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Sri Lanka’s expressway network generated a record revenue of more than Rs. 355 million during the five-day holiday period last week, according to Road Development Authority (RDA) Director General Anuradha Hettiarachchi.

The revenue figure marks the highest amount recorded from expressway operations during a five-day holiday period, reflecting increased use of the road network during the break.

RDA Director General Anuradha Hettiarachchi confirmed the record revenue generated across the country’s expressways during the holiday period.

The latest figure highlights the significant level of traffic on Sri Lanka’s expressways during the five-day holiday, with motorists contributing more than Rs. 355 million in toll revenue.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva has said the 22nd Constitutional Amendment should not be carried out in a manner that favours the existing Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Dr. de Silva said the SJB was happy to support the government's actions against bribery and corruption and would extend all necessary backing.

He said Parliament had always fought against bribery and corruption and would continue to do so.

Concerns over sovereignty and judicial power

However, he said it was important to analyse whether the constitutional amendment could cause any harm to the sovereignty of the people, and whether the judicial power exercised by the people could be hindered in some way through the legislature.

He noted that lawyers would be able to argue this concern when petitions filed against the amendment come up for examination before the Supreme Court.

Dr. de Silva said that ordinary citizens needed to look beyond the legal technicalities and consider whether the judiciary was not only doing right by the common people, but whether the people themselves felt that justice was being done through its judgements.

He explained that this represented two separate arguments, one being a technical, legal argument, and the other being the argument of people who hold a strong faith in ordinary democracy.

Two ways of looking at the issue

Dr. de Silva said he viewed the matter from two angles.

He said the first argument was that those who had stolen public funds should be caught and imprisoned, even if this required changing the Constitution, and that no objection could reasonably be raised against bringing such offenders to justice.

He said the second argument was that the 22nd Amendment was a wrong move, as it was being used by the government to target the Opposition through false accusations aimed at imprisoning as many Opposition members as possible, in order to weaken the challenges the government would otherwise face at an upcoming election.

Dr. de Silva stated that both these arguments were, at their core, political in nature.

As BRICS prepares to meet in New Delhi, it would do well to understand not only what the United States is doing, but why.

The reported American move to gain majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves may appear to be another dramatic episode in Washington’s relationship with Caracas. But it may also offer a window into a much larger transformation in American strategy.

The United States is becoming increasingly concerned about its dependence on resources, technologies and supply chains that it does not control. In a world of intensifying geopolitical competition, Washington appears determined to secure the foundations of its economic, technological and military power.

*Oil is only one part of the equation.*

Critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, electricity generation, shipping routes, data and financial infrastructure are becoming strategic assets. Venezuela’s oil, Greenland’s geography and mineral potential, the Middle East’s energy resources and the security of the Western Hemisphere may seem like separate issues. They are increasingly connected by a single concern: American vulnerability.

Artificial intelligence makes this question even more important. The next technological revolution will require enormous quantities of electricity, computing capacity, data centres and advanced chips. Those chips depend on complex global supply chains and critical minerals. The competition over artificial intelligence is therefore also becoming a competition over energy, minerals, manufacturing capacity and technology.
In this environment, dependence can become vulnerability.

*The same logic applies to finance.*

After the Second World War, the United States did not simply inherit Britain’s position as the leading global power. It helped create an international system that embedded American economic strength within a wider architecture.
Bretton Woods established the foundations of a monetary system centred on the dollar. The Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe. NATO institutionalised American security commitments. The United Nations provided a framework for international cooperation.
The dollar subsequently became the principal currency of global trade and finance as British power and sterling declined.

This was one of the great strategic achievements of the twentieth century. American power was multiplied because other countries had an interest in participating in the system.

Today, however, that system is under pressure.
China has emerged as an economic and technological competitor. Alternative payment mechanisms are developing. Countries are diversifying their reserves. Digital currencies, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins could eventually change the architecture of international payments.

Washington therefore has a powerful incentive to ensure that the next generation of financial and technological infrastructure does not erode American influence.
This brings us to the central strategic dilemma facing the United States.

