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Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Sujeewa Senasinghe has warned that Sri Lanka risks collapsing into a deeper economic crisis due to its continued reliance on the International Monetary Fund.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday (20), he condemned current fiscal policies and challenged the government over its failure to review state engagement with the global lender.

Senasinghe claimed that severe financial hardship continues to spread across key sectors as government recovery measures fail to provide relief to ordinary citizens.

He said that while emergency international assistance becomes unavoidable during severe financial distress, global lending institutions function much like "loan sharks" focusing strictly on debt recovery.

He alleged that international lenders remain unconcerned with national development, choosing instead to enforce aggressive revenue collection, property taxes, and inheritance levies by placing maximum financial pressure on the public.

Furthermore, the opposition politician accused the government of breaking previous assurances to reassess its agreement with the IMF, leaving local industries and households to absorb the shock of rising living costs.

He highlighted that farmers, business owners, and consumers are facing mounting hardship, with many citizens now unable to afford basic essentials such as fuel.

Sri Lanka’s emerging energy engagement with Azerbaijan demands scrutiny beyond diplomatic photographs and official statements. At a time when the Middle East crisis threatens energy-market stability and major powers compete for influence over strategic resources, Colombo must demonstrate that its outreach to Baku is a carefully calculated economic strategy rather than another diplomatic initiative without a clear commercial destination.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath’s meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the CICA summit on October 14 and 15, 2026, placed energy cooperation alongside discussions on trade, investment and tourism. Engagement with Central Asian economies could broaden Sri Lanka’s economic options. But the government has yet to establish publicly, in the information provided, whether the talks have produced concrete supply commitments, financing arrangements or a timetable for implementation.

That information gap is critical when every additional dollar spent on energy affects Sri Lanka’s fragile external finances.

The Middle East crisis has demonstrated how quickly geopolitical instability can translate into higher oil prices, disrupted shipping, rising insurance premiums and renewed inflationary pressure. Sri Lanka, heavily dependent on imported petroleum, remains exposed to these external shocks regardless of where its suppliers are located.

Azerbaijan could potentially offer another source of supply, but diversification must be assessed in practical terms. Can its producers supply the quantities and specifications required by Sri Lanka? Can shipments reach the island at competitive costs? Would payment arrangements protect scarce foreign exchange? And could supply remain reliable during a wider international confrontation?

Without answers, the promise of energy cooperation risks becoming a headline rather than a solution.

The American dimension also warrants careful examination. The United States exercises substantial influence through financial institutions, dollar-based transactions, sanctions enforcement and international diplomatic relationships. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, needs foreign investment, access to international capital and continued cooperation with development partners while implementing economic reforms.

Nevertheless, there is no evidence in the supplied information establishing that Washington has directly pressured Sri Lanka to abandon energy cooperation with Azerbaijan. Treating such pressure as an established fact would confuse geopolitical possibility with documented policy. The government should clarify whether it has received any relevant diplomatic representations and whether proposed transactions raise identifiable sanctions or compliance concerns.

The challenge is to preserve strategic independence without creating avoidable financial or diplomatic exposure. Sri Lanka should neither reject commercially attractive Azerbaijani opportunities merely because of geopolitical sensitivities nor pursue them to demonstrate defiance towards another power.

The absence of publicly specified commercial terms is particularly concerning given the country's recent experience with foreign exchange shortages, costly emergency procurement and energy-sector vulnerabilities. Any new arrangement should disclose the procurement process, pricing formula, delivery obligations, payment conditions and allocation of commercial risks, subject to legitimate confidentiality requirements.

Parliamentary oversight and independent technical assessment should precede substantial commitments. Comparisons with alternative suppliers must include the full landed cost, not merely the quoted oil price. The government should also examine whether existing refining facilities can efficiently process the proposed crude grades.

Meanwhile, discussions with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan should be assessed individually rather than presented collectively as evidence of immediate economic transformation.

