Category: Daily Financial Times

The Free Trade Zone Manufacturers’ Association (FTZMA), the sole trade chamber representing enterprises operating under the Board of Investment (BOI), successfully partnered with Sri Lanka Customs to conduct an in-depth awareness session on the ASYHUB Digital Customs Platform on 25 November, at the FTZMA Auditorium in the Katunayake Export Processing Zone.

The session was led by a dedicated team of officials from the Sri Lanka Customs ICT Directorate, headed by Senior Deputy Director – ICT P.W.A.C. Weeraman, together with Assistant Superintendents M.S. Primali Alwis, P.B. Oshika S. Senarathna, and Madhawa Thilakarathne.

The program recorded strong participation with 73 representatives from BOI enterprises, logistics operators, and courier service providers in attendance.

The Customs team delivered comprehensive insights into the following areas: introduction to ASYHUB, its implementation phases, and future roadmap; importance of pre-arrival processing in modern Customs management; paperless Customs Declaration (CUSDEC) processing and digital documentation; live system demonstration of ASYHUB functionalities; and current operational challenges experienced by ASYHUB users.

A detailed Q and A session concluded the program, enabling participants to clarify practical issues and share user experiences.

ASYHUB, developed under the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ASYCUDA Program, is a next-generation digital platform designed to strengthen connectivity between Sri Lanka Customs and external stakeholders, including shipping lines, freight forwarders, importers, and port authorities.

The platform is expected to enhance risk analysis and cargo profiling; improve legal compliance and regulatory transparency; minimise human interaction, reducing opportunities for discretionary intervention; reduce physical document handling, promoting secure and efficient trade flows; and contribute to the mitigation of bribery and corruption risks.

The FTZMA reaffirmed its commitment to supporting national initiatives aimed at digitising trade processes, enhancing BOI-zone competitiveness, and improving ease of doing business for investment-driven industries.

The FTZMA will continue to collaborate with the Customs and other Government agencies to ensure BOI enterprises are well aligned with emerging digital trade facilitation frameworks.

David Puig has become the first Spanish winner of the Australian PGA Championship since Seve Ballesteros in 1981 with a two-shot victory in Brisbane.

The 23-year-old, who also competes on the LIV Golf Tour, carded a bogey-free five-under 66 in yesterday’s final round to claim his first DP World Tour title on 18 under.

It is Puig’s third title as a professional after two wins on the Asian Tour in 2023 and 2024. His previous best on the DP World Tour was third at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in January.

‘It feels amazing,’ said Puig, who finished 10th in the 2025 Liv Golf Rankings. ‘I’ve really had a lot of close calls in a few events throughout this year and last year and I wasn’t able to pull it through. I was pretty nervous, especially thinking about the past a little bit, what I could have done a little better. But I kept my composure really well.’

As well as emulating legendary compatriot Ballesteros, Puig is also the first European winner since England’s David Howell in 1998.

China’s Ding Wenyi also carded a final-round 66 to finish second on 16 under, with Australian Marc Leishman and New Zealand’s Nick Voke tied for third one shot further back.

Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia began the final day as joint-leader but struggled to a one-over 72 to finish tied for eighth with Australian Daniel Gale.

Sri Lanka Customs Director General Seevali Arukgoda in a rare public appearance last week delivered one of his sharpest criticisms of the private sector trading community, warning that its unwillingness to adjust its work ethic to match the Customs’ operational readiness is now the main barrier to trade facilitation, even as the Department accelerates digitalisation and meets record revenue targets.

Speaking at the Association of Clearing and Forwarding Agents’ (ACFA) forum on Digital Signatures and New Customs Entry Framing, Arukgoda said Customs is operating around the clock and rolling out new IT systems, while clearing agents, shipping lines, banks, and importers continue to work on restricted schedules. He argued that this mismatch is undermining pressure from the same private sector for faster clearance and streamlined processes.

‘There is a demand for the Customs to work 24 hours, 24×7, which we are doing in most cases. Are you ready to work 24×7 with us? Are the importers ready to work 24×7? Are the banks ready to open 24×7? Are the shipping lines ready to open 24×7 and issue delivery orders 24×7? Are the clearing agents ready to work 24×7? So we work 24×7, are you ready to work 24×7? In most cases, no.’

He pointed to a recent weekend operation at the Rank Container Terminals (RCT) yard as an example of how limited private sector participation neutralises the Customs’ efforts.

