News

In a world increasingly fractured by major power rivalries, smaller nations are discovering that the cost of taking sides is a luxury they simply cannot afford.

Speaking with CNN's Richard Quest on October 22, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya cuts straight through the diplomatic fog surrounding the ongoing Middle East tensions stating that "conflicts like the Iran war serve no one".

For an island nation positioned along major Indian Ocean shipping routes, the war is not a distant headline but an active threat to domestic stability.

The National People’s Power (NPP) government has spent months navigating an intense diplomatic tug-of-war.

Colombo previously rejected requests from Washington to land military aircraft at Mattala Airport, while concurrently denying specific naval requests from Tehran.

By turning away both superpowers, Sri Lanka has sent a clear message: it will not allow its territory, sea, or airspace to become a staging ground for external war games.

The collateral of conflict

The Prime Minister’s comments highlight a harsh economic reality.

Recovering from bankruptcy, Sri Lanka faces a "triple whammy" of soaring global fuel costs, disrupted trade corridors, and maritime emergencies right off its southern coast.

From rescuing survivors of sunken vessels to handling damaged foreign warships, the island has absorbed heavy logistical burdens.

The Prime Minister's stance asserts that the Global South should not be forced to bear the systemic shockwaves of conflicts triggered by the West or regional powers.

Humanity above geopolitics

What distinguishes Sri Lanka’s current foreign policy is its balance of strict military non-alignment with aggressive humanitarianism.

Despite political pressure from Western allies to withhold assistance or block the repatriation of rescued sailors, Colombo has consistently prioritized international maritime law and humanitarian values.

A parliamentary oversight committee has demanded immediate operational coordination between energy utilities and the public regulator to avert further islandwide power failures following Sri Lanka's latest national grid collapse.

The directive was issued by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Member of Parliament S.M. Marikkar, who chairs the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development, during a inquiry into the blackout of 17 October.

Preliminary investigative findings submitted to the committee revealed that the blackout occurred at 11.43 a.m. when output at Unit 1 of the Norochcholai coal power plant suddenly plunged from 187 megawatts to five megawatts.

At the time of the failure, the coal complex was generating 529 megawatts while rooftop solar installations were contributing 1,700 megawatts to the national network, creating a severe supply-demand imbalance that destabilised the system.

Grid operators re-established supply in phases by routing initial hydroelectric power through the Biyagama substation to restore essential feeders before 4 p.m.

Technical officials informed lawmakers that attempts to manage the crisis were hampered because numerous rooftop solar owners failed to comply with requests to disconnect their systems during the restoration phase.

Uncontrolled solar generation automatically re-enters the network when local feeders are energised, introducing unmonitored power that threatens to trip a fragile grid during recovery operations.

Data presented by the energy regulator also highlighted a fundamental structural shift in national power use, with peak electricity demand moving from traditional evening hours to daytime periods due to expanding commercial activity.

The committee chairperson urged authorities to educate the public on grid balancing complexities and requested a comprehensive final report to ensure future system resilience.

The recent collapse marks the second nationwide power outage in under two years, following a similar solar-related grid failure in February 2025 that took over six hours to rectify.

Claims made by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva regarding the background of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's economic adviser Duminda Hulangamuwa have been rejected in Parliament by Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake.

Speaking in parliament yesterday (23), the Minister clarified that the senior adviser had never held any advisory position under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe or any previous head of state.

He said that the appointment under the present National People's Power (NPP) government represents the first time the economic expert has accepted a formal state advisory role.

Rathnayake noted that adviser's past involvement with previous governments was restricted entirely to committee memberships held in his official capacity as Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

He said that former President Wickremesinghe had never directly appointed the economic expert to any official post or advisory team.

Calling the assertions completely false, Rathnayake requested the Opposition parliamentarian to formally withdraw his statements.

Sri Lanka has recorded the highest domestic electricity tariffs in South Asia compared to regional neighbours India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, according to a new study published by leading stockbroking firm SenFin Securities.