A great power that feels increasingly vulnerable naturally seeks greater control. It wants secure energy supplies, critical minerals, resilient supply chains, technological superiority and strategic access.

Some of this is entirely rational.
But there is a danger that the pursuit of security through ever greater control can create the insecurity it seeks to prevent.
History provides some uncomfortable lessons.
The British Empire possessed extraordinary naval, commercial and financial power. Yet the cost of maintaining a worldwide empire eventually became difficult to sustain.

The Soviet Union possessed enormous military capabilities, but military power could not compensate indefinitely for economic and technological weaknesses.

The United States after 1945 followed a different path. Rather than simply controlling territory and resources, it created institutions, alliances and markets through which American power could operate.

*That distinction matters today.*

A great power that feels insecure naturally seeks greater control. It wants secure energy supplies, critical minerals, resilient supply chains, technological superiority and strategic access.

But there is a danger in confusing security with possession.

If every major power attempts to control the resources, technologies, markets and strategic routes on which its security depends, the world could fragment into competing economic and geopolitical fortresses.

The emerging international environment already contains elements of several competing visions. Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” captures the cultural and political fragmentation of the world. Graham Allison’s “Thucydides Trap” describes the dangers inherent when a rising power challenges an established one. And the increasingly competitive struggle Trending Stories

The next technological revolution will require enormous quantities of electricity, computing capacity, data centres and advanced chips. Those chips depend on complex global supply chains and critical minerals. The competition over artificial intelligence is therefore also becoming a competition over energy, minerals, manufacturing capacity and technology.
In this environment, dependence can become vulnerability.

*The same logic applies to finance.*

After the Second World War, the United States did not simply inherit Britain’s position as the leading global power. It helped create an international system that embedded American economic strength within a wider architecture.
Bretton Woods established the foundations of a monetary system centred on the dollar. The Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe. NATO institutionalised American security commitments. The United Nations provided a framework for international cooperation.
The dollar subsequently became the principal currency of global trade and finance as British power and sterling declined.

This was one of the great strategic achievements of the twentieth century. American power was multiplied because other countries had an interest in participating in the system.

Today, however, that system is under pressure.
China has emerged as an economic and technological competitor. Alternative payment mechanisms are developing. Countries are diversifying their reserves. Digital currencies, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins could eventually change the architecture of international payments.

Washington therefore has a powerful incentive to ensure that the next generation of financial and technological infrastructure does not erode American influence.
This brings us to the central strategic dilemma facing the United States.

A great power that feels increasingly vulnerable naturally seeks greater control. It wants secure energy supplies, critical minerals, resilient supply chains, technological superiority and strategic access.
Some of this is entirely rational.

But there is a danger that the pursuit of security through ever greater control can create the insecurity it seeks to prevent.
History provides some uncomfortable lessons.
The British Empire possessed extraordinary naval, commercial and financial power. Yet the cost of maintaining a worldwide empire eventually became difficult to sustain.

The Soviet Union possessed enormous military capabilities, but military power could not compensate indefinitely for economic and technological weaknesses.

The United States after 1945 followed a different path. Rather than simply controlling territory and resources, it created institutions, alliances and markets through which American power could operate.

*That distinction matters today.*

A great power that feels insecure naturally seeks greater control. It wants secure energy supplies, critical minerals, resilient supply chains, technological superiority and strategic access.

But there is a danger in confusing security with possession.

If every major power attempts to control the resources, technologies, markets and strategic routes on which its security depends, the world could fragment into competing economic and geopolitical fortresses.

The emerging international environment already contains elements of several competing visions. Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” captures the cultural and political fragmentation of the world. Graham Allison’s “Thucydides Trap” describes the dangers inherent when a rising power challenges an established one. And the increasingly competitive struggle for resources and security can sometimes resemble the logic of Mad Max.

The combination would be dangerous.
This is where BRICS has an important role.
As the grouping prepares to meet in Delhi, its members need to understand the American calculation before formulating their own response. It would be tempting to interpret Washington’s actions simply as an effort to contain China, preserve dollar dominance or prevent the emergence of a multipolar world.
There is some truth in each interpretation.
But the deeper concern is vulnerability.
The United States fears dependence on foreign energy, minerals, technologies, supply chains and financial systems at precisely the moment when artificial intelligence and advanced technologies are transforming the meaning of national power.

