Sri Lankan AI News Summary.

Sri Lanka Daily News Digest — Thursday, November 5, 2026 Government and policy: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the 72-hour detention period in the Organized Crime Prevention Bill will be cut to 48 hours, and he is ready to remove the "tattoos" law. He also said 1,874 under-18s were arrested in ice-related cases by 2025, up from one in 2022. Parliament approved Rs. 4.26 bn for an Air Force UAV system. The Inland Revenue Department has deferred the mandatory TIN for eight transactions until 1 April 2027. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs asked media not to publish material identifying schoolchildren involved in a recent protest. Courts: The Colombo High Court froze four bank accounts and three vehicles of attorney Rakitha Rajapakshe. The Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court will rule on 25 November on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's request to lift his travel ban. Economy: Sri Lanka is exploring a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU, and the National Single Window for Trade has gone live. The CSE rallied for a third session, with ASPI above 21,000. Fitch upgraded three bank-backed NBFIs, including People's Leasing and Finance to AA-(lka). Hemas reported H1 revenue of Rs. 66.6 bn, up 9.5%. The Central Bank warned that rising property prices need monitoring. PUCSL has proposed a 1.46% electricity tariff increase for Q4 2026, which is not yet final. Local: Pregnant women beyond 36 weeks on Jaffna's islands have been advised to move to Jaffna town. Showers above 75 mm are likely in several provinces. A Mannar–Rameswaram ferry service is under feasibility study. Sri Lanka won Luxury Food Destination of the Year at the Travel & Taste Awards 2026 in the UK. Foreign: Sri Lanka's Embassy in Amman says its staff are safe, though Ada Derana reports a security officer was killed in an attack near the building. Sri Lanka is also exploring trade ties with the EU, as noted above. Putin will not attend the G20 summit in Manchester, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said. Comedian Russell Brand was found guilty in London of rape and sexual assault and faces a long jail term. Hoax bomb threats hit at least 25 European flights on Thursday. Hong Kong sentenced activist Joshua Wong to 10 years on a national security charge. Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. Republicans are blaming Trump for their midterm losses, while Elon Musk's near half-billion-dollar spending produced little. Sports: Sri Lanka's Under-19s beat Malaysia by nine wickets in their Asia Cup opener, with Kaushika Kumarasinghe taking five wickets and Rehan Peiris an unbeaten half-century. Oman qualified for the 2027 men's World Cup Qualifier. Cristiano Ronaldo retired from international football with 146 goals and 234 caps. Harry Kane extended his Bayern contract to 2029. Harshitha Samarawickrama will lead Sri Lanka in the Emerging Nations Trophy. Julie Hope finished 26th of 45 in the 50m backstroke heats at the Dakar Youth Olympics. The WPL 2027 will run from 14 January to 7 February in Vadodara and Mumbai. Business and tech: LIV Golf is winding down after its backers withdrew support. Google has turned off AI for schoolchildren by default. Apple AI tools are coming to China after a two-year delay. Sony's Q2 profit jumped on Spider-Man and PlayStation. North Korea denied being behind a record $6.3bn Binance hack.