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The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the proposal by President Anura Kumara Disanayake in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Policy Planning and Economic Development to appoint A.N. Hapugala, a special grade officer in Sri Lanka Accountants’ Service serving as the Director General of the Department of Treasury Operations at present, to the post of Deputy Secretary of the General Treasury.

This is following the retirement of Deputy Secretary to the General Treasury H.C.D.L. Silva from 6 October.

People’s Bank has broadened its Remittance Partnership with Japan Remit Finance Company Ltd., recently.

Japan Remit Finance Company Ltd., (JRF) has been one of People’s Bank’s prime remittance partners in Japan since May 2020.

This collaboration has enabled seamless and efficient fund transfers from Japan to Sri Lanka, reaffirming People’s Bank’s commitment to providing convenient banking solutions for Sri Lankans living and working overseas.

Recently, a delegation from JRF, led by Sri Lanka Branch Manager and official JRF representative in Japan, R.M. Tharanga Ranajeewa Bandara, visited the People’s Bank Head Office in Colombo 02. The delegation held discussions with Chief Executive Officer/General Manager Clive Fonseka, Deputy General Manager – Retail Banking and Overseas Customer Services Aruni Liyanagunawardana, and other senior officials. The focus of the discussions was on strengthening cooperation, enhancing service efficiency, and introducing advanced digital solutions for cross-border transfers.

Japan Remit Finance Company Ltd., established in 2011, has earned a strong reputation as a trusted and well-established financial service provider in Japan. Through its efficient remittance solutions, JRF has become the most preferred choice for Sri Lankan expatriates seeking secure, cost effective and instant money transfers. A highlight of the service is the JRF Mobile App Wallet, which allows customers to deposit funds, withdraw cash, and transfer money directly from their Japanese bank accounts. Remittances are credited instantly to beneficiary accounts in Sri Lanka in LKR, USD, and JPY, while a convenient cash pickup service is also available. Customers further benefit from incentives such as zero service charges on the first transaction, attractive referral rewards, competitive exchange rates, low service fees, and 24/7 multilingual support in Sinhala, English, and Japanese.

Beyond remittances, JRF provides access to a range of broader financial services for Sri Lankans in Japan, including the ability to open People’s Bank accounts in LKR, JPY, and USD, as well as fixed deposits, loans, and investment opportunities through JRF Capital. Customers can also enjoy secure digital payments via JRF Pay.

Further diversifying its services, JRF caters to the Sri Lankan community in Japan through JRF Mobile (SIM cards and Wi-Fi solutions), JRF Umart (an online marketplace), and JRF Intelligence (recruitment and HR solutions). With a growing international presence, including operations in South Korea and Canada, JRF continues to expand its service delivery to the global Sri Lankan diaspora.

Through People’s Bank’s advanced remittance systems, transfers are processed in real time, ensuring maximum convenience, security, and efficiency. Serving over 15.2 million customers nationwide, with an asset base exceeding Rs. 3.0 trillion and a dedicated workforce of nearly 8,000 employees across 750 branches and service centres, People’s Bank remains one of the country’s most trusted financial institutions.

The Bank also offers special loan schemes designed exclusively for Sri Lankan expatriates, enabling access to affordable housing, investment, education, and personal loans in Sri Lanka with flexible repayment options directly through their remittances.

The third edition of the mega Sri Lanka promotional event in Milan, themed ‘Sri Lanka: A Cultural Odyssey’ was held on 27 and 28 September at Merlata Bloom Shopping Centre-one of Milan’s most iconic lifestyle and retail destinations.

The event was organised for the third consecutive year by the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Milan. This year’s program was organised with the collaboration of Merlata Bloom Milano Shopping Centre.

Building on the success of the previous Sri Lanka Festivals in Milan hosted in 2023 and 2024 at the iconic Sempione Park, this year’s edition was designed to expand its reach by moving into a high-footfall indoor venue. The modern, vibrant atmosphere of Merlata Bloom provided the perfect backdrop to showcase Sri Lanka’s timeless cultural heritage in a contemporary setting. The two-day festival recorded an unprecedented 83,000 visitors, significantly surpassing the Centre’s average weekend footfall of 63,000, making it one of the largest cultural showcases ever hosted at Merlata Bloom.

