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Government had failed to deliver promises on leaving about 80,000 unemployed graduates without jobs, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told parliament yesterday(8).

Provide jobs for unemployed graduates, address salary anomalies affecting teachers and principals and appoint teacher development officers, the opposition leader said.

It was the government that had misled the public to gain power and subsequently failed to fulfil its commitments, Premadasa told.

Premadasa challenged the government’s commitment to the social contract it had made with the public, accusing President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s administration and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).

Responding to prime minister Harini Amarasuriya’s criticism that the opposition was spreading falsehoods and engaging in 'deal based politics' Premadasa said.

Opposition leader cited government promises to cut electricity bills by 33 percent.

The opposition leader also criticised the government over their failure to deliver on promises to reduce fuel prices and failed to provide a fixed price of 150 rupees per kilogram of paddy.

Premadasa said micro, small and medium sized enterprises were facing mounting pressure.

Businesses being auctioned under the country’s parate execution laws, despite NPP campaign pledges to support the sector.

Premadasa further accused the government of increasing the cost of living and maintaining a heavy tax burden.

Tax is affecting school supplies and information technology exports, he said.

He also criticised the administration for retaining taxes on the book and printing industries, despite earlier promises by the government to remove value added tax(VAT) on the sector.

On economic policy, Premadasa said the government had failed to revise the debt sustainability agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He accused the government of pursuing neoliberal policies that were pushing the country towards economic ruin.

Premadasa also questioned the administration’s commitment to renewable energy.

He said that the government had pledged to promote clean energy when they were in opposition.

Government now strengthening the interests surrounding thermal and fuel based power generation, Premadasa accused.

He added that parliament offered little opportunity to question the country’s sustainable energy policy.

(Sachithra Perera)

Former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Colombo Municipal Councillor Mahinda Kahandagama and another individual have been arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD).

Police said Kahandagama was arrested near a restaurant in the Mirihana area last night (05) on charges of drug trafficking.

A stock of ‘Ice’ (crystal methamphetamine) was also seized from the suspects.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that Kahanadagama had been involved in drug trafficking for a period of time.

Further investigations into the arrested suspects have been launched by the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB).

Around 6,000 new breast cancer cases are reported annually in Sri Lanka, the president of the college of oncologists Dr. Sanjeewa Gunasekara said.

He stressed the importance of early detection and timely treatment of breast cancer.

He urged women to familiarise themselves with the normal appearance and feel of their breasts and seek prompt medical advice if they notice lumps, nipple changes, unusual discharge or changes in the skin.

Early detection, appropriate treatment and proper follow up care were the three key factors in managing breast cancer and improving recovery outcomes.

With early detection and appropriate treatment, patients have the opportunity to recover and return to normal life, he said.

He made the remarks at an event marking the first anniversary of the 'Pink Wednesday' programme, organised by the Pink Day Allies of Musaeus College in Colombo to raise public awareness about breast cancer.

Dr. Gunasekara also noted that breast cancer diagnostic facilities were available at major government hospitals across Sri Lanka.

The anniversary event was held on Wednesday (October 7) at the college’s Peter de Abrew Auditorium.

Under the initiative, Musaeus College students have worn pink ties every Wednesday over the past year to promote awareness of breast cancer and the importance of early detection.

Addressing the event, Musaeus College Principal Sanjeevani Bandara said the programme was launched to educate the public about breast cancer through student-led awareness activities.

She thanked the Indira Cancer Trust for supporting the initiative.

Dr. Lanka Jayasuriya Dissanayake of the Indira Cancer Trust praised the students’ contribution, describing it as an example that could inspire other schools to take similar steps to promote public health awareness.

The main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has decided to present a motion of no confidence against Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne in Parliament this Friday (09).

The decision was finalised during a high-level meeting of the party’s parliamentary group in Colombo.

Opposition lawmakers will begin placing their signatures on the resolution today.

The motion contains forty-nine specific allegations against the Speaker, citing severe breaches of parliamentary procedure and conduct.

Meanwhile, opposition parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara has urged Dr. Wickramaratne to step down voluntarily from his post before the house convenes to debate the motion.

Opposition Members of Parliament signed a motion of no-confidence against Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne on Thursday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

The signing was led by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and attended by several opposition MPs, including representatives from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka told Lanka Leader that the motion sets out 49 allegations against the Speaker.