However, the report highlights that the country maintains some of the lowest commercial electricity rates in both the region and the wider world, giving local exporters a distinct competitive edge in international markets.

According to the research paper titled SenFin Sri Lanka Electricity Generation Review, the study details several key findings regarding national power pricing.

The average retail price for household electricity in Sri Lanka stands at USD 0.116 per kilowatt-hour. This figure significantly exceeds rates across the region, where households pay USD 0.077 in India, USD 0.064 in Pakistan, and USD 0.062 in Bangladesh.

Domestic consumers in Sri Lanka pay nearly double the unit rate charged in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Despite the regional disparity, the report notes that Sri Lankan household tariffs remain below the global average of USD 0.174 per unit.

In contrast to household costs, Sri Lanka offers exceptionally competitive pricing for commercial and business power users across Asia and global markets.

Commercial electricity in Sri Lanka costs an average of USD 0.091 per unit, compared to USD 0.123 in India, USD 0.154 in Pakistan, and USD 0.100 in Bangladesh.

With global business electricity costs averaging USD 0.164 per unit, SenFin Securities notes that lower commercial rates provide crucial relief for local manufacturers and exporters aiming to reduce overheads.

Conflicting government directives regarding anticipated El Niño climatic threats have caused widespread rainfall damage to paddy crops across several agricultural regions, opposition lawmakers alleged.

Speaking in parlaiment on 22 October, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Nalin Bandara highlighted that inconsistent guidance issued by local agricultural officers left numerous farmers vulnerable to unseasonal heavy downpours.

He claimed that while certain officers provided accurate technical guidance, others issued flawed instructions, leading farmers to cultivate early only to see their crops submerged.

In response, Deputy Agriculture Minister Namal Karunarathne defended the government's strategy, saying that the decision to advance the Maha cultivation timeline by two weeks was based on weather forecasts supplied by the Meteorology Department and global climate models.

He pointed out that extreme evaporation rates, which have risen by roughly 20 per cent, were rapidly depleting water storage in wells and major reservoirs.

The Deputy Minister noted that advancing the agricultural cycle was necessary to protect water reserves for the upcoming Yala season, when severe drought conditions are expected to peak in January and February.

He added that farmers had been instructed to sow short-term Yala paddy varieties to ensure harvesting could be concluded before the onset of dry weather, while reassuring the assembly that affected cultivators would receive state financial compensation.

Sri Lankan authorities are facing growing scrutiny after failing to detail measures taken to secure public infrastructure against two high-severity global software vulnerabilities.

The silence from the Ministry of Digital Economy comes as cybersecurity agencies across Europe, North America, and Asia order immediate system updates or full offline suspensions to prevent remote server takeovers.

Global emergency triggers mass offline suspensions

International intelligence agencies and heads of state from Washington to Tokyo have issued emergency advisories regarding the two defects in the PHP programming language.

Rated at a critical severity level of 9.2 out of 10, the technical flaws allow unauthorised threat actors to gain full administrative control of web servers without requiring access credentials.

Governments in Europe temporarily deactivated state portals on Wednesday, while cloud infrastructure providers in Japan suspended selected services to prevent potential breaches.

The flaws had remained hidden within the code for years before being identified through artificial intelligence tools, prompting China and South Korea to elevate national cyber readiness levels.

Statutory limitations hamper local response

Sri Lanka's national cyber security body issued an urgent directive instructing both public and private entities to apply official vendor patches immediately or disconnect vulnerable systems.

However, the agency operates as a registered company under corporate law and possesses no statutory powers to enforce compliance or pull compromised websites offline.

Industry experts note that the lack of regulatory enforcement authority exposes critical sectors to heightened risk, particularly following past security failures where outdated state IT systems led to multi-million dollar financial diversions.

Calls have intensified for the Central Bank to intervene by mandating commercial banking institutions to verify the security status of their PHP-reliant customer portals and payment gateways.

Regulatory delay heightens infrastructure vulnerabilities

The ongoing crisis has renewed focus on the delayed legislative framework intended to establish an independent cyber security regulator with legally binding enforcement powers.