Merlata Bloom Milano, spanning over 70,000 square meters with more than 200 shops, is known for attracting a younger, urban and affluent crowd, making it an ideal platform for high-profile cultural, lifestyle and promotional events. The Sri Lanka Festival’s presence in such a premium venue ensured broad visibility among Milanese professionals, trendsetters and tourists alike.

The primary objectives of this year’s event were to enhance awareness among Italians of Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage, diverse aesthetic traditions, gastronomy and natural beauty, while also further strengthening cultural ties between the two countries and promoting Sri Lanka as a distinctive travel and trade destination. The promotional event featured cultural performances throughout two days, along with more than 15 stalls showcasing Sri Lankan cuisine, Ceylon tea, Sri Lankan-flavoured ice cream, wellness traditions, batik and handicrafts, spices and ready-to-eat food, gems and jewellery, in addition to the Sri Lankan tour operators.

Visitors were largely fascinated by several photo-booth arrangements especially with the models of life-sized elephant family and traditional Sri Lankan masks. The photography exhibition depicting Sri Lanka’s landscapes and cultural icons generated widespread interest among visitors of all ages. Fascinating Sri Lankan cultural performances spread throughout the shopping centre gave shoppers an immersive cultural experience. Visitors were also invited to try simple dance steps with our dancers.

With its record-breaking attendance and diverse cultural showcase, this year’s Sri Lanka promotional event held at Merlata Bloom Shopping Centre became a resounding success. Witnessing this success, the management of Merlata Bloom reaffirmed their interest in continuing such collaborative cultural and promotional initiatives, recognising the event as a true win-win platform that enriches the Centre’s cosmopolitan profile while amplifying Sri Lanka’s image overseas.

Colombo’s dining scene welcomes a powerful new addition with the launch of Baihu, co-founded by Sanka Abeywarna, Karl Kao and Kaeshavie Parinathan.

Baihu is a Pan-Asian restaurant inspired by the legendary White Tiger of Chinese mythology. Located on Stratford Avenue, Baihu brings together bold flavours, modern design and a refreshing BYOB concept, offering guests a unique space to gather, celebrate, and connect.

The name Baihu meaning White Tiger, comes from the ancient guardian of the West-a mythical creature symbolising courage, elegance and cosmic balance. This legend is not just a name but the foundation of the restaurant’s identity, reflected in its culinary philosophy, interior design and storytelling.

Baihu Director and Co-Founder Karl Kao said, ‘This restaurant is all about three friends from three different backgrounds coming together as one to launch a concept for Pan-Asian flavours and introducing a subculture in BYOB for families and like-minded people to gather over food and flavours.’

The Baihu menu is a vibrant showcase of Asia’s culinary diversity with over 40 carefully curated dishes. Highlights include Baihu Signature Yang Chow Fried Rice, Bao Buns, Dumpling Selections and Whole Fried Snapper served with signature sauces. Guests can journey through flavours inspired by Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Cambodian, Malaysian and Singaporean cuisines, each dish balancing authenticity and innovation.

One of Baihu’s most distinctive features is its BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) concept, an emerging subculture in Colombo’s dining landscape. By inviting guests to bring their own wine, spirits, or champagne, Baihu creates a dining environment that is both casual and elevated-encouraging personal expression, affordability and shared experiences at the table.

The interiors at Baihu complete the experience, blending clean modern design with subtle Eastern symbolism. The result is a space that feels vibrant yet intimate, designed for everything from family dinners to social celebrations and memorable evenings with friends.

While the Sri Lanka team management is still grappling with the issue of whether to play a 7-4 or 6-4 combination for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Chief Selector Upul Tharanga said that a 7-4 combination is the way to go forward.

‘We have to go with a 7-4 combination because there are about 3 batsmen who can also bowl. They should be able to cover up the four overs of the fifth bowler.’

The batsmen whom Tharanga is probably referring to are the Captain Charith Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis who bowl spin and Dasun Shanaka, medium-pace.

