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Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory framework faces serious allegations of total collapse as healthcare workers warn that delayed approvals and chronic medicine shortages are endangering patient lives.

Chairman of the Medical and Civil Rights Doctors' Union Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa raised grave concerns over the prolonged two year delay in registering the Qdenga dengue vaccine, urging a formal investigation into possible negligence at the National Medicines Regulatory Authority.

Severe shortages continue to cripple the healthcare sector, with over forty essential pharmaceuticals including crucial oncology drugs Oxaliplatin and Filgrastim remaining unavailable for extended periods.

The union pointed out that while life saving treatments remain stuck in bureaucratic delays, advanced diabetes and weight loss medications like Mounjaro are circulating freely on the black market without cold chain guarantees.

Flawed price regulation policies have reportedly driven reputable global pharmaceutical brands away from the local market, allowing inferior quality alternatives to fill the void.

These rigid pricing structures have also affected private medical laboratories, forcing facilities to rely on lower grade reagents that risk producing faulty diagnostic reports.

The union urged health authorities to implement an online tracking mechanism for drug approvals, introduce WHO standard testing for imports, and establish a flexible pricing formula reflecting global economic realities.

Neither the Ministry of Health nor the National Medicines Regulatory Authority has issued a formal response to the claims.

At least 14 people ​were killed in a suspected suicide bombing outside ‌a police station in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, a rescue group and a regional police official said, as the country battles widening ​insurgencies.

The explosion took place in the Kabal area ​of Swat, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ⁠province.

A pro-police rally of local residents was taking place ​in the same area on Sunday, but it was not ​immediately clear whether the rally was the intended target.

Fida Hussain, a regional police official, said the victims included five police officers and ​eight civilians. The 14th person was believed to be ​the suicide bomber, he told Reuters.

At least 18 people were wounded, according ‌to ⁠a police statement. It said an operation had been launched to arrest anyone who may have assisted the attack.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group in a statement claimed responsibility ​for the attack.

Prime ​Minister Muhammad ⁠Shehbaz Sharif in a statement expressed "deep grief and sorrow over the suicide blast".

Militancy in ​Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent ​months, ⁠targeting mainly the military and police.

The Pakistani government blames the Afghan Taliban for the escalation, accusing it of providing support ⁠to ​the militants. The Taliban government has ​denied the accusations.

Source: Reuters

An opposition Member of Parliament has accused the government of attempting to seek a Supreme Court opinion on constitutional language discrepancies to extend the terms of the Executive President and Parliament.

MP Dayasiri Jayasekera made this allegation following a gazette notification issued by Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe intended to rectify differences between the English and Sinhala versions of the constitution.

He explained that while the English text requires a referendum to extend the terms of the President and Parliament beyond six years, the Sinhala text specifies a referendum for either increasing or decreasing those terms.

Jayasekera highlighted arguments from a lawyer claiming that the Nineteenth Amendment of 2015 is invalid because no referendum was held when terms were reduced.

He saidthat this legal argument is being used to propose a one year extension for both the President and Parliament subject to a Supreme Court ruling.

The opposition lawmaker noted that the Election Commission Chairman has already formally brought this matter to the attention of the President.

He cautioned the public to remain vigilant against potential attempts to bypass scheduled elections through legal technicalities.

Centre for Human Rights and Research Sri Lanka has strongly condemned the government and key justice ministry officials for failing to manage chronic prison overcrowding following deadly unrest at Mahara Prison.

The human rights group pointed to Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara and Ministry Secretary Ayesha Jinasena, stating they failed to safeguard the lives of inmates and officers.

Gunfire and building fires broke out inside the complex, prompting chaotic scenes outside as families attempted to breach barricades.

Security forces used water cannons and imposed a local police curfew. Reports from prisoner rights advocates indicated multiple deaths and casualties, alleging officers opened fire and prevented inmates from helping the injured.

The Mahar Prison unrest comes after deadly riots at Negombo Prison which claimed around thirty lives.

Rights monitors stressed that these events stem directly from administrative delays under the Ministry of Justice, with Sri Lankan prisons operating at up to five times their design capacity.

At the time of the unrest, Mahara held over four thousand prisoners, while facilities such as Welikada, Colombo Remand, Magazine, and Negombo held thousands past their limits.

A National Audit Office investigation identified prolonged delays in obtaining Government Analyst reports as a primary driver, leaving over fifteen thousand suspects detained without resolution.

Additionally, nearly two thousand inmates remain incarcerated simply because they cannot afford small fines. Audit findings also indicated that housing drug offenders alongside the general population has allowed organized crime networks to thrive behind bars.

The executive director of the organisation, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, stated that the state bears full responsibility for protecting lives in custody and called for immediate access for the Human Rights Commission.

He demanded an independent investigation into forensic delays, fine related detentions, and overall management, urging the government to publish a clear timeline to reduce overcrowding to safe levels.

Three spill gates of the Upper Kotmale Reservoir opened automatically early this morning (03) following heavy rainfall in the reservoir's catchment areas, according to engineers overseeing the reservoir.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has urged residents living along both banks of the Kotmale Oya downstream of the reservoir dam to remain alert, warning that the remaining spill gates could also open automatically if heavy rainfall continues in the Upper Kotmale catchment areas.