Although ministerial officials had signaled that the enabling legislation would be gazetted within weeks, the statutory mechanism required to compel state agencies to act remains unpassed.

With foreign threat actors actively scanning for unpatched servers, analysts warn that failure to act could disrupt online payment systems and public services across the country.

The Ministry of Digital Economy has yet to confirm how many public sector websites have successfully applied the security updates.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has written an emotional letter to his son, MP Namal Rajapaksa, who is currently in remand custody, recalling the advice he gave him when he first entered politics in 2010.

In the letter, Mahinda Rajapaksa said Namal had sought his permission to enter politics and that he had warned him to be prepared for imprisonment and hardship.

“If you want to enter politics, do so. But be prepared to go to prison and face hardships,” the former President recalled telling his son.

He said the advice was based on his own experience of being imprisoned over what he described as baseless allegations shortly after entering politics, before Namal was born.

Mahinda Rajapaksa urged his son to maintain his faith in the judiciary, saying it had been his only source of confidence during his own imprisonment.

“Whatever anyone says, place your trust only in the judiciary,” he said.

The former President also revealed that he and his wife, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, are currently receiving treatment at Nawaloka Hospital, where Namal was born.

He said Namal’s younger brothers, Yoshitha and Rohitha, were looking after them during their hospitalisation.

Referring to legal proceedings involving Yoshitha, Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed that one case against him stemmed from his decision to join the Navy.

He also urged Namal not to seek revenge against political opponents if he returned to power, saying the children of political figures should not be held responsible for their parents’ actions.

“Children are not responsible for what their parents do. Not taking revenge is the way and tradition of the Rajapaksas,” he said.

The former President further claimed that the Rajapaksa family had been unfairly blamed despite its contribution to ending the country’s war.

Although the family had suffered electoral defeats, he urged Namal to continue believing that Sri Lankans were a grateful people.

The letter concluded with a Buddhist blessing for his son.

The letter comes as Namal Rajapaksa remains in remand custody in connection with ongoing bribery investigations.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court further remanded him and former Krrish Group director Janaki Siriwardena until November 6 after rejecting their bail applications in the Krrish transaction case.

The Sri Lankan government has requested an indefinite extension to answer critical parliamentary questions regarding the execution of the current financial year's budget.

The request was made in Parliament on Thursday by Deputy Finance and Planning Minister Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando following a formal challenge by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa concerning ministry expenditure and foreign investment targets ahead of the upcoming 2027 Budget presentation on 12 November.

Parliamentary budget clash

Minister Fernando informed the house that compiling the extensive data requested by the opposition was not immediately possible and would require a substantial duration.

He said that annual performance evaluations typically occur at the conclusion of the financial year, with ministries submitting periodic updates to Parliament through online reporting platforms.

Addressing the methodology behind state financial planning, Minister Fernando said that the administration operates on a performance-based, output-oriented framework rather than a zero-based budgeting system where allocations are reassessed annually from scratch.

He added that constructing a national budget requires evaluating current economic conditions, future developments, global trends, and strategic objectives rather than merely reviewing previous annual expenditure.

In response, Premadasa questioned how the President, serving as Finance Minister, could deliver the upcoming fiscal address without access to precise data on ministry expenditure, project progress, and foreign direct investment.

He argued that the requested metrics on revenue, spending, and implementation are directly relevant to the upcoming address and should already be readily available within the ministry.

The opposition leader had demanded comprehensive figures detailing the physical and financial progress of all 2026 budget proposals as of 30 September, alongside details regarding unspent funds and allocation revisions across state institutions.

His query also encompassed a detailed breakdown of foreign aid and loan-funded development projects, as well as the total foreign direct investment received against the annual target by the end of the third quarter.

Priority must immediately be assigned to public awareness campaigns regarding narcotics to address the growing drug crisis, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Hector Appuhamy said.

Speaking during the debate on the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill on 22 October, he emphasised that educating children and society on the dangers of illegal substances would safeguard families and preserve vital national funds.

