Category: Breaking News

Kuwait Airways on Monday launched direct flights to Colombo after two years of codeshare operations.

The first flight arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake this morning and was greeted with a celebratory water cannon salute organized by Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL), followed by a traditional Kandyan dance performance organized by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).

Passengers were also presented with Ceylon Tea gift packs sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tea Board, a statement said.

Kuwait Airways now offers four weekly flights between Kuwait and Colombo.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath announced that steps are being taken to grant voting rights to Sri Lankans working abroad.

The initiative aims to ensure that the country’s large overseas workforce can actively participate in the democratic process.

Speaking at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) on Monday (27), Minister Herath revealed that the Ministry of Public Administration is collaborating closely with his ministry to implement the proposal.

“A special committee has already been appointed by the Ministry of Public Administration to provide the necessary facilities for granting voting rights to Sri Lankans abroad and to establish the required legal framework,” he said.

He further disclosed that the government is also working to introduce a contributory pension system for Sri Lankans living overseas, noting that legal procedures are currently being formulated to make the scheme operational.

Modern Ghana – The Accra Circuit Court Eight has granted bail to eleven persons accused of defrauding a Sri Lankan Member of Parliament of USD2 million under the pretext of supplying gold.

Each accused was granted bail in the sum of GH¢500,000.00 with two sureties, one of whom must justify with a landed property and submit the original title certificate to the Court’s Registry.

The accused—Abdul Rauf Adam, Alhmamoudi Saleh, Yaw Attah Antwi, Osman Suleman, Nhyiraba Dwamena Ra-III, Benzcarl Dwamena, Sanfo Mubassir, Sallah Mammoudi, Ahmed Issah, Umaru Pafadenam, and Salifu Suleman—are facing charges of conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false pretence, and attempted fraud.

Their charges were read in court, but pleas were not taken pending further investigations. They are expected to reappear on November 20, 2025.

Presenting the facts, Police Chief Inspector Jacob Kuubal said the complainants were officers of the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).

He said the accused persons operated in and around Weija SCC and were part of a syndicate defrauding individuals under the guise of selling gold.

Investigations revealed that in 2023, Saleh and his accomplices defrauded Dr Muhammed Hizbullah, a Sri Lankan MP, of USD2 million under the pretext of supplying gold. After receiving the money, they failed to deliver the gold and cut contact with the victim.

Chief Inspector Kuubal said the accused later re-established contact with Dr Hizbullah, offering to sell him 50kg of gold and signing a Memorandum of Understanding to give the transaction a semblance of legitimacy.

Following an official complaint, a National Security team arrested the suspects at Weija SCC on October 16, 2025. Two yellowish metals suspected to be gold were retrieved during the arrest.

He said tests were being conducted to determine the authenticity of the metals.

Source:Dailymirror.lk

Jaffna has been named as one of the Top 25 Best Places to Visit in the World for 2026, by global travel publication Lonely Planet.

Jaffna, known as a cultural travel destination has attracted thousands of visitors in recent years.

The selection of Jaffna once again underscores Sri Lanka’s rich cultural and historical heritage and will help authorities’ push towards establishing the country as one of the most sort after tourist destination.

Lonely Planet unveiled its top destinations and experiences for the coming year with the release of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2026.

In Lonely Planet’s new guide, the team of travel experts recommends where to go and what to do in 2026.

The book features 25 must-visit destinations and 25 essential experiences from all around the globe, illustrated with colourful photography, essays and local advice for exploring each place.

Founded in 1970, Lonely Planet is one of the world’s most trusted travel media brands, with more than 150 million guidebooks sold globally and an extensive digital reach.

These are the 25 best places to travel in 2026, according to Lonely Planet:

Peru, South America
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Maine, USA
Cádiz, Spain
Réunion, Africa
Botswana, Africa
Cartagena, Colombia
Finland, Europe
Tipperary, Ireland
Mexico City
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
British Colombia, Canada
Sardinia, Italy
Liberdade, São Paulo
Utrecht, Netherlands
Barbados, Caribbean
Jeju-Do, South Korea
North Island, New Zealand
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Quy Nhon, Vietnam
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Phuket, Thailand
Ikra-Flinders Ranges and Outback, South Australia
Tunisia, Africa
Solomon Islands, Oceania

The main train guard of the Jaffna-to-Colombo ‘Yal Devi’ express train was arrested yesterday (25) at the Anuradhapura Railway Station after he was allegedly found to be intoxicated while on duty. The incident, which occurred at approximately 2:30 PM when the train pulled into the Anuradhapura station, prompted immediate action from railway authorities.