The heavy rains have also led to a significant increase in the water flow of St. Clair's Falls and Devon Falls, with both waterfalls experiencing stronger flows due to the prevailing weather conditions.

Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa questioned the government's capacity to lead the nation following fresh unrest within the country's penal system.

Speaking at a public gathering in Maligakanda, Borella, the Opposition Leader asserted that a government incapable of maintaining order across Sri Lankan correctional facilities cannot be trusted to uplift the living standards of the island's 22 million citizens.

Political victory marred by Mahara Prison unrest

The criticism follows recent parliamentary developments where the NPP government defeated an Opposition-led no-confidence motion against the Minister of Justice and National Integration.

Premadasa noted that while government parliamentarians celebrated the legislative victory and mocked the Opposition, the breakdown of order at the Mahara Prison occurred just days later.

According to the Opposition Leader, the recurring breakdown of law and order within correctional facilities demonstrates a pattern of administrative failure that threatens national stability.

He said that the current leadership is actively undermining state institutions rather than driving national recovery, adding that a government failing at basic facility management cannot deliver economic or social progress.

The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources says that 17 empty shipping containers have fallen into the sea from a merchant vessel roughly 17 nautical miles west of the Port of Colombo.

The Department is urging fishermen along the western coast to exercise extreme caution.

The containers went overboard near Latitude 06°54' North and Longitude 079°32' East, according to the Department.

Officials say prevailing sea currents could carry the drifting containers towards the coastline stretching from Beruwala to Puttalam, passing through Negombo along the way.

Given the scale of the debris involved, the Department has advised all multi-day and small-scale fishing vessels operating in the affected waters to remain alert to the risk posed by the floating containers.

The Department has also asked members of the public and fishing crews who spot any of the containers to report the sighting immediately, either to its Radio Communication Centre or to the nearest fisheries harbour authorities, so that the debris can be tracked and addressed swiftly.

A shipping container has washed ashore near Owakanda Junction beach within the Rathgama Police Division this morning (03), police said.

According to Rathgama Police, the container is white in colour and measures approximately 40 feet in length. Authorities suspect that it may have fallen into the sea from a vessel while at sea.

Meanwhile, a similar white-coloured container was found washed ashore yesterday (02) on the beach behind a tourist hotel in the Induruwa area.

Initial reports suggest that the Induruwa container may have been an empty container that fell into the sea from a vessel operating in waters off Colombo two days ago.

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila has called for legal action against CID Director Shani Abeysekara and Ministry of Public Security Secretary Ravi Seneviratne, stating that the recent court verdict against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former IGP Pujith Jayasundara sets a precedent that should apply equally to the two officials.

He made these remarks at a media briefing held today, in the wake of the ruling holding Fernando and Jayasundara criminally liable over their failure to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Gammanpila's argument rested on the premise that if Fernando and Jayasundara could be found culpable for failing to act on intelligence warnings ahead of the attacks, then Abeysekara and Seneviratne faced allegations of a similar or even more serious nature.

He alleged that both officials had prior knowledge of investigations connected to Zahran Hashim, the mastermind behind the bombings, and claimed that multiple failures had occurred in the handling of intelligence and investigative processes in the period leading up to the attacks.

He also revealed that an earlier investigation into the conduct of Abeysekara and Seneviratne had been discontinued following a change of government, and called for that inquiry to be reopened without delay.

Gammanpila urged the government to temporarily remove Abeysekara from his position as CID Director and Seneviratne from his role as Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security for the duration of any renewed investigation.

The renewed calls for accountability reflect continuing public pressure over unresolved questions surrounding the Easter Sunday attacks, more than six years after the bombings claimed hundreds of lives. It remains to be seen whether the Government will act on Gammanpila's demand to reopen the stalled investigation or take any steps regarding the two officials named.

The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters' Association (SLRSMA) has threatened trade union action if authorities fail to urgently resolve unresolved signalling defects that it says are compromising safety on key railway lines.

The warning was issued by Association Chairman Sumedha Somaratne, who said the matter had already been formally communicated in writing to the relevant authorities.

Somaratne's chief concern centres on the Medawachchiya to Talaimannar Pier section, where he said train operations are currently being run under what is known as the "pilot method."

He explained that this approach is meant to be used only in exceptional situations, such as temporary signal failures, yet it has instead become the standard mode of operation on the single-track line, raising serious questions about the safety of continued services there.

He linked this directly to the resumption of services on the Talaimannar railway line last week, noting that trains had returned to the line despite serious defects in the signalling system that have yet to be properly addressed.

No adequate repair or restoration work has been carried out on the damaged signalling infrastructure since services resumed, he said, leaving the line to operate under conditions he described as unsafe.

Somaratne also pointed to similar unresolved problems in the Maho to Anuradhapura section, where train movements are likewise continuing under temporary signalling arrangements rather than a fully restored system.

He expressed particular concern that railway lines rebuilt at a cost of billions of rupees in public funds are now being allowed to deteriorate due to a lack of proper maintenance and operational upgrades, undermining the value of that investment.

The Association reiterated that it would proceed with trade union action should the authorities fail to deliver effective solutions to the signalling failures and broader operational challenges facing railway stations across these sections.