The Ministry of Energy has instructed private distribution companies to maintain uninterrupted fuel supplies across Sri Lanka following widespread pump shortages.

Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka confirmed that the Ministry Secretary will issue a formal written directive to all private distributors today.

The government intervention follows reports that private suppliers restricted fuel deliveries to cut financial losses stemming from rising global oil prices.

These supply cuts have triggered acute fuel shortages at retail outlets nationwide, leaving motorists facing extended queues at service stations.

Under the new directives, private firms must restore normal supply levels immediately and maintain mandatory minimum fuel reserves at all times.

To ease immediate market pressure, authorities have ordered state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation filling stations to step up daily fuel deliveries.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will convene a high-level meeting tomorrow alongside Energy Ministry and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation officials to formulate a broader strategy.

Stressing the urgency of the situation, Petroleum Dealers' Association Deputy Chairman Kusum Sandanayake urged the administration to deliver a swift remedy to protect local businesses and consumers.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has called on the government to respect religious traditions and the dignity of the Buddhist robe following the court appearance of a jailed monk in lay clothing.

The statement follows media reports showing Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera being brought before the Colombo High Court on Tuesday (06) dressed in civilian attire.

The Opposition Leader stated that while judicial authorities operate strictly within a legal framework, the executive branch must demonstrate sensitivity towards social conventions, cultural identities, and religious customs.

He noted that defendants are ordinarily permitted to wear suitable civilian clothes to preserve the dignity of the court.

However, he argued that forcing a Buddhist monk or any spiritual leader to appear in lay clothing without their explicit consent or the knowledge of their governing institution remains entirely inappropriate.

According to the Opposition Leader, determinations regarding the monastic status or official standing of any religious practitioner must remain under the exclusive authority of the relevant religious hierarchy.

He stressed that the government must ensure all such sensitive issues are managed strictly with the prior knowledge and endorsement of the Mahanayake Theras of the three main chapters or corresponding leaders of other faiths.

He added that state authorities must immediately cease actions that undermine established cultural boundaries and religious protocol.

Police have informed former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa to present herself to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on 13 October following her arrival in the country late last night.

The wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa landed at Bandaranaike International Airport on a flight from Malaysia yesterday (05), ending a brief period abroad for medical care.

Her return coincides with legal steps taken by her defense team, who filed an anticipatory bail motion before the Maligakanda Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The application seeks to prevent her arrest regarding a police probe into alleged financial irregularities at the Siriliya Saviya foundation.

Concerns over potential detention arose after her sudden departure on 16 September, when she flew to Singapore directly from a private hospital in Colombo where she had been receiving treatment.

The Rajapaksa family has firmly dismissed claims that she fled to evade law enforcement, stating she received no formal notification from police before reaching the airport.

Sri Lanka’s green energy revolution is being quietly stripped from ordinary citizens and handed over to a handful of powerful corporations.

A sweeping policy shift by the Ministry of Power and Energy threatens to destroy household energy independence while creating a lucrative corporate oligopoly.

On September 11, the Ministry terminated the popular Net Metering and Net Accounting schemes.

Critics warn that the replacement framework fundamentally dismantles the economic case for families to invest in rooftop solar.

Under the previous system, rooftop solar gave consumers a direct shield against surging electricity tariffs.

Households could generate power during peak daylight hours and offset their total electricity consumption, including expensive evening usage.

That model allowed families to recover their solar investment in less than five years.

The new policy flips that equation entirely to the detriment of the consumer.

Households must now sell all their solar generation to the Ceylon Electricity Board at a low rate of around Rs. 23 per unit.

At the same time, those same families are forced to buy electricity back from the grid at residential rates surging past Rs. 42 per unit.

This massive price gap creates a crippling financial penalty for ordinary citizens.

A standard five-kilowatt home system that once wiped out monthly power bills now earns minimal fixed revenue while leaving families exposed to soaring grid tariffs.

Payback periods for home solar systems will now stretch past a decade.

For middle-class families already hit hard by high living costs, financing rooftop solar has become virtually unviable.

Attractiveness drops even further under the Net Plus scheme, which reportedly caps contracts at just 12 years.

State officials argue that rapid rooftop expansion has overloaded substations and threatened overall grid stability during peak daylight hours.

Authorities also contend that seven million non-solar consumers should not bear the fixed costs of maintaining the national grid alone.

While grid stability is a legitimate engineering challenge, the government's response systematically penalises household generators.

