News

A 32-year-old man has been arrested by the Police Special Task Force (STF) while allegedly transporting more than two kilograms of ‘Kush’ cannabis in a car in the Wanaguru Mawatha area of Hokandara.

The arrest was made during a raid carried out by the STF based on information received regarding the suspected transportation of narcotics.

During the operation, STF personnel recovered more than two kilograms of ‘Kush’ cannabis allegedly in the suspect’s possession.

According to the STF, the arrested man is a resident of Kalalgoda.

Further investigations are being conducted by the authorities into the incident.

Sri Lanka has recorded 94,805 dengue cases so far this year, with 72 dengue-related deaths reported to date, according to the National Dengue Control Unit.

Dengue infections have continued to rise in recent months, with 9,469 cases reported so far in August. This follows 29,962 cases recorded in July and 21,533 cases in June.

The Western Province continues to account for the largest share of the country’s dengue burden, recording 50,167 cases, or 52.92 per cent of the total.

The Southern Province has reported 13,823 cases, while 8,624 cases have been recorded in the Central Province.

At district level, Gampaha has recorded the highest number of dengue infections, with 20,207 cases reported so far this year.

Colombo follows with 18,794 cases, while Kandy has recorded 6,913 cases. Kalutara and Galle have reported 6,117 and 6,111 cases respectively.

Meanwhile, 76 Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas across the country continue to be identified as high-risk zones for dengue.

The latest figures highlight the continued spread of dengue across several parts of the country, with the Western Province remaining the most heavily affected region.

The death toll in Nepal has now risen to 903, according to Nepal's national disaster authority, while the number missing is now at 4,200.

Source: BBC

Iran war mediators have placed renewed emphasis on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran agreeing to draw up a list ‌of conditions to restore normal traffic after a Qatari emissary pressed the Iranians to respect freedom of navigation.

With the U.S. having disengaged from talks in favour of an economic pressure campaign, the prime minister of Qatar met senior Iranian leaders in Tehran on Thursday, stressing the importance of returning to the pre-war status of open shipping through an international waterway.

Qatar, a U.S. ally ​and Gulf neighbour of Iran, and Pakistan helped broker a memorandum of understanding in June that led to a ceasefire and set terms for shipping ​in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow stretch between Iran and Oman that before the war was the conduit for ⁠20% of the world's oil supply.

After the U.S. and Israel launched the war six months ago, Iran threatened to strike any vessel transiting the strait without its ​authorization, driving down traffic and sending up the price of oil, providing Iran with leverage in the bargain.

In his mission to Tehran on Thursday, Qatari Prime Minister ​and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on X that he underscored to senior Iranian officials "the importance of respecting freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law."

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, later said Iran was preparing a list of conditions for reopening the strait after mediators asked Tehran to set them ​out.

Speaking through an interpreter in an Al Manar TV interview, Rezaei said Iran had agreed with Oman on a shipping corridor through the strait, with parts ​of the route in Omani waters and parts in Iranian waters. Ships would use a designated central channel if the U.S. met Iran's conditions, he said.

In the past Iran's conditions have ‌included an ⁠end to the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, compensation and removal of sanctions. It remained unclear whether Iran intended to amend those demands in a way that might be acceptable to the Americans.

Tehran and Washington have exchanged little more than bellicose statements in recent weeks, leaving the diplomacy to third parties.

So far Iran has insisted on returning to the June memorandum of understanding that established a ceasefire within a 60-day window for negotiations. But that deal quickly fell apart over differing interpretations ​of Iran's authority over shipping arrangements, and ​Trump declared the MOU was "over" three ⁠weeks after it was signed.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that Iran and Oman had agreed in principle on administering traffic in the strait and sharing revenues, but a senior Iranian source later said the two countries were still working on the details ​of an agreement.

Meanwhile, U.S. military commanders say American forces have cleared sea mines from the strait that had been laid ​months ago by ⁠Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Bottom line: today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building," Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. military's Central Command, said in a video message posted on social media.

U.S. forces have in recent months helped 1,500 commercial vessels carrying nearly 750 million barrels of crude oil to transit the strait, Cooper said.

Trump ⁠has repeatedly ​said the strait was open, but many vessels have opted against sailing through it because of Iranian ​threats, and ship tracking services have estimated activity at roughly 5% to 15% of normal volumes.

The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization has reported 70 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of ​the war that have killed 19 seafarers.

Source: Reuters

The government's rushed attempt to pass the 22nd Constitutional Amendment Bill extending judicial retirement ages has sparked a deep national crisis and triggered serious legal challenges.