Tharanga said the root problem lay not with the combination of the team but with consistency.

‘The biggest drawback as I see it is lack of consistency. We are also slightly behind in reading the game and how to adjust to situations. Otherwise, I don’t see any big difference compared to other nations because this is a side that can score over 200 in one innings, which shows there is talent in the team. If you take the Asia Cup we played very well in the first round, but suddenly they fail like in the Super Fours. The lack of consistency is what we need to rectify very quickly. We have a problem when it comes to tournaments like the Asia Cup with consistency,’ he said.

Giving reasons for it, Tharanga said, ‘The need to read the game. If you analyse our game in the past 2-3 years we concede wickets between the 7th and 12th overs. That is because we don’t rotate the singles especially against spin. When they try to play the big shots, we lose 2-3 wickets rather unnecessarily so by the 12th over we have lost about 4-5 wickets. We have to keep the momentum throughout. That is an issue we have to tackle.’

‘As we are playing the T20 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka our batters must get used to working the ball to areas where they can rotate the strike when playing against spin. T20 is not a game solely reliant on hitting fours and sixes, there should be rotation of the strike and taking singles and twos during the middle period of the innings. The batsmen instead look for big shots against spin which eventually leads to their downfall.’

‘It’s not big mistakes that we have in our batting but small ones. Even if we get a start in the power play, we falter in the middle overs. Not reading the game properly is the problem and how to bat according to the situation.’

Sri Lanka has a minimum of 11 T20I matches plus the Lanka Premier League (LPL) to sort out their problems before the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March 2026.

Tharanga said that the selectors were not looking to make any big changes to the squad that took part in the Asia Cup.

‘One or two players may be changed. We plan to have a squad of about 22 for the World Cup. It is from that we have to select the team. The players who didn’t go for the Asia Cup have been under training throughout, the ones who went got a break and began training only from this week. There is an ACC Emerging Teams T20 Asia Cup coming up in November. The venue is not finalised. It is a good opportunity to test some of the players who didn’t get a chance to play in the Asia Cup.’

Sri Lanka’s next white ball series is in Pakistan where they play the host country in three ODIs and participate in a Tri-Nation T20I series with Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Tharanga said the squad to Pakistan would be picked in another five days or so.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Cricket has recruited a power hitting and spin bowling coach to assist in the preparation of the team for the T20 World Cup.

Power hitting specialist Julian Wood was appointed as the National Batting Coach for a period of one-year, effective 1 October. Wood conducted a special one-week training program with the Sri Lanka national squads early this year, assisting them in preparation for the upcoming international assignments that included the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Rene Ferdinands, a specialist in both wrist and finger spin, replaced Australian Craig Howard as the National Spin Bowling Coach from 30 September. During his two-year tenure with Sri Lanka Cricket, Ferdinands, who has also served as a biomechanics consultant for New Zealand Cricket, will lead spin bowling training, match preparation, performance analysis, and player development.

The Shiranee Joseph de Saram Foundation (SJDSF) will host its annual art sale on 11 and 12 October at Radicle Gallery, 103 Chatham Street, Colombo 01, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event will showcase original works by leading and emerging Sri Lankan artists, with all proceeds directly supporting the Foundation’s mission to empower neurodiverse individuals and their families.

Featured in this year’s collection are paintings by Laki Senanayake, Druvinka, Susiman Nirmalavasan, and Sanjeewa Kumara among others-a curated selection of exemplary works available for purchase at Radicle Gallery during the two-day sale.

Founded in 1993, SJDSF is a non-profit organisation committed to helping neurodiverse people achieve their fullest potential. Through programs such as the ‘Thrive Sheltered Workshop’ and ‘Supported Employment Program,’ the Foundation creates meaningful pathways to employment for individuals with intellectual disabilities-an often-overlooked community. SJDSF also provides vital support to families, helping them navigate challenges and build inclusive, dignified futures.