There is no sound economic reason why fixing grid stability must require crushing citizen-led renewable investment.

The most damning aspect of this reform is taking shape in the utility-scale battery storage sector.

Recent disclosures and opposition probes reveal that major developers, including WindForce PLC and Vidullanka PLC, swept 13 out of 16 units in one procurement round and 23 out of 25 in another.

Such heavy corporate concentration in state-awarded energy contracts demands immediate and aggressive public scrutiny.

While utility battery storage is vital to capture surplus renewable power, placing that infrastructure in so few hands builds a dangerous cartel.

An industry meant to empower millions of decentralised citizen generators is being converted into a private corporate fiefdom.

The crucial issue facing the nation is not whether battery storage is necessary for the grid.

The real question is whether Sri Lanka’s clean energy transition will benefit millions of citizens or enrich a small corporate elite.

Without strict procurement transparency and protected incentives for home storage, the country risks trading one broken fossil fuel system for a corporate monopoly.

Sri Lanka is entering an era where the sun shines on everyone, but the profits belong strictly to a powerful few.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP S.M. Marikkar has alleged that the government lacks an understanding of diplomacy and does not know how to engage effectively with the international community.

He made the remarks to the media yesterday (5), noting that the President's absence from the recent United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) highlighted the failure.

Marikkar said the President should have attended the UNGA to meet world leaders and potential investors and generate revenue for the country, rather than attending meetings in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.

He also raised serious national security concerns over reports of alleged US-sanctioned Iranian vessels anchored in international waters near Sri Lanka, claiming the government remains helpless in the face of the situation.

He said national security must remain the top priority and urged the government to hold direct diplomatic discussions with the United States to safeguard the country's territory, maritime boundaries and citizens.

Marikkar also criticised the President, in his capacity as Defence Minister, for failing to issue a formal statement to Parliament on the matter.

He pointed out that if the government cannot manage the issue independently, it should consult the opposition to formulate a solution.

The opposition lawmaker criticised the ruling party for parading the same group of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) cadres at rallies across the island.

He alleged that the President had deceived youth and women with false promises.

Citing World Bank data, Marikkar said nearly 65 per cent of the population is living in poverty, and that ordinary citizens can no longer afford basic necessities, their children's education or essential medicines.

Noting that the government has completed 25 months in office, he challenged the NPP administration to hold the long-overdue Provincial Council elections if it is confident of its public mandate.

He added that the SJB is prepared to secure a decisive victory.

The World Organisation Against Torture has warned that Sri Lanka's new counterterrorism draft law risks perpetuating severe human rights violations as Parliament prepares to receive the legislation today.

The rights group expressed deep concern that the Protection of the State from Terrorism Act retains problematic provisions from the 47 year old Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The government published the replacement legislation in the official Gazette on 22 September ahead of its scheduled first reading in Parliament on 6 October.

International observers cautioned that the draft law uses overly broad definitions of terrorism that fail to align with international standards.

The legislation criminalises acts aimed at compelling government or international bodies to act, creating significant risks of arbitrary abuse against journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, and minority communities.

Although the text contains explicit exclusions for peaceful protests, advocacy, and industrial actions, rights advocates warned that these safeguards remain fundamentally insufficient to prevent misuse.

Under Section 29, the draft framework empowers the Executive to issue two month detention orders without prior judicial approval.

Magistrates may extend these orders every two months up to a maximum of one year.Section 28 allows combined remand and detention periods of up to two years before formal indictments are served.

The organisation highlighted that Magistrates frequently rely on police and prosecution submissions without exercising meaningful judicial oversight, thereby heightening the threat of arbitrary detention, torture, and ill-treatment.

The bill also grants extensive operational powers to military personnel, including authority to conduct stops, searches, arrests, and 24 hour detentions before handing suspects over to police.

Travel time is excluded from this 24 hour limit without setting a maximum allowable duration, raising grave concerns about enforced disappearances.

Furthermore, the Attorney General is granted authority to suspend criminal proceedings for up to 20 years in exchange for suspects agreeing to rehabilitation, community service, or public expressions of remorse.

Rights advocates noted that suspects facing prolonged detention may feel coerced into accepting these punitive measures, effectively undermining the presumption of innocence.

The World Organisation Against Torture has urged Sri Lankan lawmakers to undertake a fundamental review of the proposed framework to align counterterrorism measures strictly with international human rights commitments