The BBC has identified several social media pages linked to operators in Sri Lanka and other countries that were allegedly involved in creating and amplifying AI-generated anti-immigration content targeting UK audiences.

According to the investigation by BBC Panorama and the Top Comment podcast, one of the main pages identified was “Great British People”, which claimed to be based in Yorkshire but was found to be operated by an individual in Sri Lanka.

Another page named “Britain Today”, which shared AI-generated protest and anti-migrant content, was also identified through Meta transparency tools as being based in Sri Lanka, according to the report.

The pages published AI-generated videos portraying a dystopian vision of Britain, including false scenes depicting Sharia law in Parliament, future UK cities in decline, and anti-immigration narratives designed to drive engagement.

The BBC said several interconnected accounts from Sri Lanka, the US, Vietnam, the Maldives and elsewhere were involved in promoting similar content, with some creators admitting they posted material to increase engagement and generate revenue.

The report noted that while some operators appeared motivated by clicks and monetisation, experts warned such content could also contribute to wider influence campaigns and misinformation efforts. (Newswire)

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Preliminary investigations have already commenced into alleged irregularities surrounding coal imports and electricity generation from 2009 to April 16, 2026, the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry announced. 

Issuing a statement, the Commission said that Police officers assigned to the Commission have begun initial inquiries at its newly established office at the Magistrates’ Court Complex, Court Square, Colombo 12.

The Commission was appointed to examine suspected unlawful activities linked to coal imports, power generation, and related operations over the past 17 years.

In a public notice published on April 30, the Commission called on individuals and institutions to provide any information they may have regarding the matter. 

Submissions are requested to be made on or before May 22, 2026. (Newswire)

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China’s military leadership is in turmoil after its most senior general – a close ally of Xi Jinping – was placed under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”.

Zhang Youxia is the joint vice-chairperson of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Second only to Xi in the military command structure, Zhang has long been seen as the Chinese president’s closest military ally.

The defence ministry announced on Saturday that Zhang and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC’s joint staff department, were under investigation.

An editorial published in the army newspaper Liberation Army Daily on Sunday said that Zhang and Liu “seriously betrayed the trust and expectations” of the Communist party and the CMC, and “fostered political and corruption problems that undermined the party’s absolute leadership over the military and threatened the party’s ruling foundation”.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Zhang was accused of leaking information about the country’s nuclear weapons programme to the US and accepting bribes for official acts, including the promotion of an officer to defence minister, citing people familiar with a high-level briefing on the allegations.

The Guardian was unable to independently verify the reports.

Zhang is also a member of the elite politburo of the ruling Communist party and is one of just a few leading officers with combat experience. Aged 75, Zhang was retained in the military leadership by Xi past the normal age of retirement, indicating a high level of trust in the general that he has now purged.

The military was one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012. That drive reached the upper echelons of the PLA in 2023 when the elite Rocket Force was targeted.

The scalping of a figure as senior as Zhang in Xi’s anti-graft campaign raises questions about the stability of China’s military leadership at a moment when it is under scrutiny from western observers about its readiness and willingness to launch an assault on Taiwan, which could bring it into conflict with the US in the Indo-Pacific.

Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia programme at Defense Priorities, a foreign policy thinktank, said the purge “raises larger issues about political stability in a rising, nuclear superpower”.

“It could be seen by many as reflecting poor judgment about some of [Xi’s] prior appointments,” Goldstein said.

Of the seven men appointed to the CMC at the 20th party congress in 2022, only two remain untouched by anti-corruption investigations: Xi himself, and Zhang Shengmin, the CMC’s anti-graft officer.

The co-vice chair of the CMC, He Weidong, was expelled from the party and PLA in October last year for corruption.

Foreign diplomats and security analysts are watching developments closely, given Zhang’s closeness to Xi and the importance of the commission’s work in terms of command as well as the PLA’s ongoing military modernisation and posture.

While China has not fought a war in decades, it is taking an increasingly muscular line in the disputed East China Sea and South China Sea, as well as over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which is claimed by China. Beijing staged the largest military exercises to date around Taiwan late last year.

The Singapore-based China security scholar James Char said the military’s daily operations could carry on as normal despite the purges.

“China’s military modernisers will continue to push for the two goals Xi has set for the PLA – namely, 2035 to basically complete its modernisation and 2049 to become a world-class armed forces,” said Char, a scholar at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Eight top generals were expelled from the Communist party on graft charges in October 2025, including He Weidong. Two former defence ministers were also purged from the ruling party in recent years for corruption. The crackdown is slowing procurement of advanced weaponry and hitting the revenues of some of China’s biggest defence firms.