BRICS should therefore be careful not to respond by simply constructing another system of exclusive blocs.
Its objective should be resilience rather than isolation: diversified supply chains, greater technological capability, secure energy networks and more efficient financial mechanisms, while preserving the channels of trade and dialogue that connect the major powers.

India has a particularly important role to play.
It has an interest in a genuinely multipolar international system, but it also has an interest in a stable relationship with the United States. India therefore has something that many other powers lack: the ability to understand both sides of the emerging strategic equation.
Understanding American insecurity is as important as understanding American power.
For Washington, meanwhile, there is an equally important lesson.

America does not need to control everything to remain the world’s most important power. It possesses an extraordinary combination of military strength, financial depth, technological innovation, universities, entrepreneurial capacity, natural resources and alliances.
Its greatest strategic asset may still be its ability to make other countries want to participate in a system shaped by American leadership.

Washington should therefore distinguish between control and leadership.
It should secure critical supply chains without necessarily monopolising them; maintain technological leadership while allowing allies to participate in innovation; strengthen energy security without turning every resource-rich country into a strategic possession; and preserve the dollar by maintaining the openness and credibility of American financial markets.

Most importantly, it should invest in alliances and institutions.

The United States does not need to retreat from the world. Nor should it ignore genuine vulnerabilities. The era in which economic interdependence was assumed automatically to overcome geopolitical rivalry is clearly over.
But there is a fundamental difference between an empire that seeks to possess the world and a power that seeks to organise it.

The United States will remain the world’s most important power for the foreseeable future. But its relative dominance is increasingly being challenged by the diffusion of economic, technological and military capabilities.
Its answer should not be withdrawal.
Nor should it be permanent expansion.
The objective should be strategic primacy through an open system.

That may also be the most important message for BRICS as it gathers in Delhi.
The emerging international order will not be determined simply by who controls the most oil, minerals, technology or territory.
It will ultimately be determined by who can build a system that others believe is worth participating in.

The country that controls the system does not need to control everything within it.

By Milinda Moragoda

_(Milinda Moragoda is founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, a strategic affairs think tank. can be contacted via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. courtesy www.wionews.com on 30.08.2026
https://sl1nk.com/9af6ank)_

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stated that a few months ago, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) held a discussion on behalf of 150,000 development officers and 14,008 economic development officers who perform a vital role in the public sector, presenting their grievances to the nation.

He noted that although the government brought both groups to the Sahas Uyana in Kandy right after those issues were raised and publicly promised to fulfill their demands, the government has failed to implement the service constitutions expected by both groups.

The Opposition Leader made these remarks today at the Opposition Leader's Office during a meeting with the Government Development Officers' Union to discuss the challenges faced by development officers and economic development officers.

The Opposition Leader said NPP MP Chandana Sooriyaarachchi, who mobilised these two groups during past elections, lied to both sides, triggering accusations that parliamentarians deceived them.

He said that although other MPs representing these professionals sit in the current government, the administration remains unable to provide their required service constitutions.

The Opposition Leader stated that all the government has done is change the designation of economic development officers to community development officers.

Although ministers promised to introduce a separate bill in March for those now termed community development officers, that legislation has not been presented. He highlighted that while numerous promises were made to secure votes, the government has forgotten its pledges and continues to mislead these workers.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa added that even if the government forgets these public servants, the SJB will stand up for their rights both inside and outside parliament.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested by the Police Special Task Force (STF) while allegedly transporting more than two kilograms of ‘Kush’ cannabis in a car in the Wanaguru Mawatha area of Hokandara.

The arrest was made during a raid carried out by the STF based on information received regarding the suspected transportation of narcotics.

During the operation, STF personnel recovered more than two kilograms of ‘Kush’ cannabis allegedly in the suspect’s possession.

According to the STF, the arrested man is a resident of Kalalgoda.

