrishnan, Chaminda Wijesiri, Gayantha Karunathilaka, J. C. Alawathuwala, Sujith Sanjaya Perera, Kavinda Jayawardana, Chathura Galappaththi, Kabir Hashim, Ravi Karunanayake, M. S. A. Waseed, Rohana Bandara, W. H. M. Dharmasena, B. Ariyawansha, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Anuradha Jayaratne, Dr. Harsha de Silva, Rishad Bathiudeen, Rauff Hakeem, Ramanathan Archchuna, Nizam Kariapper, M. S. Uthumalebbe, Chanaka Madugoda, Suranga Rathnayaka, and Selvam Adaikkalanathan.

Opposition lawmakers have formally submitted a motion of no-confidence against Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara.

The motion, signed by a collective of Opposition Members of Parliament, was handed over to Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne at the parliamentary complex today (21).

The parliamentary challenge directly targets the Minister’s leadership following violent unrest at the Negombo Prison on July 5 and July 6, which resulted in the deaths of several prison officers and inmates, alongside multiple severe injuries.

The Opposition contends that Minister Nanayakkara failed to exercise mandatory oversight and maintain security standards within the country's penal system, rendering him accountable for the deadly escalation.

Opposition lawmakers highlighted specific statutory duties outlined under Extraordinary Gazette Extraordinary Gazette No. 2412/08 of November 25, 2024.

They said that the Justice Minister neglected his obligations regarding prison infrastructure development, administrative oversight, inmate rehabilitation, and the mitigation of facility overcrowding.

According to the signatories, these systemic failures and policy lapses created the exact conditions that precipitated the fatal violent outbreak in Negombo.

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today (21) reissued a warrant for the arrest of former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States Jaliya Wickramasuriya.

Wickramasuriya has been named as a suspect in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of government funds and had failed to appear before court.

Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena also instructed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to obtain the Attorney General’s advice regarding the case.

The CID was further directed to report the progress of the matter to court on December 9.

Women are the driving force behind Sri Lanka's development, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said yesterday (20), while addressing the Samagi Vanitha Balawegaya convention held in Buttala,

Noting that women represented 52% of the population and constituted the nation's driving force, he said that beyond a privileged few, the vast majority continued to face severe hardship, including harassment at the workplace, on public roads and within the home, amounting to a violation of their fundamental rights.

He said that the erosion of women's rights was inseparable from the erosion of children's rights, highlighting that mothers were typically responsible for a child's safety, protection and care from early childhood, and that when women's rights were violated, children too suffered harassment, oppression and the loss of their basic entitlements.

The Opposition Leader also accused the government of governing on the basis of flawed data and betraying its election pledges to farmers.

He pointed out that the government had promised a guaranteed price of Rs. 150 per kilogram during its election campaign, a figure that had since fallen to Rs. 120, leaving farmers Rs. 17 short of what had been assured and trapping the farming community in what he termed a deadly cycle of debt.

The Opposition Leader said the government's recently released Department of Census and Statistics figures on minimum monthly living costs exposed the gap between official claims and ground reality, citing Rs. 16,367 as the amount deemed sufficient for a person to survive for 30 days in the Monaragala District, and questioning whether residents there genuinely found this adequate.

He noted that the same data placed the figure at Rs. 17,244 in the Badulla District and Rs. 17,315 in the Hambantota District, stating that these calculations illustrated the government's inability to develop the industrial, agricultural and service sectors

The preliminary feasibility study for Sri Lanka’s first Canal-Top Solar power project has commenced along the Viyana Canal in Mahiyanganaya.

The project aims to install solar panels over the canal, with authorities identifying the Viyana Canal as a suitable location due to its length of more than 20 kilometres and its potential to generate significant renewable energy for the national power grid.

Officials stated that the initiative is expected to provide multiple benefits, including clean electricity generation, reduced water evaporation, and improved regulation of water temperatures during periods of extreme heat.

The project could also support future renewable energy developments, including green hydrogen production, authorities said.

As part of the initiative, a secure electric fence system will be introduced to reduce the risk of wild elephants falling into the canal.

A special field inspection and progress review discussion on the project was held in Mahiyanganaya on July 20, with the participation of Parliamentarians Ravindra Bandara and Sudath Balagalla, officials from the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, the Ceylon Electricity Distribution Company, and senior engineering officers of the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority.

Authorities said the project is expected to serve as a model green energy initiative by combining renewable power generation, water conservation, and wildlife protection.