‘During a recent weekend, there was a congestion, so our staff was working both Saturday and Sunday. But on Sunday, we only could release 27 containers. We usually release over 350 to 400 containers a day, so you, the Custom House Agents, did not come. So the trade facilitation initiatives cannot be implemented one-sided.’

Arukgoda said the Customs cannot continue to be the only institution responding to demands for faster turnaround times while the rest of the supply chain sticks to traditional working hours. He warned that if clearing agents do not adjust, their privileged legal status may come under review.

‘For the Customs House Agents, I must say that the Customs Director General is empowered to issue permits to you. We conduct training sessions, we conduct classes, we conduct certificate courses, we issue certificates and issue you a licence. It is a privilege that you get,’ he said.

‘But if the Customs House Agents are not ready to work with us 24×7, then we would be compelled to find alternative methods, like removing the requirement of having a Customs House Agent to clear goods. The importers themselves can clear goods,’ Arukgoda warned.

He said many traders are already asking why the law mandates the use of Customs House Agents when their availability is inconsistent. ‘There are many enquiries as to why this law is there. So please work with us, support us in our initiatives. As and when your presence is required, please come and attend to your work.’

Arukgoda said the Department’s automation agenda is advancing quickly, with full digitalisation of import and export procedures targeted for 2027, though some manual steps will remain. But he stressed that digital systems alone will not improve clearance times unless the private sector participates fully.

‘We expect the complete digitalisation of the import and export procedure to be complete in 2027 to provide you a better service. But at the same time, there is a manual job that needs to be done in some cases. So we are ready to open 24×7, are you ready to work with us 24×7? In most cases it does not happen, unfortunately.’

He noted that the Customs IT division, which he described as the strongest in the public sector, is deploying new applications, redesigned processes, and IT-based solutions specifically to speed up trade and reduce costs.

‘Our team has been busy throughout the last so many years in developing many solutions and, one by one, we are releasing to the general public for their benefit. It must be really appreciated-the fact that the IT division and the officers are fully occupied-they are doing their best to develop very important initiatives and then put them into practice so that the trade can also benefit.’

Arukgoda said these reforms are already translating into better fiscal performance. ‘As of today, we are about Rs. 130 billion ahead of our target-for the first time in history-and that has eased the expenses the Government needs to earn. It has supported the Government in reducing borrowing limits and that is a plus point for the entire economy.’

But he noted that the Customs cannot relax procedures or shift more processes into risk managed channels unless compliance by traders improves.

‘Please support us in facilitating trade by complying with the regulations, by following guidelines that we have put forward, by being compliant and making your clients also compliant. Because, when the compliance level goes up only we can facilitate more trade. But the compliance level is low. Non-compliant traders will always have a negative impact on organisational objectives of the Customs Department.’

He framed the relationship between the Customs and the clearing and forwarding community as a partnership that depends on both sides learning, adapting, and performing reliably.

‘Your contribution is very much appreciated at this forum because it is the opportunities like this where we get the chance to speak to the trading community so that we can share with you the new initiatives that we are formulating and you can apply them in a manner that is conducive for an excellent trading relationship.’

Arukgoda urged participants to use the session to clarify doubts and understand new requirements. ‘When we are ready, we want you also to be ready and take the maximum out of it. Please take this opportunity to learn what you have come here to learn, and finally support us in our effort to provide better trade facilitation to the entire trading community in the country.’

The ACFA forum was a familiarisation program which covered Digital Signature and its usage, standardised industry best practices’ compliance requirements, and a risks readiness and compliance checklist. The technical sessions were conducted by Sri Lanka Customs Senior Deputy Director Ashan Weeraman, Senior Manager IT Lakshanth Jayasekara, and Assistant Superintendents Dinuk Wijeratne and Primali Alwis.

In November, Sri Lanka Customs surpassed its 2025 annual revenue target of Rs. 2.115 trillion, collecting Rs. 2.117 trillion as of 11 November, marking the highest-ever revenue in the Department’s history and setting a new benchmark for State revenue generation. Despite being a key revenue mobilising agency for the State, Sri Lanka Customs, along with the Inland Revenue Department, was singled out for chronic issues related to corruption, efficiency, and governance in the International Monetary Fund’s Governance Diagnostic Report on Sri Lanka.

