The Catholic Church has welcomed the court verdict against those convicted in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, but says the judgment should not be considered the end of efforts to uncover the full circumstances behind the bombings.

Speaking to reporters, Director of Mass Communications for the Archdiocese of Colombo, Rev. Fr. Jude Krishantha Fernando, said the Church was satisfied that a verdict had been delivered after victims and their families had waited for years for justice. 

He said the judgment would also send a strong message against religious extremism, stressing that religion should never be distorted to justify violence.

However, Fr. Krishantha said those convicted represented only one part of the case and called for investigations to continue into whether others were involved in facilitating the attacks or allowing them to take place.

He alleged that intelligence and security officials had sufficient information to prevent the attacks but failed to act, and called for investigators to establish whether there was any wider involvement or motive behind that failure. 

Previous official inquiries have examined the handling of advanced intelligence, while the Supreme Court has also ruled on fundamental rights petitions concerning failures by senior officials. 

Fr. Krishantha also called for further legal action, where supported by evidence, against individuals identified in previous investigations and commission recommendations, saying the Church would consider the justice process complete only after all those responsible for the attacks and any related failures were properly investigated.

The Church has consistently called for investigations to identify whether there were additional individuals behind the attacks and for those responsible to be prosecuted. (Newswire)

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Police have warned that passengers travelling on expressways without an available seat belt could face legal action.

Deputy Inspector General of Police W.P.J. Senadheera, who is in charge of the Police Traffic Management and Road Safety Division, said vehicles using expressways should carry passengers according to the number of seats equipped with seat belts.

He said that if the rear seat has only two seat belts, only two passengers should travel there.

Senadheera added that if a third passenger travels in the middle without a seat belt, police will take legal action against that passenger. (Newswire)

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Three Thai women have been arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake in two separate operations involving more than 7 kg of suspected narcotics.

According to police, officers attached to the Police Narcotics Bureau’s airport unit arrested a 38-year-old Thai woman who arrived from Bangkok in the early hours of September 20.

She was allegedly found in possession of 3 kg and 220 g of kush and 1 kg and 852 g of hashish.

In a separate operation at the airport’s arrival terminal, officers arrested two other Thai women, aged 31 and 36, who had arrived on a flight from Bangkok.

Police said one woman was allegedly carrying 1 kg and 994 g of kush and 620 g of hashish, while the other was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting the offence.

The two operations resulted in the seizure of a total of 7 kg and 686 g of suspected narcotics.

The Police Narcotics Bureau is conducting further investigations. (Newswire)

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BYD is recalling 32,009 of its Shark 6 PHEV ute because a fault means the spare wheel could detach. The issue affects all three variants of the model: the Premium, Performance and Dynamic Cab Chassis.

“For involved vehicles, BYD has identified that in certain circumstances incorrect installation of the spare wheel, incorrect positioning of the spare wheel tray or insufficient fastening torque may cause abnormal wear of the spare wheel support cable,” the brand said in a statement.

“Continued movement and friction during vehicle operation may cause the cable to fail, resulting in spare wheel detachment. This may create a hazard to other road users and potentially cause serious injury or death.”

The recall applies to vehicles made from August 2024 to June this year, and affects 28,543 examples of the Shark 6 Premium, 2100 of the Performance and 1366 of the Dynamic Cab Chassis. BYD is advising owners to remove their spare wheel until vehicles can be repaired.

Shark 6 owners can visit BYD’s Vehicle Recall Information page here and enter their vehicle identification number to find out whether their ute has been caught up in the recall. If it is, BYD will fix the issue free of charge by replacing the assembly.

The Shark 6 was a smash hit in Australia when it arrived in October 2024. BYD sold almost 5000 of them in the first three months of 2025, but the end of the fringe benefits tax exemption for plug-in hybrids saw numbers drop off.

In June, BYD Australia chief operating officer Stephen Collins said the brand is hoping to “get back to at least 1500 units a month” with an uplift coming courtesy of the cab-chassis version and top-spec 3500kg towing option. (WhichCar )

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Sri Lankan-born politician Kamzy Gunaratnam has been appointed Norway’s new Minister of Transport, marking another milestone in her political journey from Jaffna to the Norwegian Cabinet.