Further investigations are being conducted by the authorities into the incident.

Sri Lanka has recorded 94,805 dengue cases so far this year, with 72 dengue-related deaths reported to date, according to the National Dengue Control Unit.

Dengue infections have continued to rise in recent months, with 9,469 cases reported so far in August. This follows 29,962 cases recorded in July and 21,533 cases in June.

The Western Province continues to account for the largest share of the country’s dengue burden, recording 50,167 cases, or 52.92 per cent of the total.

The Southern Province has reported 13,823 cases, while 8,624 cases have been recorded in the Central Province.

At district level, Gampaha has recorded the highest number of dengue infections, with 20,207 cases reported so far this year.

Colombo follows with 18,794 cases, while Kandy has recorded 6,913 cases. Kalutara and Galle have reported 6,117 and 6,111 cases respectively.

Meanwhile, 76 Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas across the country continue to be identified as high-risk zones for dengue.

The latest figures highlight the continued spread of dengue across several parts of the country, with the Western Province remaining the most heavily affected region.

The death toll in Nepal has now risen to 903, according to Nepal's national disaster authority, while the number missing is now at 4,200.

Source: BBC

Iran war mediators have placed renewed emphasis on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran agreeing to draw up a list ‌of conditions to restore normal traffic after a Qatari emissary pressed the Iranians to respect freedom of navigation.

With the U.S. having disengaged from talks in favour of an economic pressure campaign, the prime minister of Qatar met senior Iranian leaders in Tehran on Thursday, stressing the importance of returning to the pre-war status of open shipping through an international waterway.

Qatar, a U.S. ally ​and Gulf neighbour of Iran, and Pakistan helped broker a memorandum of understanding in June that led to a ceasefire and set terms for shipping ​in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow stretch between Iran and Oman that before the war was the conduit for ⁠20% of the world's oil supply.

After the U.S. and Israel launched the war six months ago, Iran threatened to strike any vessel transiting the strait without its ​authorization, driving down traffic and sending up the price of oil, providing Iran with leverage in the bargain.

In his mission to Tehran on Thursday, Qatari Prime Minister ​and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on X that he underscored to senior Iranian officials "the importance of respecting freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law."

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, later said Iran was preparing a list of conditions for reopening the strait after mediators asked Tehran to set them ​out.

Speaking through an interpreter in an Al Manar TV interview, Rezaei said Iran had agreed with Oman on a shipping corridor through the strait, with parts ​of the route in Omani waters and parts in Iranian waters. Ships would use a designated central channel if the U.S. met Iran's conditions, he said.

In the past Iran's conditions have ‌included an ⁠end to the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, compensation and removal of sanctions. It remained unclear whether Iran intended to amend those demands in a way that might be acceptable to the Americans.

Tehran and Washington have exchanged little more than bellicose statements in recent weeks, leaving the diplomacy to third parties.

So far Iran has insisted on returning to the June memorandum of understanding that established a ceasefire within a 60-day window for negotiations. But that deal quickly fell apart over differing interpretations ​of Iran's authority over shipping arrangements, and ​Trump declared the MOU was "over" three ⁠weeks after it was signed.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that Iran and Oman had agreed in principle on administering traffic in the strait and sharing revenues, but a senior Iranian source later said the two countries were still working on the details ​of an agreement.

Meanwhile, U.S. military commanders say American forces have cleared sea mines from the strait that had been laid ​months ago by ⁠Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Bottom line: today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building," Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. military's Central Command, said in a video message posted on social media.

U.S. forces have in recent months helped 1,500 commercial vessels carrying nearly 750 million barrels of crude oil to transit the strait, Cooper said.

Trump ⁠has repeatedly ​said the strait was open, but many vessels have opted against sailing through it because of Iranian ​threats, and ship tracking services have estimated activity at roughly 5% to 15% of normal volumes.

The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization has reported 70 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of ​the war that have killed 19 seafarers.

Source: Reuters

The government's rushed attempt to pass the 22nd Constitutional Amendment Bill extending judicial retirement ages has sparked a deep national crisis and triggered serious legal challenges.