South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) has been honoured with a Sector Award in the main awards category for the second consecutive year at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2025 held on 19 November, hosted by The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

The terminal operator also received a merit certificate in the Project Award category for its significant initiative, ‘Breaking Barriers: SAGT’s Pioneering Journey towards Gender Equality in Sri Lanka’s Port Industry.’

SAGT General Manager – Commercial and Marketing Udara Cumaratunga said: ‘SAGT is honoured to have been recognised at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2025. Sustainability is ingrained into our business and is part and parcel of what we do. Looking ahead, we are committed to continuing on a sustainable path that will continue to benefit our business, the environment, our stakeholders, employees, and the community.’

The company is driving towards achieving net zero emissions ahead of the 2050 International Maritime Organisation (IMO) target. A major step was the retrofitting of Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes with hybrid technology. Six cranes were hybridised during FY 2024/25, increasing the total hybrid fleet from 22 to 28 cranes. This project has reduced fuel consumed per machine by over 50%, contributing directly to the reduction in Scope 1 emissions.

Furthermore, the installation of a 460kW solar array generates 3-5% of the current annual electricity usage. These efforts have cumulatively reduced emission intensity by 22% since 2019/20, largely driven by reducing Scope 1 emissions. Plans include leveraging digitisation, automation, and equipment electrification to decarbonise operations further.

Going beyond its operational boundaries, SAGT has partnered with the Centre for Sustainability, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, to restore five acres of the Benthara River Mangrove Complex, in addition to the five acres previously restored at the Yagirala Forest Reserve.

The company also upholds its employees as its most valued asset. This commitment was demonstrated by a 42% increase in employee training hours compared to the previous year, covering health and safety, leadership, and technical skills development. SAGT also began implementing Lean principles with guidance from the APM Terminals Global Lean Academy, introducing methodologies like KAIZEN and 5S to drive continuous improvement, waste management, and employee-driven process efficiencies.

SAGT’s groundbreaking initiative on gender equality, which earned the merit certificate, focused on improving gender diversity by engaging relevant regulatory agencies to overcome archaic port rules that restricted women from entering port-controlled areas after 6 p.m. In a major industry development, SAGT secured special regulatory approval to integrate females into night shift operational roles, onboarding 12 female graduates in January 2025 and overcoming longstanding industry barriers.

This determination to make a difference is reflected in the increase of female representation in the organisation from a previously stagnated 4% to 6% during the reporting year, representing a significant milestone in promoting gender equality within Sri Lanka’s port sector. SAGT will continue to strive to create further opportunities for women in the country’s port sector.

Generative Artificial Intelligence or GenAI has been a useful tool for people to create new content, such as text, images, and or music, by learning the patterns from vast datasets. Quite different from the traditional AI that analyses or categorises existing data, GenAI models produce novel and original output in response to prompts of users. This is achieved through complex algorithms that predict what the next word, sound or pixel should be, and that prediction is based on the past patterns. Therefore, it still cannot accommodate the unexpected or events that happens at random. However, it has applications ranging from content creation for easy learning or effective marketing to medical research where it can be used for drug discovery, clinical trials, or biomarker identification for diseases. Thus, users have been able to create new texts, images, audios, and videos which can be used for productive purposes. However, its free availability has helped misusers to create content for ulterior purposes like penetrating the security measures of financial institutions and robbing the moneys of bank customers. One such use has been the creation of fabricated images, videos, or audios of a person saying or doing something which he never did. In the parlance of industry, this is known as ‘deepfake’ creations. These forged creations can be used for malicious purposes like spreading misinformation, creating contents involving disinformation, committing financial frauds, or simply defaming the character of known personalities.

As I have mentioned in a previous article in this series, a major financial scam has been created in Sri Lanka recently by cloning the voices of the President1, Prime Minister, and leading businesspersons to lure gullible citizens to invest in a fake investment project.2 Scammers posting their deepfakes on Facebook had promised, through the cloned voices of these Government leaders, a high return every month if they invest a small sum in a capital market project which they say has been approved by the Sri Lanka Government. Though the initial deepfakes are no more in Facebook, the scammers have not stopped their deceitful game and are continuing it with new deepfakes cloning the voices of other known personalities and forged textual messages of leading entrepreneurs and public servants. One such entrepreneur in whose name a deepfake has been created has been the e-commerce giant Dulith Herath of Kapruka fame.3 In the apparently fake advertisement that promotes the scheme, Herath’s cloned voice says that his investment platform uses ‘advanced trading algorithms’ to ensure a stable income for the investor who does not have to spend time for learning complex financial instruments. The moneys are invested by the investment platform automatically through the AI generated analysis of the stock and cryptocurrency markets. In another such fake advertisement that had used the official logo of DailyMirror Online, even the Central Bank Governor Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe had been quoted to have endorsed the dubious investment scheme. This is despite the Central Bank Governor warning the public of such deepfake scams using his name or voice in March 2025.4

