News

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.

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.

Sri Lanka suffered an estimated nineteen billion rupees in economic losses from the nationwide blackout on 17 October, exposing critical vulnerabilities in the national power grid and its capacity to manage sudden disruptions.

The crippling system collapse began at approximately eleven forty-three in the morning and required more than six hours to resolve, plunging businesses, telecommunications, and water-pumping facilities into darkness across the island before full generation was restored by evening.

Grid vulnerabilities and financial toll

SenFin Securities reported that direct financial damage to the electriciy sector alone ranged between two point three billion and five point eight billion rupees, driven heavily by costly thermal generation required to stabilize the network after an initial hydroelectric failure at Upper Kotmale.

Manufacturing interruptions and commercial closures compounded the crisis, lifting total national losses to nineteen billion rupees and highlighting the immense economic cost of power instability during a fragile national recovery.

Industry analysts noted that high daytime solar generation and a lack of adequate frequency-control mechanisms severely complicated grid management when conventional plants tripped offline.

The incident has intensified calls for urgent structural upgrades, including investments in battery storage, pumped storage hydro, and enhanced transmission links to prevent cascading failures.

Shift toward private capital

Meanwhile, the government is accelerating a major policy pivot to mobilize private capital for major national infrastructure projects through an incoming Public-Private Partnership framework.

Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa stated that the state is actively pursuing private investments to navigate current fiscal realities and bridge a massive financing gap left by public spending constraints.

The Ministry of Finance and the Board of Investment are reviewing legacy agreements to ensure strict commercial viability and transparency, following the recent restructuring of the Colombo Port Logistics Hub project.

Authorities are advancing regional techno parks and specialized concessions under risk-sharing models designed to protect state resources while attracting international investors.

Without rigorous operational safeguards and transparent bidding processes, experts warn that infrastructure bottlenecks and energy instability will continue to threaten long-term economic growth.

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.

Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry has dismissed social media reports of a recent visit by Indian spiritual leader Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri Ji as misleading.

In a statement issued on Thursday (22), the ministry said the Swami Ji and his delegation arrived in the country on February 23, 2026, at the invitation of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

The posts now circulating online, it said, relate to that earlier visit.

The ministry said the delegation travelled to several religious and historical sites around the island during the trip, among them well-known Shiva temples.

Officials said a central aim was to introduce Indian devotees and tourists to Sri Lanka’s religious and cultural attractions, including the Ramayana Trail.

India remains Sri Lanka’s biggest source of tourist arrivals, and the ministry said such promotion in the Indian market carries particular importance.

The visit also formed part of the Government’s effort to develop the tourism industry and deepen religious and cultural ties between Sri Lanka and India, according to the ministry.

The ministry said that presenting the older visit as a current event was misleading, and it urged the public to check the original date and context of reports before sharing them.

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.

Advocating for a separate state or a federal system of governance as a political stance will not be classified as a terrorist offence under Sri Lanka’s proposed legislation, the Justice Minister said.

Speaking during a television broadcast on the state-owned Independent Television Network, Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara clarified the legal scope of the new Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA).

The statement was made in response to questions about the legal implications of sharing information related to proscribed organisations under the updated framework.

Political discourse protected under new law

The proposed legislation relies heavily on a precise legal definition of terrorism to determine offences across all its clauses.

While the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remains a banned group within Sri Lanka, the minister noted that expressing political views remains distinct from terrorist acts.

Illustrating the government position, he explained that if a newly formed group calls for self-determination or federalism, such demands are treated strictly as political opinions.

The draft law safeguards the right to express views, criticism, beliefs, and opposition as part of legitimate political debate.

Holding or voicing these political positions by any party, outside specific existing regulations on the LTTE, will not constitute terrorism, he said.

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.

School sports are to become a core component of Sri Lanka’s school curriculum under upcoming national education reforms.

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya announced the policy shift during the closing ceremony of the 40th All Island Schools Games held at the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium on Tuesday.

She explained that the government intends to shift sports away from being treated as a secondary extracurricular option and integrate physical activity as a fundamental pillar of child development.

The strategy focuses on building physical and mental well-being alongside academic learning to cultivate diverse talents across the island.

Highlighting the importance of grass-roots infrastructure, the Prime Minister noted that many young athletes currently excel despite lacking basic training grounds and tracks at their schools.

She pointed out that past international sporting figures including Sriyani Kulawansa and Sugath Thilakaratne first demonstrated their potential at the school level.

According to the Prime Minister, engaging in sports teaches students resilience, teamwork, and how to bounce back from failure rather than focusing solely on winning medals.

The four-day national event brought together more than 3,500 young competitors from across the country, resulting in 23 new meet records.

Western Province secured the overall provincial championship title at the games.

St. Joseph Vaz College in Wennappuwa took the boys’ overall championship, while Lyceum International School in Wattala claimed the girls’ overall title.

The proposed reforms aim to ensure systematically identified sporting talent receives early support and adequate facilities to progress from school competitions to international arenas.