According to railway officials, the Anuradhapura Station Master received a tip-off that the guard in charge of the train was under the influence of alcohol. The Station Master promptly alerted the Railway Security Department, whose officers subsequently intervened and took the 44-year-old guard into custody. The suspect is reportedly a resident of the Mount Mary Railway Quarters in Borella. Following his arrest, the guard was presented to the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) for examination before being transferred to the train guards’ rest house in Anuradhapura.

The Anuradhapura Station Master confirmed that the Railway Department will launch a full investigation into the incident and that appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against the employee involved. Despite the disruption caused by the arrest, officials at the Anuradhapura station acted swiftly to ensure minimal impact on passenger services. A replacement guard was immediately assigned to the ‘Yal Devi’, allowing the train to resume its journey to Colombo Fort without any significant delay.

The JVP-led NPP government signals left and turns right. It claims to have a Marxist agenda, but it is following the same neoliberal policies as its predecessors. It was only the other day that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared at a Ratnapura District Development Committee meeting that the government should not engage in business activities, which had to be left to the private sector. Now, one of the NPP’s erstwhile comrades, the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) has accused the government of trying to close down low-enrollment schools across the country, and redeploy teachers currently working in them to fill vacancies elsewhere. CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin has said the public should not buy into claims being made by President Dissanayake and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya that their government will not close down small schools.

There are 10,146 state-run schools in Sri Lanka. Of them 9,750 are under Provincial Councils and 396 are national schools. About 800 rural schools have already been closed down during the past several decades, and it is feared that many more are bound to face the same fate in the near future.

One of the slogans used by the JVP to mobilise the rural youth during its second uprising in the late 1980s highlighted a glaring urban bias in state resource allocation, as evident from the underdeveloped educational and healthcare institutions in far-flung areas. Those were the pre-social media days, and the JVP used posters to convey its political messages to the masses. Posters would often appear with a catchy slogan: Kolombota Kiri, Gamata Kekiri (‘Milk for Colombo and melon for the village’). The JVP’s ascent to power was expected to ensure that the village would also have kiri, so to speak, but the status quo remains. Worse, the JVP-led government stands accused of planning to deprive poor children of easy access to schools.

It has been reported that Prime Minister Dr. Amarasuriya, addressing the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Education Reform on Wednesday insisted that no schools would be closed and the government’s policy was to “integrate and develop” existing institutions. It is said that politicians, like diplomats, tell you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip. So, the government should be asked to explain its ‘integrate-and-develop’ policy in simple terms and say whether it will allow the small schools earmarked for closure to remain open.

Speaking in Parliament about the proposed educational reforms in July 2025, President Dissanayake said that 98 state-run schools had been without any new admissions. Pointing out that about 15% schools had fewer than 50 students each, and about two-thirds of schools had fewer than 100 students each, he said a strategy to overcome the problem might necessitate permanent closure of some of those seats of learning. According to teachers’ trade unions and organisations dedicated to protecting universal free education, most of these low-enrollment schools are situated in rural areas.

President Dissanayake also informed Parliament that the school dropout figures had risen from 16,673 in 2019 to 20,759 in 2022 before plateauing at 20,755 in 2024. Everything possible must be done to bring these figures down in the shortest possible time. A steep school dropout rate is much more than a mere statistic; it is a symptom of systemic social issues. In 2024, former Education Minister Dullas Alahapperuma revealed that about 129,000 students had dropped out of school due to the economic crisis; their parents found it extremely difficult to pay for their food, school supplies, transport, supplementary tuition, etc., he said. This fact has been borne out by the findings of a survey conducted by the Department of Census and statistics.

The closure of rural schools is said to be due to several factors, such as prolonged neglect, lack of resources, the expansion of public transport and the attraction of urban schools. As we argued in a previous editorial comment, whatever the causes of the closure of underprivileged schools may be, the fact remains that proximity and easy accessibility help attract poor children to schools, especially today, when transport costs are prohibitive. If the rural schools are left to wither on the vine, the dropout rate among poor students will further increase, leading to various social issues. It is said that he who opens a school door closes a prison. Will the NPP government’s plan for the underprivileged schools will lead to the opening of more prisons?