The Norwegian government officially appointed Gunaratnam to the post on September 11, replacing Jon-Ivar Nygård. As Transport Minister, she is responsible for policies relating to the transport of people and goods, as well as postal services.

Born Khamshajiny Gunaratnam in Sri Lanka in 1988, she moved to Norway with her family as a young child and later became active in Norwegian politics through the Labour Party.

Gunaratnam entered the Oslo City Council in 2007 at the age of 19 and went on to serve as Oslo’s deputy mayor from 2015 to 2021. She was elected to Norway’s Parliament, the Storting, in 2021 and was re-elected for the 2025-2029 term.

She is also a survivor of the 2011 Utøya massacre, when a gunman attacked a Labour Party youth camp.

Gunaratnam has continued to maintain an interest in developments in Sri Lanka during her political career in Norway.

In February 2026, she raised Sri Lanka’s human rights situation during a debate in the Norwegian Parliament, recalling that she was born in war-torn Sri Lanka in 1988.

She also specifically referred to the discovery of human remains at Chemmani in Jaffna and raised concerns over unresolved questions surrounding people who disappeared during the conflict. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka was the only country where public perceptions of the United Nations improved among 37 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center, according to its latest Global Attitudes Survey.

About two-thirds of Sri Lankans, 66%, now have a favorable opinion of the UN, up from 58% when Pew last surveyed the country in 2024.

The eight-percentage-point increase stands out against a broader trend of declining or largely unchanged perceptions of the UN across the countries surveyed.

Pew said favorable views of the UN had declined significantly in 10 countries since it last asked the question. Nigeria recorded one of the sharpest declines, falling from 80% in 2025 to 63% in 2026, while favorable views in the Philippines dropped by 16 percentage points from 2024.

Across all 37 countries surveyed, a median of 55% of adults expressed a favorable opinion of the UN, while 37% viewed the organization unfavorably.

The survey also found a significant generational divide in Sri Lanka. Younger Sri Lankans were more likely to view the UN positively than older adults, with an 18-percentage-point difference between the youngest and oldest age groups measured.

Similar age differences were recorded in a number of other countries, with Pew noting that younger adults generally tend to hold more positive views of the UN.

Globally, perceptions varied considerably. The UN was viewed more favorably than unfavorably across most of the Asia-Pacific countries surveyed, while Israel recorded the most negative assessment, with 79% expressing an unfavorable opinion.

The findings are based on Pew Research Center’s Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey and were released ahead of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, which opened on Sept. 8. (Newswire)

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By Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa

In early 2025, Sri Lanka Police launched eTraffic under the government’s ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ programme. It skipped Google’s Play Store entirely, required sideloading from a Vercel website, sought background location, camera and storage access, and carried a tragi-comically weak privacy policy. That same week, hackers had seized the Police’s own social media accounts. I critiqued it on launch day. Two days later, when confronted with questions posed by journalists who had read my article, the then Police Media Spokesman insisted there was “only a connection through an account”, revealing how little to nothing the institution understood about data security, and the right to privacy.

News reports now indicate the Police launched the eponymous ‘Sri Lanka Police’, built by Vampior Designs (Private) Limited, with an SOS button, reporting to specialised units, and a chatbot.

I examined version 1.0.11, the Google Play release, using a copy of the installation file (i.e., the APK) whose digital signature confirms it as Google’s own build. Though I did not install or run the app, I deconstructed it, and read what it contains – permissions, web addresses, labels buried in its code, certificates etc, and also checked where its servers sit. I then compared the findings with the app’s Google Play data safety declaration and the developer’s own privacy policy.

For starters, this app is far better built than eTraffic, and carries no advertising, analytics or social media trackers, encrypts everything in transit, locks login credentials in the phone’s secure storage, offers a fingerprint lock, and detects tampered phones and faked GPS to deter hoax alerts.

Nothing in the app’s code suggests it reads SMS messages, contacts or call logs, captures the screen, or listens in the background. Generally competent coding, however, is not the end of it.

Sri Lanka’s Police have given citizens no reason to trust them offline or online with anything, and especially personally identifiable information (PII) like NIC details. Independent scrutiny of apps launched by Police only ever occur after their public release, which is to get things completely backwards. E-government, and digitalisation should not ask citizens to blindly accept or install official apps especially given decades-old, significant, and enduring trust deficits in large sections of our society around anything to do with the state’s involvement in personal lives, and information.