Deepfake has entered Sri Lanka targeting the gullible public. However, its more disastrous damage has been the attack on financial institutions which presently rely on biometric data, personal information, and one-time passcodes or OTPs to identify the genuineness of their customers. Deepfakes have successfully penetrated all these security measures. It is, therefore, necessary for financial regulators and financial institutions to protect themselves from such attacks as warned by the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN in an alert issued in September 2024.5 The alert under reference has been to help financial institutions identify fraud schemes associated with the use of deepfake media created with GenAI tools. It has explained the similarities in those scams, provided red flag indicators for such scams, alerted the institutions concerned, and reminded them of the need for prompt reporting of such scams under the US Bank Secrecy Act or BSA.

Deepfake videos are high quality man-made content that resembles the reality. This resemblance to reality is the main reason for the public to believe them as authenticated. However, it is not the people who are now deceived. It is the computer systems that have been setup to protect the safety of banking transactions and thereby the moneys belonging to customers. This is despite the fact that the leading developers of GenAI taking all the precautions to keep the prospective misusers at bay through continuous oversight and control systems. But the criminals who have the intention of robbing other people’s money are also engaged in developing methods to evade and circumvent the safety measures introduced by the genuine developers. This has been facilitated by the open-source availability of these tools to anyone wishing to use them. As a result, those who have the intention of using them for criminal activities can produce such deepfakes at a lower cost and faster than the genuine developers. This is a real threat to financial institutions which believe that they have impenetrable digital systems to thwart the potential scammers. Thus, it is also a threat for the regulators which should safeguard the interests of the bank customers, on one side, and adopt a national policy to prevent both AML and CFT.

FinCEN has found that criminals have used GenAI tools to create content that can compromise the customer identity verification processes of financial institutions. Those creations have enabled the criminals to deceive the computer systems of financial institutions by falsifying documents, photographs, or videos and thereby breaking the customer due diligence or CDD controls embedded in those computer systems. The commonly altered or newly created images have been the photographs found in commonly available documents like driving licenses, passports, identity cards or simply in social media like the Facebook or the Instagram. When they are used in combination with stolen personal identification information relating to customers, it is natural that even the best protected digital banking system can be duped. When it comes to AML or CFT, the tactic of the criminals has been to open false accounts with banks by using fake identities produced through GenAI tools to receive and launder the moneys earned from other criminal activities. Those are known in banking terminology as ‘funnel accounts’.

It is the responsibility of the employees of financial institutions to use their due diligence to identify deepfake attempts by criminals. FinCEN in its alert has flagged nine such guidelines. While that is not an exhaustive list, it provides some useful guidance for employees to detect in advance attempts of compromising their security measures or duping them. The first is to use the eyeball test detect the obvious signs of alteration or creation of the photos of customers. The second is to be cautious when a customer presents an inconsistent multiple identity document. The third is the occasion when a customer logs in through a third-party webcam. Fourth, to careful when a customer declines to use multifactor authentication to verify his identity. Fifth, conducting a reverse-image look up or open-source search of an identity photo matching an image available publicly. Sixth, a customer’s photo or video is flagged by commercial or open source deepfake detection software. Seventh, the use of a GenAI software to flag whether a document or photo submitted by a customer is a deepfake. Eighth, look for whether a customer’s address or device data are inconsistent with his identity documents. Ninth, identifying whether a customer had had rapid transactions through his account. Bank employees should add new flags to this list as and when the situations change and criminals resort to new methods of hacking the digital banking systems.