This year, all proceeds from the art sale will go toward establishing a permanent endowment, ensuring the Foundation can continue its long-term work in education, training, and inclusive employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

SJDSF Managing Director Praveena Joseph de Saram said, ‘We are truly grateful to the artists who support us by donating their work, sometimes year after year. We would not have an event without them, and this year, we could not have organised an event of this scale without the exceptional support from our volunteers. From Umayanga Nanayakkara, who heads the University of Oxford Society Sri Lanka (OUSSL), and Inoshini Perera, to our curator and supporters Lynear Wealth – their commitment has been invaluable.’

‘Amending the 2024 No. 09 Online Safety Act by removing restrictions on freedom of expression’ is promised in chapter 1.8 of the NPP Manifesto. Not involving money, the manifesto promise may be taken seriously. It took them 11 months, but the Government did solicit comments and suggestions last month.

For a start, section 12 must be deleted: ‘Any person, whether in or outside Sri Lanka, who poses a threat to national security, public health or public order or promotes feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of people, by communicating a false statement, commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand rupees or to both such imprisonment and fine.’

The elements of the offence created by section 12 are irremediably vague. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that vagueness is a violation of Article 12(1) of the Constitution.

It is one thing to leave it to trained judges to interpret that vague language and decide whether an offence has been committed. But through section 23, the framers of the Act intended to have five people outside the judicial branch decide what is true and false, whether it promoted ill-will and hostility, etc. Obviously, that is over the line. So, it appears that the Government must not only delete section 12; it must get rid of the Commission itself. It has yet to be established, so it is easy to do.

Learning from how Act has been used

The Act was marketed based on the protection it was supposed to give women against partners who harassed them using intimate photos and videos. A surface reading of section 20 suggests it would (we too were guilty of that). But the fact that only men in positions of power have used it when filing cases before magistrates under section 24 points to a devious attempt to give politicians a workaround for the absence of criminal defamation in the laws of this land.

None of the complainants have been women. All except one has been engaged in politics, including even one Opposition front bencher. This suggests the Act is by, and for, the political class.

What is the problem that people face?

Ordinary people feel helpless when bad and unpleasant things happen to them on these platforms. They want the harm to cease, as quickly as possible. They want prompt takedown. They do not know who to complain to; who can help. The platforms are highly automated; they employ a minuscule number of people to address user concerns. Even these people are in distant locations.

This is the genuine problem that politicians in all countries use as justification for laws that have ‘online safety’ in their titles. But these laws are ineffective. Except for one case that was dismissed based on preliminary objections, none of the other five cases have yet concluded. If prompt takedown is the solution, the Act is a failure.

Not only does it fail to solve people’s problems; it exacerbates them through the Streisand Effect, wherein an attempt to censor or otherwise draw attention away from something only serves to attract more attention to it. The name derives from American singer and actress Barbra Streisand’s lawsuit against a photographer in 2003, which drew attention to the photo she sought to take off the Internet. The first case under the OSA resulted in more, not less, people learning about a presidential candidate’s problems with a paramour.

The solution

The only way to address the people’s problem is to cooperate with the social media companies to leverage the algorithmic capabilities of platforms to promptly takedown virally disseminated offensive content. This does not require a Commission of the type described in Part II of the Act. Diktat from a Commission will only cause the companies to run everything through their lawyers and slow things down.

What is needed is a unit housed within SL-CERT or the Telecom Regulatory Commission to screen and communicate complaints to the platform companies, preferably through a green-channel mechanism that will expedite takedowns.

The cooperative pathway is the only one that will produce quick takedowns. The entirety of Part II of the Act can be deleted along with the Commission-centric pathway set out in section 23. Provision should be made in the Act for appeals to Sri Lankan courts and/or administrative review/appellate bodies against arbitrary takedown decisions.

That is what must be done if Government wishes to address the real problems faced by the public. Or they can, like the previous Government, prioritise the problems of the political class. Even that, ineffectively.

Slack, a Salesforce company, has unveiled major enhancements to its platform that enable partners and developers to build secure, context-aware AI apps and agents powered by customer-owned conversational data.

The launch introduces a real-time search (RTS) API and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, giving flexible, permission-aware access to the latest messages, files, and channels in Slack-so AI can act with the right context while meeting enterprise governance and control requirements.