This app, albeit to a somewhat lesser degree than the one in 2025, is a case study in the general lack of any rights respecting guardrails, and compliance testing in what the government rolls-out – which is a significant, and growing issue I’ve written about at length.

As flagged in some news reports, registration for this app asks for your national identity card (NIC) number and photographs of both sides of the card. Foreign nationals hand over passport numbers and photos. Children without an NIC register through a parent or guardian, whose NIC number and card photos the app also takes. The code includes a feature that detects NIC details in photos. An SOS alert feature can add voice recordings, photographs and a GPS trail. Vampior’s privacy policy names none of this, listing name, email and phone number before relying on a catch-all for “other information that you voluntarily provide”. There is nothing voluntary about a registration screen that will not proceed without submitting both sides of one’s NIC. The Play Store declaration lists name, address, phone number, and approximate location. No mention of identity numbers, document images, voice recordings or precise location (when activated, which is thus a feature in the app).

Tellingly, PII submitted through the app, as well as SOS location streams, complaints and chatbot conversations do not travel to police.lk but to appv2.vampior.com, the developer’s own domain, sitting behind Cloudflare, a US company routing traffic through servers worldwide. There may be good reasons for this, but there’s zero documentation around where the data ends up, why those choices were made, or whether it stays in Sri Lanka. Google handles all the notifications, maps and embedded videos. Yet the app promises that Police “will not share your location or any details with third parties”, which is, prima facie, a claim its own architecture contradicts. Google lets developers exclude service providers when declaring sharing, so the Play Store’s “no data shared” label isn’t very helpful. At launch, Police mentioned only an unnamed private partner, leaving it to our imagination as to who this could be.

The SOS button is, in practice, a live tracker, since pressing and holding it sends precise GPS coordinates to the server every two seconds while the alert stays active, including with the screen off, which background location access permits. This obviously has its uses, and is only activated on-demand. That said, the privacy policy and in-app notice speak only of location-based features and location during SOS. Neither tells users that SOS means continuous tracking, feeding a server that also keeps an SOS history. What may save a life will likely generate official plaudits, but from a rights, and privacy-first perspective, citizens deserve to know how long the server keeps their movement records.

The ‘Interactive AI Police Assistant’ chatbot is also rather problematic. The About screen describes it as: “Smart conversational bot offering instant legal guidance, complaint tracking, and station locations.” The app promotes it as offering instant legal guidance, complaint tracking and station locations, yet the app itself contains no AI code. Every message, along with the conversation so far, goes to the developer’s own servers at appv2.vampior.com. When you are logged in to the app, each request carries tokens that tie the chat to your NIC-based account. The app does not reveal what AI model is used for inference (i.e., to answer queries). It could be a developer hosted AI model or relay content, and commentary to a foreign AI company such as OpenAI or a Chinese variant in mainland China. Users simply have no idea, and given how the chatbot is presented, including for ‘legal guidance’ (which I didn’t test), this is potentially a nightmare for end-user privacy. To wit, the respective privacy policies do not mention chatbot transcripts, and nothing discloses how long Vampior keeps them or how anyone can delete them.

The app stores a registered user’s actual password on the phone, albeit in encrypted form. Bizarrely, however, there’s leftover developer logging left in the app (which is very sloppy) that writes registration details, and one-time passcode responses into system logs that diagnostic reports or rooted handsets have a very high likelihood of exposing. In other words, the PII stored on the phone isn’t as secure as it should be. Vampior’s verified servers can also potentially block access, force updates (which may introduce new features, and substantially change the way the app works), and restrict SOS to certain areas. Who potentially decides which parts of the country get an SOS button, and why is this an architectural consideration?