National People's Power (NPP) leadership council member and convenor of the 'Lawyers for Democracy', senior attorney Lal Wijenayake made these observations in a special statement following the filing of several Supreme Court petitions against the proposed legislation.

Challenging the bill in the apex court, the petitioners requested a ruling that mandatory approval via a public referendum is required before any such constitutional amendment can be enacted.

Wijenayake asserted that maintaining unchanged terms of service, including retirement limits, throughout a judge's tenure remains a foundational pillar for safeguarding judicial independence.

He stressed that compromising this principle deals a heavy blow to democratic structures, fundamental freedoms, and human rights.

Rejection of the government's official claim that the extension would accelerate court cases was central to his argument, as he described the rationale as false and warned that the move actively obstructs judicial functions.

He also noted that the public rights protected by courts are hard-won democratic victories rather than executive concessions, adding that framing the controversy as a standard party-political squabble misleads citizens who are ultimately fighting to preserve a civilised society for future generations.

A 59-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband following an attack with a sharp weapon inside a forest reserve in the Korakahawewa area of Anuradhapura this morning (28), police said.

According to police, the man had travelled to the location with his wife on a motorcycle before allegedly attacking her with the weapon.

The woman, a mother of three from the Ulukkulam area, died at the scene as a result of the attack.

The husband also sustained serious injuries after allegedly attempting to take his own life using the same weapon. He was subsequently admitted to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Police suspect that a personal dispute may have led to the incident.

Anuradhapura Police are conducting further investigations into the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa challenged the government to immediately conduct the long-delayed Provincial Council elections to test its true level of public support.

Speaking at a farmers gathering in Tissamaharama on Saturday, the Opposition Leader raised concerns over rising living costs, judicial interference, and economic mismanagement.

Focusing heavily on economic hardships, Premadasa condemned the recent price hike of Rs. 17 per kilogram of wheat flour, warning that the increase would drive up the cost of essential bakery goods and further strain household budgets nationwide.

Citing international data, he noted that Sri Lanka ranked 120th out of 130 countries in global minimum wage comparisons, demonstrating that local earnings remain grossly inadequate against rising expenses.

He questioned official poverty metrics from the Department of Census and Statistics, asking how any individual could reasonably survive on Rs. 17,315 a month when an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the national population now lives in poverty.

Moving to constitutional concerns, he accused the administration of trying to erode judicial independence through the proposed 22nd Amendment, which aims to extend the retirement age of superior court judges.

He urged the government to replace its current economic approach with comprehensive policies targeting agriculture, healthcare, foreign direct investment, and a strategic overhaul of national tourism.

The Opposition Leader warned that without structural relief measures, deteriorating living standards and democratic backsliding risk triggering severe national instability as the country awaits a government response on electoral timelines and economic policy reform.

Nepal is monitoring two lakes upstream of the flood ​zone where hundreds died on Wednesday, an official with ‌Nepal's Disaster Management Authority said.

Flood risks will remain until the two lakes have fully drained, the official added, as one of ​the two lakes began overflowing on Friday.

Satellite images showed ​the two lakes in proximity to the site ⁠where a glacier collapse was believed to have pushed ​rock, ice, mud and debris into river systems on Wednesday, ​causing flood waves that levelled houses and tore away bridges.

The formation of one of the two lakes had been captured in aerial footage ​by a Chinese rescue team on Thursday.

The footage on ​Thursday showed masses of brown water accumulating in a basin. By ‌Friday, ⁠water was draining from that lake, according to new satellite imagery.

The imagery also showed another lake upstream that appeared to be growing in size and was bigger in surface ​area than the ​first lake, ⁠without any visible outlet as of Friday morning, meaning that water pressure may still be ​building there.

Nepalese authorities are relying on satellite ​imagery to ⁠track conditions, though monitoring is limited by the availability of images, the Nepalese official said.

Nepal plans to install cameras ⁠and sensors ​downstream, including near the border ​town of Timure, and is assessing deployment options by helicopter, he said.

Source: Reuters

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva has said the 22nd Constitutional Amendment should not be carried out in a manner that favours the existing Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Dr. de Silva said the SJB was happy to support the government's actions against bribery and corruption and would extend all necessary backing.

He said Parliament had always fought against bribery and corruption and would continue to do so.

Concerns over sovereignty and judicial power

However, he said it was important to analyse whether the constitutional amendment could cause any harm to the sovereignty of the people, and whether the judicial power exercised by the people could be hindered in some way through the legislature.