Highlighting economic distress across the island, he noted that citizens have been forced to pawn gold worth Rs. 1,010 billion simply to settle their tax burdens.

Appuhamy questioned the government's foreign policy conduct, contrasting the heavy security assigned to a visiting Indian dignitary with the lack of official protocol provided to the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand during a recent public bus journey.

He expressed serious concern over proposed anti-terrorism legislation, alleging that the new law seeks to bypass the judiciary by establishing an independent body empowered to detain individuals for up to two years without trial.

He further cautioned that political opponents, dissidents, or ordinary citizens targeted over personal grudges risk being arbitrarily branded as terrorists and imprisoned under the prospective legal framework.

Concluding his address, the parliamentarian urged legal professionals and the public to scrutinize the proposed measures while holding the executive accountable for deteriorating living standards.

The United States has urged Sri Lankan commercial enterprises to explore direct investment opportunities in the American market, highlighting key growth sectors including technology, energy, infrastructure, and logistics.

The call was made by US Ambassador Eric Meyer in Colombo during the annual general meeting of the Sri Lanka-USA Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Addressing the business forum, the envoy pointed to upcoming commercial platforms such as the SelectUSA Investment Summit as vital avenues for deepening bilateral economic engagement.

He emphasized that establishing transparent and predictable regulatory frameworks, enforcing robust intellectual property protections, and maintaining fair market competition remain fundamental to building investor confidence across both nations.

The ambassador also commended the council for its sustained efforts to improve the domestic commercial landscape, noting that advancing intellectual property rights is essential for attracting American capital and expanding two-way trade.

At the same meeting, members re-elected Tilak Gunawardana, the group director and chief financial officer of MAC Holdings, to serve as council president for the 2026/2027 term.

In his acceptance address, Gunawardena underscored that Sri Lankan businesses require consistent public policies and a reliable trade environment to plan, invest, and scale their operations effectively.

The Opposition has submitted a motion calling for the appointment of a special Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of iconic tusker ‘Kavantissa’.

The motion was handed over to the Speaker of Parliament in Colombo on Friday (23) by Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, alongside a group of opposition lawmakers.

The proposed committee aims to establish whether state wildlife authorities and relevant government bodies fulfilled their statutory duties in protecting the animal prior to its demise.

Speaking during the submission, Premadasa urged parliamentarians to treat the loss of the revered elephant as a non-partisan issue and called for immediate legislative measures to safeguard the island’s diminishing wild tusker population.

He proposed that the investigative panel operate under a joint co-chairmanship representing both government and opposition benches, drawing a parallel with the non-partisan structure currently utilised by the parliamentary committee on climate change.

An interim forensic archaeological report submitted to the Jaffna Magistrate Court has concluded that the excavation site at Chemmani exhibits characteristics more consistent with formal burial practices than a clandestine mass grave.

The findings were presented on 19 October by lead archaeologist Professor Raj Somadeva of the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology alongside co-author Anusha Wanninayake following ongoing court-supervised excavations in Northern Sri Lanka.

The 17-page summary document details the recovery of a minimum of 574 individuals, 51 separate accumulations of disarticulated human bones, and 170 distinct artefact entries.

Preliminary demographic evaluations within the report estimate that children account for 41 per cent of the total deceased, while infants constitute a further 22 per cent.

Despite assessing the available evidence as insufficient for a final definitive conclusion, the authors specifically emphasized that contextual evidence aligns more closely with formal interment customs observed globally rather than illicit burial sites.

The document suggests that if the high volume of interments stemmed from an epidemic or similar natural catastrophe, an absence of buried personal possessions would be consistent with historical expectations.

However, the submission does not cite or identify any specific historical outbreak or disaster in the Jaffna peninsula to explain the concentration of human remains.

Special attention was also directed toward two specific skeletons, designated as numbers 227 and 429, which were uncovered resting in an upright seated position.

The authors noted that seated postures are documented within specific Hindu religious traditions associated with Samadhi practices, though they clarified that physical posture alone cannot conclusively confirm a spiritual burial.