Whether any of this is lawful can be established by mapping the app’s features, and failings against Gazette of 22 July 2026, which brings sections 2 and 3, and Parts I and III, of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) by 1 January 2027 (Part II’s rights and Part VII’s penalties still await an implementation date, which is its own story). From January, Schedule V obliges controllers to tell people who the controller is, what data they collect, who receives it, whether it leaves the country and how long they keep it. The app and its policies fall way short on each count. Nobody can say whether Police, Vampior or both act as controller, which leaves duty, disclosure and redress unattached to anyone. Section 7 demands proportionate collection, yet registration takes an NIC number and both sides of the card. Children’s data, and photographs that may reveal ethnicity, fall into special categories under Schedule II’s stricter conditions. Section 20 requires a government department to publish a Data Protection Officer’s contact details. I found none. The 2022 text kept public authorities’ data in Sri Lanka by default, though the 2025 amendment scrapped it, barring transfers abroad only for categories the Minister prescribes. Other transfers need compliance with the Act’s core duties or an exception such as informed, explicit consent, but the Police app’s silence on server location(s) makes neither verifiable. On current evidence, at the time of writing, the ‘Sri Lanka Police’ app would emphatically not meet the PDPA’s transparency, minimisation and accountability requirements on 1 January 2027 – which in turn suggests the Police have no clue about compliance, why it is not something optional even today or how it can be engineered in their digitalised service delivery.

None of this inspires any confidence in precisely what’s sorely lacking in Sri Lanka, and the Police rightly seek to establish – a general public that trusts the institution, and uses what it puts out to strengthen public safety, and security. Beyond any one app, the greater tragedy may well be in the near impossibility to find anyone within the institution who appreciates this fully.

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Sri Lanka has exported its first locally manufactured amphibious craft capable of operating on both land and water to Europe, marking a milestone for the country’s marine manufacturing industry.

The craft, manufactured by Ocean Voyager International, was officially sent for export at an event held at the Koggala Free Trade Zone on Thursday (10), attended by Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Sunil Handunnetti.

According to the Industries Ministry, the high-tech amphibious craft is the first of its kind manufactured in Sri Lanka for export to the European market.

Speaking at the event, Minister Handunnetti said developing a domestic production-based economy was a key priority of the government.

He said Sri Lanka’s location along major international shipping routes provided significant opportunities to develop the boat and shipbuilding industry as a major source of foreign exchange.

The minister said the government would provide necessary facilities and support to strengthen the sector, with the aim of developing Sri Lanka into a regional marine manufacturing hub by leveraging the expertise of local engineers and workers.

SLYG Group Chairman Pierre Pringiers, National Enterprise Development Authority Chairman Lakshman Obeysekera, company representatives and Board of Investment officials were also present at the event. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka’s urban transport modernization drive took another step forward yesterday (09) with the opening of the third Metro Bus depot at Ja‑Ela, Ekala.

The new facility, built to support the Metro Bus service aimed at improving efficiency in public transport, was inaugurated under the leadership of Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena, with the participation of Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Anil Jayantha.

According to the Transport Ministry, with the commencement of operations and administrative services at the Ekala depot, 20 new Metro buses are scheduled to be deployed.

The Metro Bus route from Ekala in Gampaha District to Thalawathugoda in Colombo District spans 29.9 km and includes 21 stops, enabling passengers to board at key points such as Thalawathugoda, Battaramulla Junction, Sethsiripaya, Rajagiriya, Borella, Dematagoda, Peliyagoda, Wattala, Ja‑Ela, CTB Junction and Ekala.

Initially launched as a pilot project on two routes, the Metro Bus service has now expanded with five additional routes.

From September, the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, the Sri Lanka Transport Board, and Lanka Metro Transit (Pvt) Ltd will jointly operate services across all seven routes. (Newswire)

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Private-sector employees in Sri Lanka will be able to obtain railway season tickets online from October 1, under a new initiative announced by the Sri Lanka Railways.

The facility, previously available to public-sector employees, will be extended to private-sector employees who use trains for their daily commute.

Passengers will be able to apply for and obtain monthly season tickets through the Railways’ online reservation platform, seatreservation.railway.gov.lk.

The initiative was officially launched on Tuesday under the patronage of Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, with the participation of Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne.

Under the previous system, passengers seeking monthly season tickets were required to first obtain a railway identity card by submitting an application, photograph, proof of residence and a copy of their National Identity Card. The service was also available only during specified hours and within a limited period each month.

Under the new system, passengers will be able to complete the season-ticket process online from home after their identity and user account have been verified.

Account verification can be completed at railway stations offering seat-reservation facilities.

