Sri Lankan AI News Summary

SRI LANKA DAILY NEWS DIGEST - Tuesday, September 22, 2026 WEATHER AND PUBLIC SAFETY The Meteorological Department says the low-pressure area over the Andaman Sea, northeast of Sri Lanka, is likely to deepen into a depression within 24 hours, prolonging rainy conditions. The National Building Research Organisation has issued landslide early warnings covering ten districts, with the highest-level red warnings in six. The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has told all multi-day fishing vessels operating around the Andaman Islands to move to safer waters immediately ahead of strong winds and rough seas. COURTS AND PARLIAMENT The verdict in the case against 25 accused, including Naufer Moulavi, over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks is due to be delivered today. Separately, Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne is to announce the Supreme Court's determination on the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in Parliament today, after receiving the confidential ruling. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Mayadunna Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea as Acting President of the Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, Purawesi Paliha Collective convenor Attorney-at-Law Sanjeewa Weerawickrama said Nimal Perera - alleged to have given money to Namal Rajapaksa in connection with the Airbus deal - must face action over the Central Bank bond scam and alleged insider trading. SRI LANKAN ON DEATH ROW IN SAUDI ARABIA President Dissanayake met the parents of Sivarasa Anojan, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, at the Presidential Secretariat, with the Government set to appeal to the Saudi King for a pardon. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath will make a special statement on the case in Parliament tomorrow. ECONOMY The Colombo Stock Exchange opened the week weaker on 21 September, with both indices down on broad selling and turnover at its second-lowest level this year, pushing the benchmark below 21,000. An IMF article, "Graduating into Uncertainty," finds about 43 percent of young Sri Lankans with post-secondary education are unemployed. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka said fuel prices will not rise in the month-end revision, with a concession planned. Officials say ports and logistics are central to the US$36 billion export target for 2030 under the National Export Development Plan; a German parliamentary delegation visited Colombo Port for talks with Sri Lanka Ports Authority management on development and growth. Sri Lanka Tourism wrapped up its push into Middle Eastern markets at the 33rd Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, held 14-17 September. REGIONS One plantation worker was killed and seven injured in a wasp attack at Waltrim Estate, Lindula, yesterday. In Ampara, the Government is setting up 14 new Elephant Control Units in high-risk areas as part of measures against the escalating human-elephant conflict. SPORT Sri Lanka's women meet India in the Asian Games T20 final in Nisshin, Japan, at 10.30 a.m. Sri Lanka time, a repeat of the 2023 decider. At the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, boxer Lahiru Chandrabandara beat Yemen's Saeed Mustafa 4-1 to reach the last 16 of the men's 70kg light middleweight. The men's cricket team turns to the ODI series against England at Chester-le-Street after a difficult T20 campaign. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has begun distributing exercise equipment to schools under its School Cricket Development Programme. INTERNATIONAL CNN, MS NOW and Politico have sued President Donald Trump and members of his administration over their ban from White House grounds, calling it a violation of First Amendment free speech and press rights.