Sri Lanka needs more diplomatic options, not more diplomatic promises. The Azerbaijan initiative will deserve public confidence only when it produces verifiable commercial benefits, protects consumers and strengthens energy security without compromising the country's wider international relationships.

A 26-year-old resident of Sooriyawewa has been arrested in connection with an alleged financial fraud involving promises of substantial earnings through an online business.

The arrest was made yesterday (20) by the North Western Provincial Unit of the Computer Crime Investigation Division following an investigation initiated in response to a complaint regarding the alleged scam.

According to the complaint, the suspect had contacted the complainant through the Telegram messaging platform and claimed that significant profits could be earned through online business activities.

The suspect had allegedly promised earnings amounting to Rs. 135,072,200, subsequently inducing the complainant to transfer Rs. 151,000 to a bank account belonging to the suspect.

The individual was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the alleged fraud and providing assistance and support in connection with the offence.

The North Western Provincial Unit of the Computer Crime Investigation Division is conducting further investigations into the incident.

Veteran photojournalist Thilak Perera, Pictures Editor of Lake House, has died after a brief illness, a month before his 60th birthday.

Perera passed away yesterday (20), having spent more than three decades with the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), the publisher of the Daily News and the Sunday Observer.

Perera rose from trainee photojournalist to become the head of the Lake House pictures desk.

He was first made chief photographer at the Sunday Observer, where he handled news, sports, entertainment and travel assignments, and was later promoted to Pictures Editor.

During the war years, he travelled to the frontlines with reporters from the Daily News and the Sunday Observer.

His task was to record some of the most intense moments on the battlefield.

Perera's reputation as a travel photographer was made at the Rasanduna tabloid, which was part of the Silumina.

His images of Sri Lanka’s best-known tourist attractions and its wildlife appeared on many of its covers.

Before that, he was recruited to the Sarasaviya film weekly by its then editor, the veteran journalist Thilakaratna Kuruwita Bandara.

He photographed numerous Sarasaviya covers and built close ties with the film industry, where leading directors, producers and actors knew him on first name terms. He also worked as a stills photographer on many Sinhala films.

He leaves behind his wife Chandani and two daughters, Tharini and Tharushi.

His remains will lie at his residence at 351A, Pannipitiya Road, Thalawathugoda, from today.

The funeral will take place at the Thalawathugoda cemetery tomorrow afternoon.

President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha said that Anojan Sivarasa would almost certainly have faced execution in Saudi Arabia without the direct legal intervention of the President and the Sri Lankan government.

He made these remarks in Parliament yesterday (20).

Sivarasa Anojan, a young Sri Lankan worker sentenced to death by a Saudi appellate court, was spared after the Saudi Supreme Court overturned the capital sentence following swift diplomatic and legal action.

Learning from the bitter outcome of the Rizana Nafeek case, which was heavily politicised, the President instructed that this matter be resolved strictly through official judicial channels.

Musthapha stressed that without prompt guidance from top state leadership and the Foreign Minister, the likelihood of Anojan losing his life remained extremely high.

On the President's instructions, a specialized legal delegation comprising Additional Solicitor General Azad Navavi, President’s Counsels Faiszer Musthapha and Upul Kumarapperuma, and Attorney-at-Law Hafeel Farisz travelled to Saudi Arabia to submit filings directly into the kingdom's court system.

The Sri Lankan legal team undertook the mission during a period of high regional tension when Houthi rebel attacks had disrupted international flight paths.

Navigating alternative transit routes to reach the kingdom, the lawyers appeared before the Saudi Supreme Court to challenge the death sentence, which had been imposed after a transcript of a private Facebook conversation was transmitted to authorities.

The Supreme Court subsequently set aside the capital punishment.

Although the Supreme Court invalidated the execution order, legal proceedings remain ongoing with a special hearing scheduled at the Saudi High Court to commute the remaining penalty. Political observers noted that the unified mobilization of state resources for a single citizen, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or party affiliation, set a major benchmark for national harmony.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has called for urgent government accountability in Parliament over the fatal shooting of the prominent tusker known as Kavantissa.