The project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, Ministry of Digital Economy, Sri Lanka Railways and SLT-Mobitel as part of the broader programme to digitalise railway services. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) will be strengthened with the addition of 600 new air‑conditioned buses to be imported by the end of this year, while a further 200 buses will be purchased using SLTB funds, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake said. 

Speaking at the official commencement of operations at the Kadawatha Metro Depot yesterday (07), the Minister also revealed that the Metro Bus Service fleet will rise to 122 buses this month, with Cabinet approval sought to buy another 50. 

The minister further revealed that by year‑end or early next year, the Metro fleet is expected to expand to 172 buses.

He noted that the Metro Bus Service will be extended beyond the Western Province to Galle, Kandy, and Jaffna, and that opportunities will be opened for the private sector to operate services in collaboration with the Metro institution.

Under the modernization program for urban transport, infrastructure development for the Metro Bus Service is being carried out jointly by the Transport Ministry, the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, the Sri Lanka Transport Board, and the Lanka Metro Transit (Private) Company.

The first Metro depot was handed over to the public on September 4 in Battaramulla, Talangama, while four new depots are planned in Talangama, Kadawatha, Ekala, and Ratmalana.

Currently, Metro operations run under Route No. 01, from Makumbura to Kadawatha via Maharagama, with 15 new buses deployed. 

Plans are also in place to improve integration with other transport services through upgraded bus stops, integrated payment systems, depot facilities, and parking areas. (Newswire)

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has outlined a series of measures aimed at accelerating Sri Lanka’s digital transformation, including plans to make around 80% of government services accessible from home through mobile phones.

Addressing a public meeting in Bulathsinhala, the President said Rs. 30 billion would be allocated in next year’s Budget for digitalisation, while the government also plans to expand nationwide 4G coverage.

Here are seven key updates announced by the President:

1. Rs. 30 billion for digitalisation

The government will allocate Rs. 30 billion in next year’s Budget specifically for the country’s digitalisation programme.

2. 80% of government services accessible from home

The President said the digitalisation drive would enable citizens to access around 80% of government services from home using their mobile phones, significantly reducing the need to physically visit government offices.

3. Birth and death certificates online

Under the planned system, services relating to birth and death certificates will be available digitally, allowing people to carry out the relevant transactions from home.

4. Land deed services to go digital

Transactions involving land deeds are also among the government services the President said would become digitally accessible from home.

5. Revenue licence services online

Vehicle revenue licence-related transactions are also expected to be available digitally as part of the wider transformation of government services.

6. 1,000 new 4G towers

The government plans to construct 1,000 new 4G towers over the next three years, with the aim of completing 4G signal coverage throughout Sri Lanka.

7. 250 towers to be completed next year

Of the planned 1,000 towers, 250 are expected to be completed next year, marking the first major phase of the nationwide connectivity expansion.

The President presented the digitalisation programme as part of a broader series of infrastructure and development initiatives planned by the government, which also include new expressways, railway electrification and other major public investments. (Newswire)

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Abeysinghe took part in the “Beyond Boundaries” Inclusive Cricket Event organized by the Sri Lanka Council for the Blind in Kotte, accompanied by his two daughters.

“Cricket is a beautiful game, and it should be for all,” he said, noting that cricket is one of Sri Lanka’s most loved sports and questioning how persons with disabilities could be left behind.

Describing his first-hand experience of blind cricket, Abeysinghe said its basic rules are largely similar to conventional cricket, although players use different techniques and specially adapted equipment.

The ball is made of hard plastic and produces a sound that allows players to track its movement, while steel wickets create an audible noise when struck. Bowling is performed underarm.

He explained that blind cricket players are classified into three categories: B1 for players who are completely blind, B2 for those with very limited vision and B3 for those with a higher degree of vision but limited visual clarity.

According to Abeysinghe, an 11-member team consists of three B1, four B2 and four B3 players. Runs scored by B1 players receive additional weighting under the rules.

However, Abeysinghe said what impressed him most was the confidence, determination and enjoyment displayed by the players.

“The level of confidence and enjoyment is beyond explanation,” he said, adding that the experience was a reminder that people with disabilities continue to push boundaries despite the challenges they face.