Entrust, the global company specialised in identity-centric security solutions that protect people, devices, and data, has presented its 2025 Identity Fraud Report with the support of its subsidiary onfido outlining the modus operandi of deepfake creators to attack financial institutions.6 The report presents three key findings.7

A rise in digital manipulations

First, digital manipulation has replaced the frauds hitherto committed by forging physical documents. The Entrust report says that year 2025 marks as the first year in which this fraudulent technique has been widely used recording a historic 244% increase in its occurrence year over year. The culprit has been the easy and free availability of GenAI-assisted tools, shared methodologies among the users, and the rise of fraud-as-a-service that can be used by anyone wishing to attack the digital systems of financial institutions. Economically, it is the best way to rob people.

Use of GenAI tools to create fake videos

Second, of the digital manipulations, GenAI-assisted fraud is on the increase. The GenAI-assisted tools are increasingly used for creating convincing phishing emails or producing realistic deepfakes with apps that enable to swap the faces of real persons to created videos. There are also sites claiming to create realistic documents for use by prospective scammers. Of all the frauds, the Entrust report says that deepfakes now account for lumpy 40% of all biometric fraud.

More sophisticated frauds

Third, fraud is getting more sophisticated and more accessible to potential scammers. The sophistication has come from the use of GenAI, proliferation of deepfake videos, and techniques like injection attacks. In injection attacks, the scammer sends malicious data to an application, causing it to execute commands or reveal aunauthorised data. This happens when an application fails to properly validate or sanitise user input, allowing specially crafted data to be interpreted as code.

Compromising biometric safeguards

It has been found that scammers are increasingly using the forged videos to penetrate the biometric security measures installed by financial institutions. As the Entrust report has revealed in Figure 1, deepfakes have been the most prominent method of breaking the biometric security guards. Deepfakes are digitally manipulated videos or images where a person’s face is altered to appear as someone else. There are two types of using face images in this manner. One is the swapping of face by superimposing a new face onto a target head. In the basic method of swapping, a face is crudely pasted over another face creating a cheapfake. But sophisticated face swaps use GenAI tools to morph and blend a new face meticulously onto the target head deceiving even the computer systems. In the second one, fully generated images are used by using GenAI tools to produce extremely realistic images and videos of faces. This makes biometric safeguards vulnerable to scammers’ attacks.

How do the scammers use deepfakes to attack financial institutions. Evidence has shown there are four methods of doing so.8 In the first place, they can be used to open fraudulent accounts in names of unknown people. In this case, deepfakes are used to bypass the identity verification during a KYC onboarding process and open fraudulent accounts. This happens in video calls or online account opening processes by mimicking a person’s face, voice, and mannerism to deceive traditional biometric and human review systems involved.9 Second, deepfakes are created to solicit for phishing and investment scams. In this case, a celebrity appearing in the deepfake endorses a new investment scheme like the one presently in Sri Lanka with the voices of the President, Prime Minister, and leading entrepreneurs. These videos have been effective in convincing gullible people to hand over their money or personal data. Third, accounts are taken over scammers by using deepfakes to dupe biometric checks and gain aunauthorised access to existing accounts. Fourth, deepfakes are used to spread misinformation or disinformation to malign politicians, financial institutions, and leading entrepreneurs. In the case of financial institutions, it is done by rival institutions, or disgruntled employees, or simple mischief makers. Whatever the source, it becomes costly for the financial institution involved to reestablish its image in the market and sustain the trust of its customers.

The creation of deepfakes by using GenAI-assisted tools has been easy, cheap, and accessible to everyone. However, they can be used by people with criminal intentions to attack financial institutions, penetrate their biometric safeguards, and rob moneys belonging to their customers. It has become a continuous battle between biometric safeguard developers and potential scammers to win over the other. At one stage, the biometric safeguard developers are on the top but at another, the scammers are pushing them down and win over them. What this means is that there should be continuous vigilance to keep these scammers at bay and maintain the safety and trust in financial institutions.

Cyclone Ditwa swept across Sri Lanka last week leaving behind devastation the country has not seen in years-over a hundred lives lost, thousands displaced, homes submerged, and key roads cut off. Families have been torn apart and livelihoods destroyed. Before anything else, it is important to acknowledge this human tragedy with empathy and humility.

My focus here, however, is on another dimension of the fallout: the impact on Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, an industry that was only just regaining its footing after a decade of shocks. This is not to sound callous or detached from the suffering our own people have endured. Rather, it stems from concern that unless we handle this moment honestly and professionally, the momentum the industry fought so hard to rebuild may waver once again.