Raising the issue under Standing Order 27 (2) yesterday,Premadasa pressed ministers to confirm whether the death is officially classified as a killing and called for a full progress report on the police investigation.

The Opposition Leader urged the government to enlist a team of foreign experts to investigate the tragedy alongside local investigators.

He stated that although veterinary professors from the University of Peradeniya performed the initial post-mortem examination, an independent international inquiry into both the cause of death and the medical care provided to the elephant remains necessary.

Referring to earlier incidents where environmentalists reported warning shots months before the fatal shooting, Premadasa questioned what security protocols had been deployed to protect the animal.

He also requested that all post-mortem findings and judicial orders regarding the final disposal of the carcass be presented to court and made public.

To ensure long-term protection for legally safeguarded wildlife, he proposed setting up a specialized Elephant Conservation Task Force utilizing the expertise of experienced wildlife officers, alongside establishing a dedicated animal hospital, promising full opposition support for such initiatives.

Furthermore, he expressed gratitude for recent arrests made by state raid units, while cautioning authorities against taking punitive administrative action against frontline officers involved in the enforcement operation.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP S. M. Marikkar criticised the National People’s Power government in Parliament yesterday (20) following Sri Lanka’s second nationwide power outage in recent months.

Highlighting the severe disruption caused when a total grid collapse left 22 million citizens without electricity for roughly six hours, he said that two nationwide blackouts under the NPP government have exposed serious failures in national grid management.

He claimed that financial losses from power sector mismanagement have also mounted rapidly alongside the administrative failures surrounding these blackouts.

Marikkar pointed out that the current administration experienced its first total grid failure in February 2025, after which an official investigative committee issued clear recommendations to prevent future system collapses.

He demanded that the Energy Minister inform Parliament whether those corrective measures were ever put into practice, accusing the government of total indifference.

Turnaround costs and operational failures related to coal procurement have further compounded the crisis.

Marikkar revealed that the import of substandard coal alone caused a direct loss of over Rs. 18 billion, while an extra Rs. 26 million was spent on third party laboratory testing for six coal shipments.

Furthermore, the reliance on inferior coal forced the government to spend over Rs. 20 billion on emergency supplementary power purchases between January and September.

He asserted that the combined financial damage from these procurement decisions is double the loss recorded during the Central Bank bond scandal.

Sri Lanka has suffered a staggering financial loss exceeding Rs. 18 billion as a result of emergency coal procurements and the burning of low-quality fuel stocks, according to details disclosed in Parliament on Tuesday.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP S. M. Marikkar presented the findings from a parliamentary investigation that uncovered widespread systemic failures and lack of quality controls within the state energy sector.

The figures were compiled following an inquiry by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development, which examined an official probe led by the Ministry of Power into uninspected coal shipments.

*Severe breakdown in thermal power output*

The investigative findings reveal that the reliance on substandard coal severely impacted national grid generation capacity, forcing expensive emergency interventions.

Reductions in power output led to a 300-megawatt deficit that compelled power authorities to purchase alternative electricity at an extra cost of Rs. 8.5 billion.

Physical damage to generation infrastructure required an additional Rs. 80.4 million in maintenance, alongside Rs. 13.1 million spent on clearing unexpected volumes of excess ash.

Direct losses stemming strictly from the inferior quality of the imported coal were calculated at nearly 7.1 billion rupees.

*Emergency procurement penalties*

Further financial hemorrhaging occurred through rushed supply contracts and logistical delays at ports.

Emergency procurements covering five specific coal shipments created a loss of 2.28 billion rupees, whilst demurrage and related delays for an urgent cargo added a further Rs. 402.8 million to the public bill.

Marikkar said that current estimates remain incomplete because they omit government diesel subsidies and operational losses absorbed by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.

Relevant state entities have now received directives to calculate these missing financial figures to determine the final cost borne by taxpayers.