Abeysinghe also highlighted the role of Sri Lanka’s first visually impaired parliamentarian, Sugath Wasantha, saying he and the wider community were breaking barriers and contributing toward policy changes aimed at creating a more inclusive society.

The deputy minister said he was pleased that Kotte had been selected to host the event and described participating alongside his daughters as an opportunity to learn not only about cricket, but also about life. (Newswire)

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Former minister Johnston Fernando has been granted bail after being produced before court following his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

CIABOC arrested Fernando over allegations linked to the procurement of chairs for the Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre in Polgolla.

The commission alleges that the transaction caused a loss of approximately Rs. 7.97 million to the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau.(Newswire)

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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and MP Namal Rajapaksa’s arrest by the Bribery Commission on Friday marks at least the fourth time he has been arrested since 2016, according to a review of previous reported arrests.

Rajapaksa was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on September 4, 2026, after being questioned for more than five hours. The investigation relates to an alleged bribery incident linked to a transaction involving the acquisition of wide-body aircraft for SriLankan Airlines.

The latest arrest comes nearly nine years after his previous reported arrest.

Rajapaksa was first arrested by the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on July 11, 2016, following questioning over allegations involving Rs. 70 million provided by the Krrish Group as sponsorship for a rugby tournament.

Police alleged that the funds had been misappropriated. He was produced before the Fort Magistrate’s Court and remanded before being released on bail.

The Krrish case remains before court. The Attorney General subsequently filed indictments against Rajapaksa, and the Colombo High Court in July 2026 fixed the case for trial on November 16, while also ordering summons to be issued to two Indian witnesses. Rajapaksa remains on bail in the case.

Just over a month after his first arrest, on August 15, 2016, Rajapaksa was arrested for a second time by the FCID in a money laundering investigation linked to the purchase of shares in HelloCorp.

Investigators alleged irregularities surrounding the purchase of shares valued at approximately Rs. 125 million. He was remanded and subsequently granted bail.

Rajapaksa and the other accused were later acquitted by the Colombo High Court in November 2023 in the Gowers Corporation money laundering case connected to the HelloCorp allegations. The court ruled after the prosecution concluded its evidence that the evidence presented by prosecution witnesses could not establish the charges.

His third reported arrest came on October 10, 2017, when Hambantota Police arrested Rajapaksa along with MPs D.V. Chanaka and Prasanna Ranaweera and several others in connection with a protest in Hambantota.

The protest had been held against plans involving the Hambantota Port and Mattala International Airport, while a court order had restricted demonstrations in several areas.

That case is still ongoing. As recently as January 2026, the Hambantota Magistrate’s Court was continuing proceedings in the case, which includes allegations relating to unlawful assembly, disobedience of court orders and damage to public property.

Friday’s CIABOC arrest is therefore the fourth distinct arrest identified in a review of reported cases involving Rajapaksa.

The four arrests identified are:

• July 11, 2016 — Krrish-related Rs. 70 million case — ongoing

• August 15, 2016 — HelloCorp/Gowers Corporation money laundering case — acquitted in 2023

• October 10, 2017 — Hambantota protest case — ongoing

• September 4, 2026 — SriLankan Airlines wide-body aircraft USD 800,000 bribe

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Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has called for a fairer international cricket calendar that gives Sri Lanka and other nations more opportunities to play Test cricket, while acknowledging that the financial realities of the format remain a major challenge.

Sangakkara said concerns over the future of Test cricket extend well beyond Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and have been repeatedly discussed at International Cricket Council forums and within the wider global cricket community.

“It’s a question that is troubling all of world cricket, not just SLC,” Sangakkara said.

He noted that while the World Test Championship was introduced to give greater context to the format, the current Future Tours Programme (FTP) does not ensure that countries play an equal or minimum number of Test matches.

Sangakkara said there had previously been discussions about establishing a minimum of three Tests per series instead of two, but some countries now play only one-off Tests.

“The bottom line is, in the current context of world cricket, except for the top three or four countries, the revenue generated by Test cricket is very low,” he said.

He warned that staging Test cricket could even become financially unsustainable for some boards, pointing to countries such as Afghanistan and Ireland, which have Test status but play only a limited number of matches each year.