He noted that lawyers would be able to argue this concern when petitions filed against the amendment come up for examination before the Supreme Court.

Dr. de Silva said that ordinary citizens needed to look beyond the legal technicalities and consider whether the judiciary was not only doing right by the common people, but whether the people themselves felt that justice was being done through its judgements.

He explained that this represented two separate arguments, one being a technical, legal argument, and the other being the argument of people who hold a strong faith in ordinary democracy.

Two ways of looking at the issue

Dr. de Silva said he viewed the matter from two angles.

He said the first argument was that those who had stolen public funds should be caught and imprisoned, even if this required changing the Constitution, and that no objection could reasonably be raised against bringing such offenders to justice.

He said the second argument was that the 22nd Amendment was a wrong move, as it was being used by the government to target the Opposition through false accusations aimed at imprisoning as many Opposition members as possible, in order to weaken the challenges the government would otherwise face at an upcoming election.

Dr. de Silva stated that both these arguments were, at their core, political in nature.

Nepal does not need help from other countries to conduct search and rescue operations after a devastating flash flood wrecked towns, its foreign ministry said on Friday (Aug 28).

"The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search and rescue operation. For now we don’t require such help,” Lok Bahadur Chhetri, spokesperson for the foreign ministry said on Friday.

This comes as Nepal's government has received both official and unofficial requests from countries and organisations to deploy their own search and rescue teams, said a senior foreign ministry official, as reported by The Kathmandu Post.

The Nepali newspaper added that the government has responded by saying that Nepal's own security agencies are capable of handling the operation.

Instead, the newspaper reported that Nepal wants cash contributions through a one-door mechanism, where financial aid will be collected through a single designated government channel. 

The foreign ministry has instructed its overseas missions to seek financial support only through the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund.

Officials said the government will seek additional financial aid and other support during the reconstruction phase, reported The Kathmandu Post, adding that some countries such as the US and the UK have already offered financial assistance.

Among those who have requested to send their own search and rescue teams are officials from India, China, US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

South Korea's foreign ministry said it will "keep negotiating with Nepal over the matter".

Seoul has pledged US$1 million in humanitarian assistance through international organisations, its foreign minister said on X.

Nine South Koreans working in a hydropower plant were missing and 10 were stranded, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

According to The Kathmandu Post, the official said that the government's decision is based on its experience in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, when an influx of foreign search and rescue teams had caused significant coordination and management issues.

The decision was also made on the recommendation of the Nepali Army and police.

Meanwhile, Nepal's foreign affairs ministry has set up an emergency response team (ERT) to assist foreigners affected by the floods, which occurred in the Rasuwa district.

"The ERT shall serve as the central coordinating body within the Ministry to facilitate search, rescue, information verification and consular assistance in respect of foreign nationals affected by, missing in, or otherwise connected to the flood incident," read a statement on the ministry's website.

The death toll in Nepal reached 469 on Friday, with almost 1,000 more missing there and in neighbouring Tibet, near where a glacier collapse on Wednesday morning sent a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris cascading through Himalayan mountain river systems.

The flood ripped through villages and valleys, destroying power stations, roads and bridges along a route that links Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet and is popular with trekkers and pilgrims. Of those missing, at least 540 are foreigners.

The foreigners out of contact include citizens from Australia, Britain, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa and South Korea, Nepal's tourism board said.

Source: CNA

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stated that a few months ago, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) held a discussion on behalf of 150,000 development officers and 14,008 economic development officers who perform a vital role in the public sector, presenting their grievances to the nation.

He noted that although the government brought both groups to the Sahas Uyana in Kandy right after those issues were raised and publicly promised to fulfill their demands, the government has failed to implement the service constitutions expected by both groups.

The Opposition Leader made these remarks today at the Opposition Leader's Office during a meeting with the Government Development Officers' Union to discuss the challenges faced by development officers and economic development officers.

The Opposition Leader said NPP MP Chandana Sooriyaarachchi, who mobilised these two groups during past elections, lied to both sides, triggering accusations that parliamentarians deceived them.

He said that although other MPs representing these professionals sit in the current government, the administration remains unable to provide their required service constitutions.

The Opposition Leader stated that all the government has done is change the designation of economic development officers to community development officers.

Although ministers promised to introduce a separate bill in March for those now termed community development officers, that legislation has not been presented. He highlighted that while numerous promises were made to secure votes, the government has forgotten its pledges and continues to mislead these workers.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa added that even if the government forgets these public servants, the SJB will stand up for their rights both inside and outside parliament.