Before Ditwa struck, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry was experiencing genuine recovery. It had survived the political crisis of 2018, the Easter attacks of 2019, the pandemic, the Aragalaya, the fuel queues, power cuts, and the economic collapse of 2022. For the first time in years, arrivals were up; October recorded an all-time high for that month, and forward winter bookings from India, the UK, and Europe were encouraging. Hotels were cautiously optimistic. There was a sense-fragile but real-that Sri Lanka was finally back on travellers’ radar. Sri Lanka cannot control cyclones. But we can-and must-control how we prepare, react, and communicate.

What unsettled many in the trade was that Sri Lanka had several days of clear forewarning-yet still appeared caught off guard. In an earlier editorial I stressed the importance of readiness, not just response. For foreign governments, insurers and tour operators, what matters is whether a destination demonstrates coordination when a crisis is coming. That perception directly affects advisories, group bookings, and long-term confidence. Ditwa highlighted gaps we cannot ignore.

On 27 November, while large parts of the country were bracing for rising water levels, landslides, and repeated ‘red’ alerts, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority issued a release stating that the country remained ‘safe and open for travel,’ with major tourist destinations ‘operating as usual’ and hotels functioning ‘without disruption.’

This may have been well-intentioned, but messaging matters-especially when it conflicts with what the rest of the world is seeing. Videos of submerged towns, stranded buses, and diverted flights were circulating widely. At the same time, foreign travel advisories were updating almost hourly with warnings on flooding, landslides, and transport disruption.

The real issue was the contradiction. The local message of ‘safe and open for travel’ did not align with the foreign travel advisories being updated almost hourly. When a destination’s messaging diverges from external risk assessments, it inevitably weakens credibility.

We learnt this painfully after the 2004 tsunami, when the Maldives rebounded quickly due to crisp, consistent messaging while Sri Lanka took months longer because its messaging was fragmented and often defensive. We cannot afford to repeat those mistakes.

Over the last few days, I trolled social media, spoke with tour operators, and reached out to a few upcountry hoteliers. A clearer picture emerges-uneven, but telling.

1. Stranded travellers

Flooded or blocked access roads prevented some tourists from reaching the airport. Others were stuck in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella, and surrounding districts as landslide zones expanded and routes closed in both directions. Power outages and downed cell towers meant they couldn’t contact airlines to rebook flights.

2. Flight disruption

Several flights were diverted to Mattala or delayed, with passengers held for hours with limited information.

3. Communication gaps

Tourists complained they had ‘no idea which roads were open,’ because updates were inconsistent.

4. Hotels stepped up

Most hotels-particularly in the south and west-performed admirably.

Immigration offered grace periods and visa waivers for stranded tourists. Civil Aviation requested airlines to waive change fees. The 1912 hotline operated through the crisis. Good steps, but reactive.

If past shocks are any guide, Sri Lanka risks losing 5-10% of expected high-season demand if the narrative does not stabilise quickly. Much of this drop will come from the higher-yield segment.

Tourists scheduled to arrive in the days after the cyclone have cancelled or postponed. Some may shift travel to February or March. Booking curves may flatten temporarily.

Preparedness now shapes how destinations are judged. Operators look at how quickly warnings are issued, how safely tourists are moved, and how transparently disruptions are communicated.

Most tourists do not want to travel into what feels like a disaster zone. MICE and incentive groups are even more risk-sensitive.

Sri Lanka has endured too many shocks for us not to have learnt from them. We cannot control cyclones, but we can control how quickly and clearly we communicate, how accurate our advisories are, and how consistently our agencies speak.

I write this out of concern for tourism’s recovery. Tourism has proven repeatedly that it can rebound faster than any other export earner. But only if confidence is protected.

Handled well, this moment need not become another setback. Handled poorly, it will weaken demand now and credibility later.

Tourism sustains hundreds of thousands of livelihoods and remains Sri Lanka’s most immediate growth engine. Cyclone Ditwa has tested us. Whether tourism holds its course or loses momentum again will depend entirely on the decisions we make now.

Australia has announced AUD 1 million in humanitarian assistance to support Sri Lanka’s response to Cyclone Ditwah, with High Commissioner Matthew Duckworth saying Canberra ‘stands with Sri Lanka at this devastating time’ as more than 1 million people are reported affected across all districts.