Sangakkara also raised concerns about the ability of specialist Test players to build sustainable careers if they receive too few opportunities and do not play other formats.

He said cricket administrators must examine how revenue from other formats could help support Test cricket while also improving the way the longest format is promoted.

Sangakkara stressed the importance of marketing Test series well in advance and building the profiles of leading Test cricketers, arguing that outstanding Test performers should be celebrated as much as stars in T20 and ODI cricket.

“We have to build stories around them,” he said, adding that Test players should be held up “even higher than a T20 star performer” when their performances warrant it.

Sangakkara also highlighted inequalities in the international calendar, noting that England and Australia maintain their traditional touring cycles while India tours other countries more frequently because of the significant commercial value generated by those series.

He said tours by commercially powerful teams could be crucial to the financial sustainability of cricket boards.

While admitting there was no simple solution, Sangakkara said action was required at national, regional and international levels to ensure countries receive sufficient Test cricket.

He said Sri Lanka should seek to influence future FTP arrangements and negotiate with other cricket boards for more Test matches.

“If we can influence the FTP to be a lot fairer, negotiate with countries for us to play a lot more Test cricket, I think Sri Lanka cricket will get stronger,” Sangakkara said.

He added that Sri Lanka must remain a strong Test side if it wants to succeed consistently across the ODI and T20 formats. (Newswire)

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Former President Maithripala Sirisena has been honoured with the title “President of the Happiest Era” at an event held at Temple Trees in Colombo.

Sirisena attended the event as the chief guest, while Indian actor Garuda Ram, known for his role in the KGF film series, was among the international guests.

The event brought together business leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals and other personalities from Sri Lanka and overseas. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector offers one of the country’s strongest opportunities for sustainable and relatively near-term investment returns, Deputy Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe says.

Abeysinghe said that while Sri Lanka has significant investment potential in trade, logistics and marine services, renewable energy, IT and BPO, tourism, advanced manufacturing, mineral-based industries and the creative economy, agriculture stands out because of the scope to rapidly improve productivity.

He said productivity levels of almost every major agricultural crop remain significantly below their potential, in some cases by more than 50%, despite approximately 3.3 million hectares of land being dedicated to agriculture.

According to the Deputy Minister, relatively simple technologies and targeted investments could significantly increase productivity, with the potential to double output in several areas.

He said the opportunity is further strengthened by growing global demand for organic, sustainably produced and fully traceable agricultural products.

Abeysinghe said a significant portion of Sri Lanka’s agricultural land could be transformed within the next three years with relatively modest investment, potentially substantially increasing both production and the market value of agricultural output.

He urged investors with surplus capital to look beyond traditional options such as bank deposits and Treasury Bills and consider opportunities created by the transformation of the agriculture sector.

The Deputy Minister pointed to Sri Lanka’s 2025 agricultural export performance as evidence of international demand. Coconut and coconut-based exports increased by around 43% to US$1.23 billion in 2025, according to Export Development Board data.

“The challenge we face today is not demand. The real challenge is production capacity, productivity and inefficiencies across the value chain,” Abeysinghe said.

He also called on exporters benefiting from strong international demand to increasingly invest in backward integration instead of depending entirely on fragmented producer networks and multiple layers of intermediaries.

Abeysinghe proposed outgrower models, farmer cooperatives, buy-back agreements and technology partnerships as mechanisms through which exporters and investors could strengthen production, quality and consistency.

The government has also been opening underutilized state plantation land and assets to local and foreign investors as part of efforts to increase productivity and attract investment into agriculture and related industries.

“Sri Lanka has the land. We have the farmers. We have the global demand,” Abeysinghe said, adding that investment, technology, organisation and stronger partnerships were now required to unlock the sector’s full potential. (Newswire)

Some people ask me what the best sector to invest in Sri Lanka right now is.

Sri Lanka undoubtedly has enormous potential across several sectors:

Trade, Logistics & Marine

Renewable Energy

Human Capital – IT & BPO

Tourism

Advanced Manufacturing

Mineral-Based Industries

Creative Economy

But above all these sectors, I believe agriculture offers one of the greatest opportunities for high, sustainable and relatively near-term returns.

The productivity of almost every major agricultural crop in Sri Lanka remains significantly below its potential often by more than 50%. At the same time, Sri Lanka has approximately 3.3 million hectares of land dedicated to agriculture.