Thousands of companies are racing to deploy agents, but most stumble on the same hurdle: usefulness in the day-to-day flow of work. Agents run on data, and the most powerful signal is conversation. Slack unlocks this previously unstructured, hard-to-reach corpus so apps and agents can move beyond generic output to deliver user-specific, context-rich assistance that drives productivity.

An ecosystem of leading innovators-including Anthropic, Google, Perplexity, Writer, Dropbox, Notion, Cognition Labs, Vercel, and Cursor-is already building on these capabilities, with new AI Slack apps and agents available in the Slack marketplace. By securely tapping Slack’s conversational data, these partners are bringing intelligence directly into the flow of work, reducing app-switching and turning discussion into action.

Slack CEO Denise Dresser said: ‘The future of work is undeniably agentic, and the success of AI depends on its seamless integration into human workflows. Our latest Slack platform innovations create the secure, data-rich environment necessary for AI agents to become trusted companions. We make it simple for customers and partners to build their AI solutions directly into Slack so that work is more connected, intelligent, and productive than ever before.’

Built for the agentic enterprise, the expanded platform delivers:

Secure data access with context:

1.RTS API surfaces the most current discussions, files, and channels in real time without bulk exporting or duplicate storage, always honouring user and channel permissions.

2.MCP server standardises how LLMs, apps, and agents discover context and execute tasks in Slack, replacing fragmented integrations with a single, consistent protocol.

Tangible productivity gains:

Organisations can unlock unstructured knowledge and save users an average of 97 minutes per week; accelerate decision-making by 37% and customer responses by 36% by connecting app data (e.g., Agentforce Sales, Workday) to conversations; and increase productivity by eliminating context switching.

Distribution where work happens:

With 1.7 million+ apps used weekly in Slack, and 95% of users saying apps are more valuable inside Slack, developers overcome the adoption gap by delivering tools directly in the workspace.

Enterprise-grade trust:

Slack’s security, privacy features, and granular permissions provide a robust foundation for compliant, agentic collaboration.

Slack also introduced Work Objects-standardised, rich previews that connect third-party data (details, images, documents) directly to conversations-and new agentic developer tools, including AI best practices, prebuilt Block Kit Tables, and updated CLI resources for Bolt apps, streamlining the entire build lifecycle.

The RTS API and MCP server are in closed beta with general availability expected early 2026. Third-party AI agents using these capabilities are available now in the Slack Marketplace. Work Objects will reach general availability in late October, and the new developer tools are currently available.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday emphasised the importance of continued progress on energy sector reforms, particularly the unbundling of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and maintaining cost-reflective pricing, as part of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.

IMF Mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou told reporters in Colombo: ‘We are paying close attention to the developments around the unbundling of CEB and the evolution that the energy sector is going to undergo in 2026 and beyond.’

‘The reform is a very crucial step meant to bring more transparency and a more efficient function of the energy sector. However, with any reform and any change, there are a lot of details to be ironed out and to be clarified,’ he added.

Papageorgiou stressed that maintaining cost-recovery electricity pricing remains a continuous structural benchmark under the IMF program, forming one of the building blocks of the EFF.

‘This ensures that, on a forward-looking basis, CEB or a successor company is not incurring financial losses,’ he said. ‘By that, we also mean that this does not become a liability to the taxpayer and to the State.’

He said cost-reflective pricing is essential for containing fiscal risks and supporting long-term economic stability. ‘It ensures that the electricity company operates on commercial grounds, much like any private company would, and makes sound and operationally good financial decisions,’ he added.

Papageorgiou also noted that stable and predictable electricity tariffs and the appropriate setting of these processes are very important, because they pave the way toward lowering electricity prices for everybody and benefiting the economy as a whole.

As part of the ongoing fifth review of the IMF program, the Fund is evaluating the CEB’s tariff submission to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) this month.

‘We will also assess in the next few weeks the end-November structural benchmark we had set at the time of the fourth review, with respect to reviewing the electricity tariff methodology,’ he said.

The IMF Mission Chief reiterated that energy sector reform and cost-recovery pricing are paramount to ensuring fiscal discipline and to preventing future losses that could weigh on the public finances.