Sri Lankan AI News Summary

SRI LANKA DAILY NEWS DIGEST - Sunday, September 20, 2026 POLITICS Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe unveiled a new programme that he described as a plan for Sri Lanka's future. Speaking separately, he ruled out any immediate return to national leadership, saying he cannot take over the country now because he no longer holds a seat in Parliament. TRANSPORT Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Dr. Prasanna Gunasena thanked railway officers and employees who have kept train services running through the ongoing trade union action, and urged both the government and the public to show respect for railway workers. The Commissioner General of Motor Traffic has launched a new WhatsApp number for public complaints, covering problems faced during vehicle registration as well as inconveniences caused by vehicles. ENVIRONMENT Legal action has begun against those responsible for felling roughly 110 trees at Nelum Wewa in Parana Eluwankulama, Vanathavilluwa, inside the buffer zone of Wilpattu National Park. SOCIETY AND EMPLOYMENT Of the 47,000 families in the Mullaitivu District, 2,700 are headed entirely by women and more than 6,000 women are recorded as widows, District Secretary A. Umamaheswaran said at a livelihood and entrepreneurship event organised by the Viluthu Foundation for Women. Air tickets were handed to 204 Sri Lankan migrant workers selected for jobs in Israel at a ceremony held Friday at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment auditorium. SPORT England completed a 3-0 Twenty20 series sweep over Sri Lanka with an eight-wicket win in the third match at Old Trafford, a result that returns England to the top of the men's T20 international rankings. MIDDLE EAST A large plume of smoke rose near Riyadh's main airport on Saturday after explosions were heard in the Saudi capital. The blasts followed overnight government alerts warning of possible danger in the area, amid intensifying attacks by Yemen's Houthi group. The Washington Post reports that the number of US service members who have died on deployment in the Middle East since the start of the Iran war exceeds the Pentagon's public tally. The UN General Assembly voted to let Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas address next week's gathering of world leaders by video, after the United States again refused him a visa to travel to New York. It is the second consecutive year he has been forced to appear remotely. UNITED STATES A federal appeals court struck down the Trump administration's policy of rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than their own. The case may now move to the Supreme Court. President Donald Trump said he has barred CNN, MSNBC and Politico from the White House, accusing the three outlets of repeatedly publishing what he called fake news.