This means that, through relatively simple technologies and targeted investments, we have the potential to significantly increase agricultural productivity potentially even doubling output in many areas.

At the same time, global demand is increasingly moving towards organic, sustainably produced and fully traceable agricultural products.

Within the next three years, a significant portion of our agricultural land can be transformed with relatively modest investment. This could substantially increase the market value of agricultural production potentially by three times or more while connecting Sri Lanka to strong and sustained global demand.

Therefore, if you have surplus capital and are looking for strong future returns, I believe we should not limit our investments only to bank deposits and Treasury Bills. We should seriously consider investing in the transformation of Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector.

Today, there is already strong international demand for Sri Lankan agricultural crops and value-added agricultural products. Agricultural exports recorded significant growth in 2025:

Coconut products: +42% – USD 1.2 billion

Fruits: +21% – USD 36 million

Vegetables: +20% – USD 50 million

Other export crops: +57% – USD 102 million

The challenge we face today is not demand.

The real challenge is production capacity, productivity and inefficiencies across the value chain.

My request to exporters is this:

At a time when you have strong global demand, this is the moment to continuously invest in backward integration.

Your future supply requirements both in terms of consistency and quality cannot continue to depend entirely on fragmented and unorganised networks of agricultural producers and layers of intermediaries.

We need to transform the agricultural value chain through models such as:

Outgrower Models

Farmer Cooperatives

Buy-Back Agreements

Technology Partnerships

Through these approaches, we can drive this transformation within the next few years.

Sri Lanka has the land.

We have the farmers.

We have the global demand.

What we need now is investment, technology, organisation and strong partnerships to unlock the full potential of Sri Lankan agriculture.

Chathuranga Abeysinghe

Deputy Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development

The post What is the Best Sector to Invest in Sri Lanka Right Now? Deputy Minister explains appeared first on Newswire.

A section of a Church Street inside the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Galle Fort has been completely closed following a collapse linked to an underground drainage system.

Residents and business owners say the collapse occurred several weeks ago and has continued to cause difficulties for those living and operating businesses in the area.

Concerns have increased as Sri Lanka’s upcoming tourist season approaches, with the road closure also inconveniencing foreign tourists visiting the historic Galle Fort.

Residents say the area around the collapse has become particularly dangerous during the prevailing rainy weather.

According to residents, several relevant state institutions have been informed of the situation. They said the Galle Municipal Council has responded and is currently carrying out work to clear an underground drain connected to the affected drainage system.

Residents and business owners have urged authorities to urgently repair the damaged section and reopen the road before the upcoming tourist season.

They warned that continued delays could cause further difficulties for businesses, residents and visitors to one of Sri Lanka’s key tourist attractions. (Newswire)

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An Australian woman has given birth to twins with entirely different biological parents after she conceived her own child naturally around the same time she was carrying an embryo for another couple.

The highly unusual case occurred in Queensland, where the 27-year-old woman had agreed to act as an altruistic surrogate for a couple unable to carry a pregnancy. An embryo belonging to the intended parents was transferred to the surrogate in April 2025.

Around the same period, however, the surrogate also conceived naturally with her husband.

An ultrasound about two weeks after the embryo transfer revealed she was carrying two babies. Subsequent genetic testing established that the girl was the biological child of the intended parents, while the boy was the biological child of the surrogate and her husband.

Both babies were delivered in November 2025. Each couple has since been raising its own biological child, with no dispute between the families over parentage.

The extraordinary circumstances nevertheless created a legal complication because Queensland’s surrogacy laws generally prevent “birth siblings” from a multiple birth being separated through different parentage orders.

The matter went before the Children’s Court of Queensland, where Judge Jodie Wooldridge ruled that the boy and girl were “gestational twins” but, given the unique circumstances, were not “birth siblings” for the purposes of the surrogacy legislation. The ruling allowed the parentage arrangements to be formally recognised.

An independent counsellor also advised the court that raising the babies separately was unlikely by itself to cause psychological harm, provided they grew up in stable and supportive families.

Both families have indicated that the children will grow up knowing each other and will be given an age-appropriate understanding of the unusual circumstances surrounding their birth. (Newswire)

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