High Commissioner Duckworth said Australia will work with Government agencies, humanitarian organisations, and civil society to address urgent needs.

‘Australia stands with Sri Lanka at this devastating time. The Australian Government will be providing AUD 1 million in humanitarian assistance to support Sri Lanka’s response to Cyclone Ditwah,’ he said. ‘Our thoughts are with the people of Sri Lanka, in particular those affected by the ongoing crisis.’

The funding will be channelled through humanitarian and UN partners delivering essential services on the ground. Australia is also coordinating with civil society and non-Governmental organisation (NGO) partners to redirect existing resources towards immediate response efforts, with a focus on supporting vulnerable groups including women, girls, and persons with disabilities.

Canberra welcomed the activation of regional mechanisms, such as the Regional Prepositioning Initiative, jointly managed with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which will address urgent sexual and reproductive health and protection needs.

Australia’s dominant win at Perth gave England plenty to think about, but their Captain Ben Stokes isn’t giving up on his dreams of becoming the first England skipper to win the Ashes Down Under since Andrew Strauss’ victory in 2010-11.

‘We know that there’ll be a lot of disappointed fans in England after that first defeat,’ Stokes told reporters. ‘But it’s a five-game series, and we’ve got four games to go. We’ve lost the first one, we’re absolutely desperate to come home with that goal from before we even started the series, which is to win the Ashes.’

Plenty of suggestions have come from past greats for England to remain in contention at Perth, including adding variety to their bowling line-up.

Stokes chose to concentrate on the positives-the fact that his side gained a handy first-innings lead and at one stage were steering towards a massive third innings advantage, while also adding that the team had identified ‘moments’ where they fell back in the game.

‘We did some amazing things in that [Perth] Test. The way we bowled in the first innings, and we were 100 for 1 [in the third innings], and put a score on the board that we felt was definitely defendable. We all know, and have looked back on it, that there were moments in that game where we could have been a lot better to help us gain even more of an advantage.’

Stokes also defended his side’s tactics, stating that they were ready to adapt as per the situation, and were not merely looking to play all-out attacking cricket.

‘The important thing we need to do as a team and as individuals is learn from it [the defeat]. We have identified those moments, spoken about them as a group-that’s what we need to do. In terms of execution, could we have been better at executing what we want to do? Definitely. But again, we have a mindset of playing the game, which is looking to put the opposition under pressure, but also absorbing pressure. Sometimes, when you go out there and make a decision, it doesn’t always pay off or work the way you want it to,’ he said.

‘That’s the key for the rest of this tour, staying true to the beliefs of how we play our cricket. But also, we do know we could have been a lot better in certain ways, ‘ the England skipper added.

There has been plenty of chat around the fact that England haven’t sent their first-choice players to feature in the day-night fixture at Canberra ahead of the day-night Test. Stokes clarified the reasoning behind the call.

‘We have a pink-ball match coming up in Brisbane, and we have an opportunity to play some pink-ball cricket. When you look at it just like that, I don’t want to say it makes sense, but I totally understand it. But there’s obviously a lot more to it than just that. That’s where it is, in Canberra, which is a different State from Brisbane. The conditions are obviously going to be completely different to what we are going to have coming up,’ he said.

‘So you take all the factors into consideration, the pros and cons, whatever it may be. You always discuss that and decide what we think is the best preparation. We have a few more days off than we planned after that Test. We had to go away and ask how we use these next few days wisely in order to be prepared for what it will be like in Brisbane,’ Stokes added.

The second Ashes Test will be played from 4 December. The series carries important ICC World Test Championship standing points.

At least 334 people have died and 370 remain missing, according to the latest situation reports issued by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), which show a sharp rise in casualties since the figures released earlier in the day.

The update comes against the backdrop of the DMC’s 4.00 p.m. situation report on 30 November, which detailed the scale of island-wide displacement and damage recorded up to that point.

The DMC has reported that 998,918 people across 25 districts have been affected by the ongoing severe weather conditions linked to Cyclone Ditwah, with the number of displaced individuals continuing to rise as flood levels and ground instability persist. According to the DMC Situation Report issued at 4 p.m. on 30 November 2025, the total number of affected families has climbed to 273,606, with 51,228 families – or 180,499 persons – currently sheltered in 1,275 safety centres operating nationwide.

The death toll stands at 212, while 218 people remain missing, the DMC said.