A timekeeping officer attached to the Gampaha Regional Office of the Road Passenger Transport Authority has been arrested over allegations of soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs. 100 from a bus employee.

The arrest was made yesterday (20) at around 12.25 p.m. by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) inside the suspect’s office booth at the Raddolugama bus stand.

According to the allegations, the officer had solicited and accepted the money from an employee of a bus operating on Route No. 188 between Raddolugama and Colombo.

The bribe was allegedly requested in exchange for allowing the bus to begin its scheduled journey later than the stipulated departure time and permitting it to commence the journey under favourable conditions.

The arrested officer is scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.

UNP Deputy General Secretary Harin Fernando said that women lack political awareness and are easily deceived.

Speaking to reporters, the former minister defended his controversial stance whilst offering a wide-ranging critique of current governance and opposition strategies, noting that female voters hold a degree of responsibility for the political decisions that led to existing governance challenges across Sri Lanka.

Rejecting calls for an immediate alliance between major opposition factions, Fernando insisted that the United National Party must preserve its independent identity rather than rush into a coalition with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

He outlined plans for a nationwide organizational campaign coinciding with the upcoming 80th anniversary of the party, expressing confidence that his team could deliver results if given leadership responsibilities by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Addressing his recent political silence, he likened his faction to uprooted weeds that have made space for new cultivation, explaining that they are now waiting to observe the outcome of the newly established political landscape.

Fernando said that the government continues to conduct itself like an opposition body instead of delivering tangible progress.

Whilst recognizing that female supporters form a vital backbone for the ruling administration, he asserted that broader political consensus is essential to steering the country forward.

On the topic of urban transit, he acknowledged the continuation of the Metro Bus scheme originally launched under the previous presidency, though he criticized the overall pace of implementation as far too sluggish.

The cremation ceremony of the Most Venerable Keppetiyagoda Siriwimala Nayaka Thero, Anunayaka of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya and Chief Incumbent of the Getambe Rajopavanaramaya in Kandy, will be held today (21) at 2.00 p.m. at the Getambe Municipal Sports Ground under state patronage.

The late Thero played a significant role in the revival of Buddhism and culture in Sri Lanka, with the Getambe Rajopavanaramaya serving as the focal point of his religious and cultural activities.

His remains have been placed at the temple, where devotees and members of the public have been given the opportunity to pay their final respects.

According to Venerable Akurasse Siridhamma Wimala Thero, the custodian of the Getambe Rajopavanaramaya, religious observances are scheduled to begin at approximately 12.30 p.m.

The ceremonies will include members of the Maha Sangha offering robes in honour of the late Thero, followed by the traditional water-pouring ritual and the transfer of merits.

Upon completion of the religious rites, the remains will be taken from the temple to the Getambe Municipal Sports Ground for the cremation ceremony.

The final rites will be conducted under the patronage of senior prelates, including the Mahanayaka and Anunayaka Theros representing Sri Lanka’s three Buddhist chapters, alongside members of the Maha Sangha.

Opposition lawmaker Ajith P. Perera has filed a Special Determination petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the government’s proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian submitted the legal challenge in Colombo following the placement of the controversial counter-terrorism legislation on the parliamentary Order Paper on 6 October.

The legal petition challenges several core provisions of the proposed law on the grounds that they infringe upon fundamental rights and judicial authority guaranteed under the constitution.

Primary objections focus on statutory restrictions that strip Magistrates of their traditional powers to grant bail, shifting that sole discretionary power to the High Court.

The application further raises concerns over powers that would allow the relevant ministry secretary to order individuals into rehabilitation programmes without formal criminal charges or court convictions.

The petition also seeks to strike down broad restriction orders that could legally prohibit citizens from associating with persons or organizations merely suspected of committing an offence under the act.

The lawmaker is asking the apex court to rule that clauses 26, 27, 28, 29, 60, and 68 violate sovereign popular rights protected under articles three and four of the constitution.