Born in Beijing, Zhang joined the army in 1968, rising through the ranks and joining the CMC in late 2012 as the PLA’s modernisation drive gathered pace.

He fought in Vietnam in a brief but bloody border war in 1979 that China launched in punishment for Vietnam invading Cambodia the previous year and ousting the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge.

Zhang was sent to the frontlines to fight the Vietnamese and was quickly promoted, according to state media. He also fought in another border clash with Vietnam in 1984 as the conflict rumbled on.

“During the battle, whether attacking or defending, Zhang Youxia performed excellently,” the official China Youth Daily wrote in a 2017 piece entitled These Chinese generals have killed the enemy on the battlefield.

Some China scholars have noted that Zhang emerged from the conflict an avowed moderniser in terms of military tactics, weapons and the need for a better trained force. (The Guardian)

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A special investigation has been launched into a group of senior police officers accused of intervening to release suspects arrested with narcotics, it was reported.

According to the state newspaper Silumina, among them are a Senior Deputy Inspector General and four senior police superintendents. 

The report states that police officers themselves provided information about their actions to the Police Special Investigation Unit.

Acting on the instructions of Inspector General Priyantha Weerasooriya, the Special Investigation Unit under his command has already begun preliminary inquiries.

As part of the process, statements are to be recorded from the officers who originally arrested the suspects, focusing on how the senior officials allegedly intervened to secure their release. (Newswire)

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A three-member committee has been appointed to investigate a complaint made by Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala regarding the conduct of opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara.

Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne informed Parliament today (19) that the committee was appointed to examine an incident that took place inside the chamber on September 24, 2025.

Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih has been named as the Chairman of the committee, while MP Upali Pannilage and MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara have been appointed as its members.

“Following the incident involving MP Dayasiri Jayasekara inside the chamber on September 24, 2025, MP Sunil Watagala submitted a complaint during the Parliamentary Business Committee meeting held on September 25. Taking that into consideration, I have appointed a three-member committee chaired by Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, with MPs Upali Pannilage and Ranjith Madduma Bandara as members, to investigate the matter and submit a report,” the Speaker announced. (Newswire)

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Deputy Minister of Lands Dr Susil Ranasinghe says measures have been taken to launch a special investigation into the lands that were distributed for various purposes from 2015 to date. 

Speaking to reporters after attending an event in Anuradhapura, the Deputy Minister said legal action will be initiated following the completion of the investigations. 

Stating that lands are distributed to industries and for agriculture through the LRC, he pointed out that, however, in the recent past, there were a lot of issues related to the distribution and assigning of lands. 

“A decision was taken at the recent Cabinet meeting, to conduct probes to ascertain who has been given land by the Land Reform Commission since 2015, for what projects, and under what criteria. It was decided to suspend land allocations through the LRC until the investigations are conducted,” he said. 

Deputy Minister Susil Ranasinghe said the investigations will be carried out promptly to determine to whom the land has been allocated and whether any corruption or irregularities have occurred. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry is to conduct an immediate investigation at the provincial and district level to seek out unregistered doctors and medical centres operating across the country. 

It is reported that the ministry has taken this decision based on several complaints received regarding fake doctors and illegal medical centres in the nation.

Sri Lanka requires all doctors to register with the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), while private medical institutions are required to be registered at the provincial level. 

On the directive of the Health Ministry, provincial and district-level authorities have been ordered to initiate an immediate investigation into the matter.

They have also been instructed to initiate strict legal action against all unregistered doctors and unregistered private medical institutions in the country.

The Health Ministry has also requested the public to provide information on unqualified doctors and unregistered medical centres. (NewsWire)

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The Tourist Police in Galle has launched an investigation into an incident where the driver of an app-based taxi service had been verbally abused by a group of local three-wheeler drivers for transporting foreign tourists.

According to video footage recorded by two foreign tourists in the three-wheeler, the driver was seen being verbally abused and warned not to transport tourists in the area.

The incident is reported to have taken place yesterday (07), while the Tourist Police are reported to have launched an investigation after video footage of the incident had been shared on social media. 

The Tourist Police Division reported that no formal complaint has been filed on the incident as yet, but investigations have been launched as it involved foreign tourists. 

Several social media users have slammed the local three-wheeler drivers over their behaviour, pointing out that the local three-wheeler mafia can severely affect tourism.

Some have pointed out that the behaviour of local three-wheeler drivers can be detrimental, resulting in the harassment of foreign tourists and that they must be severely dealt with. (NewsWire)

PickMe driver being harassed in Galle pic.twitter.com/pBKHI0vBFo

— Ajit Gunewardene (@AjitGunewardene) February 7, 2023

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