The Colombo District recorded the highest number of affected persons, with 174,255 individuals from 40,740 families, followed by Gampaha with 211,719 persons from 55,356 families, and Puttalam with 135,922 persons from 36,098 families.

Mannar reported 79,946 affected persons, while Kurunegala recorded 34,679, and Trincomalee 54,107 persons impacted by flooding, landslides, and storm-related damage.

The Badulla District recorded the highest number of deaths at 71, followed by Kandy with 66. Matale reported 20 deaths, Trincomalee and Ampara each recorded eight, and Kurunegala reported 19 deaths. Nuwara Eliya recorded six fatalities, the report said.

The DMC noted that large-scale displacement continues even though the cyclone has moved on.

Safety centres are hosting large populations in several districts, including:

Bullets

*Gampaha: 4,921 families (19,458 persons)

*Colombo: 3,492 families (17,222 persons)

*Puttalam: 3,007 families (11,221 persons)

*Polonnaruwa: 5,560 families (16,313 persons)

*Mannar: 11,230 families (35,505 persons)

The DMC noted that additional shelters may be opened if conditions deteriorate further, particularly in districts experiencing ongoing rainfall and rising reservoir levels.

The DMC stated that assessments are ongoing and figures may be revised as teams gain access to remote or inundated areas. The agency urged residents in high-risk zones to comply with evacuation orders and remain alert to official warnings.

The death toll of Cyclone Ditwah is over 300 and counting. Hundreds more have gone missing. Tens of thousands have been rendered homeless. People have lost their lives. Thousands mourn the loss of friends and families. And an entire population grieves and wonders when and how livelihoods will be restored, the displaced provided alternative housing. They wonder how long food, medical, power and communications infrastructure will remain disrupted.

This is not the first tragedy that has struck Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has known floods, droughts, landslides although none of it in the scales unleashed by Cyclone Ditwah. Sri Lanka was hit hard by the tsunami of 2004.

This time it is a freshwater tsunami engulfing the entire country. What is unique about this disaster is that not a single district has been spared.

Sri Lanka has lived through a devastating war that lasted 30 years. Through it all, as a nation, Sri Lanka survived and this is mostly thanks to a remarkable determination to come together to help one another. Volunteerism is truly extraordinary. Generosity and solidarity have seen us through many terrible times.

This is clearly evident even today. Ordinary citizens, as individuals or in groups, have stepped forward to do their utmost and ensure that no one goes hungry, no one suffers without water and indeed no one is left without shelter. They work together and in conjunction with relevant state institutions and officials. They are tireless. They epitomise the resilience of the island nation.

Nevertheless, the tragedy is of such monumental proportions that it is clear that their efforts alone will not bring back normalcy. We simply cannot do it alone. Sri Lanka is a small island nation and one that has been struggling to get its economy back on track after an unprecedented collapse a few years ago. However, despite Sri Lanka’s own trials and tribulations, Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans have always done their best to help friendly nations whenever they were in distress.

Today, we are in desperate need of empathy, kindness and support. The victims have suffered unimaginably. We cannot abandon them. We strongly believe that the international community will not forsake us in this, the hour of our greatest tragedy in recent times.

There are, or will be shortages of food, medicine, shelter and essential supplies. Sanitation and fresh water supplies will need to be restored. Communication lines will need to be urgently repaired and upgraded. Looking a little further into the future, it is inescapable that more permanent repairs related to this disaster including restoration of infrastructure, relocating people and rebuilding lives offers a challenge that is formidable and will obviously come at a high cost, one that Sri Lanka will struggle to bear as we are just climbing out of another economic crisis.

I call upon our donors and international partners to extend their patience and compassion in the weeks and months to come. The Government will need the support and fiscal headroom to look after its people and rebuild their infrastructure even as we continue to honour our obligations. You can help and we sincerely hope you will.

As for my fellow Sri Lankans, especially elected representatives of all parties, past and present, be there with your people.

We are blessed to have a President of impeccable integrity who is leading the recovery and has the humility to accept your help with gratitude. Do whatever you can for your friends near and far. Support the Divisional Secretaries and others are doing their utmost to provide relief. In short, do what you can to help galvanise and coordinate aid to those who need it the most.

Sri Lanka has been through a lot, but we have always prevailed when history wrote us off. No war, no tsunami, no default, no flood or no terror attack or coup has ever or will ever change that.