National People's Power (NPP) leadership council member and convenor of the 'Lawyers for Democracy', senior attorney Lal Wijenayake made these observations in a special statement following the filing of several Supreme Court petitions against the proposed legislation.

Challenging the bill in the apex court, the petitioners requested a ruling that mandatory approval via a public referendum is required before any such constitutional amendment can be enacted.

Wijenayake asserted that maintaining unchanged terms of service, including retirement limits, throughout a judge's tenure remains a foundational pillar for safeguarding judicial independence.

He stressed that compromising this principle deals a heavy blow to democratic structures, fundamental freedoms, and human rights.

Rejection of the government's official claim that the extension would accelerate court cases was central to his argument, as he described the rationale as false and warned that the move actively obstructs judicial functions.

He also noted that the public rights protected by courts are hard-won democratic victories rather than executive concessions, adding that framing the controversy as a standard party-political squabble misleads citizens who are ultimately fighting to preserve a civilised society for future generations.

A 59-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband following an attack with a sharp weapon inside a forest reserve in the Korakahawewa area of Anuradhapura this morning (28), police said.

According to police, the man had travelled to the location with his wife on a motorcycle before allegedly attacking her with the weapon.

The woman, a mother of three from the Ulukkulam area, died at the scene as a result of the attack.

The husband also sustained serious injuries after allegedly attempting to take his own life using the same weapon. He was subsequently admitted to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Police suspect that a personal dispute may have led to the incident.

Anuradhapura Police are conducting further investigations into the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa challenged the government to immediately conduct the long-delayed Provincial Council elections to test its true level of public support.

Speaking at a farmers gathering in Tissamaharama on Saturday, the Opposition Leader raised concerns over rising living costs, judicial interference, and economic mismanagement.

Focusing heavily on economic hardships, Premadasa condemned the recent price hike of Rs. 17 per kilogram of wheat flour, warning that the increase would drive up the cost of essential bakery goods and further strain household budgets nationwide.

Citing international data, he noted that Sri Lanka ranked 120th out of 130 countries in global minimum wage comparisons, demonstrating that local earnings remain grossly inadequate against rising expenses.

He questioned official poverty metrics from the Department of Census and Statistics, asking how any individual could reasonably survive on Rs. 17,315 a month when an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the national population now lives in poverty.

Moving to constitutional concerns, he accused the administration of trying to erode judicial independence through the proposed 22nd Amendment, which aims to extend the retirement age of superior court judges.

He urged the government to replace its current economic approach with comprehensive policies targeting agriculture, healthcare, foreign direct investment, and a strategic overhaul of national tourism.

The Opposition Leader warned that without structural relief measures, deteriorating living standards and democratic backsliding risk triggering severe national instability as the country awaits a government response on electoral timelines and economic policy reform.

Nepal is monitoring two lakes upstream of the flood ​zone where hundreds died on Wednesday, an official with ‌Nepal's Disaster Management Authority said.

Flood risks will remain until the two lakes have fully drained, the official added, as one of ​the two lakes began overflowing on Friday.

Satellite images showed ​the two lakes in proximity to the site ⁠where a glacier collapse was believed to have pushed ​rock, ice, mud and debris into river systems on Wednesday, ​causing flood waves that levelled houses and tore away bridges.

The formation of one of the two lakes had been captured in aerial footage ​by a Chinese rescue team on Thursday.

The footage on ​Thursday showed masses of brown water accumulating in a basin. By ‌Friday, ⁠water was draining from that lake, according to new satellite imagery.

The imagery also showed another lake upstream that appeared to be growing in size and was bigger in surface ​area than the ​first lake, ⁠without any visible outlet as of Friday morning, meaning that water pressure may still be ​building there.

Nepalese authorities are relying on satellite ​imagery to ⁠track conditions, though monitoring is limited by the availability of images, the Nepalese official said.

Nepal plans to install cameras ⁠and sensors ​downstream, including near the border ​town of Timure, and is assessing deployment options by helicopter, he said.

Source: Reuters