At least 25 inmates have been killed and around 100 injured following a violent clash between two groups of prisoners at a jail in Negombo, a coastal city about 35 kilometers north of Colombo. The incident began on Sunday between convicted prisoners and those awaiting trial, according to police and hospital sources cited by Reuters on Monday.

Authorities said searches inside the prison are ongoing as officials work to confirm the full number of casualties. The Sri Lankan Army spokesperson, Waruna Gamaga, stated that the military has been instructed to remain on standby to assist police if necessary, though they have not yet been deployed.

Local broadcaster Derana TV aired footage showing a heavy police presence outside the prison and a police bus carrying injured inmates away from the facility. The cause of the clash and the current condition of the injured prisoners were not immediately detailed in the reports.

A violent riot erupted inside a Sri Lankan prison on Sunday, leaving 19 people dead and more than 100 inmates injured. The injured were taken to Negombo Hospital, located north of Colombo. Hospital director Pushpa Gamalath confirmed that the bodies of four prison guards and fifteen inmates were brought in. The unrest began around 1 p.m. when two groups of inmates clashed inside the facility, and although authorities regained control by night, violence flared again on Monday morning.

According to reports, inmates broke into the prison armory and seized firearms. The overcrowded correctional facility became the scene of heavy gunfire as authorities attempted to regain control. The conflict reportedly stemmed from tensions between two inmate groups—one accused of running a drug trafficking network from inside the prison and another opposing their activities. The initial clash on Sunday left two inmates dead and 38 injured.

The Sri Lankan government launched a joint military and police operation to restore order and began an investigation into the incident. Officials later described the situation as stable.

Sri Lanka’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has arrested former navy commander Fleet Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda on charges of corruption. Authorities allege that he unlawfully assisted former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, in securing a naval appointment and overseas training without proper qualifications. The 73-year-old was taken into custody on Friday in connection with a 2006 recruitment case, according to AFP reports from Colombo.

Karannagoda, who led the navy during the final phase of the Tamil separatist war in 2009, is now retired. Yoshitha Rajapaksa was arrested last month over allegations of receiving training at Britain’s Dartmouth Naval College using public funds but was later released on bail. Karannagoda also faces accusations of war crimes and human rights violations, and Britain imposed sanctions on him in 2025. A murder conspiracy case related to the killing of 11 youths between 2008 and 2009 has also been revived against him.

Since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office in 2024, investigations into corruption and high-profile crimes involving the Rajapaksa family and their associates have gained renewed momentum.

Sri Lanka’s government has officially acknowledged for the first time that its former intelligence chief was directly involved in planning the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament on Wednesday that then–intelligence head Major General Suresh Salle guided the attacks that killed 279 people. Salle was arrested in February on charges of aiding and abetting terrorism and allegedly met with Muslim men weeks before the bombings to gather details about a Catholic church target.

According to the minister, Salle conspired with Islamist extremists and strategically directed them to carry out the attacks. He has denied all allegations through his lawyer and began a hunger strike in prison before being hospitalized. Opposition activists in Colombo have been protesting for his release.

Following Salle’s interrogation, a court imposed a travel ban on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had appointed Salle as intelligence chief in 2019. The Criminal Investigation Department has not yet named Rajapaksa a suspect but may question him soon, as the 2019 bombings remain Sri Lanka’s deadliest terrorist attack on civilians.

Sri Lanka has introduced a free tourist Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) scheme for citizens of 40 countries, effective from May 25, 2026. According to the country’s Department of Immigration and Emigration, eligible travelers can apply online for a 30-day tourist visa without paying any fee. The list includes countries such as Australia, India, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. However, all foreign visitors, including those from Maldives, Seychelles, and Singapore, must still obtain an ETA before entering Sri Lanka.

The department clarified that travelers who paid ETA fees before May 25, 2026, will not receive refunds. Under the current rules, tourists can stay in Sri Lanka for up to 30 days, with Maldivian citizens allowed up to 90 days. The visa also permits double entry within its validity period, and extensions are available for a fee.

Sri Lanka’s government stated that the initiative aims to strengthen the tourism sector and attract more foreign visitors, signaling a renewed focus on economic recovery through tourism.

Sri Lanka’s tea industry is facing a severe crisis as the Iran war drives up fuel prices and reduces global demand for exports. Tea workers in the Hatton region, such as Jasintha Malar from the Dunkeld estate, told Reuters they are struggling to cope with rising living costs. With cooking gas prices soaring, many families have turned to firewood, while declining exports have left workers in deep uncertainty.

According to the Export Development Board (EDB), Sri Lanka’s tea export earnings fell by 17.3 percent in March compared to the same month last year, dropping to 114.75 million dollars. Demand from Iraq, the country’s largest buyer, declined by 38 percent, while shipments to the United Arab Emirates plunged by about 93 percent due to maritime and logistics disruptions.

Dilhan Fernando, chairman and CEO of Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, said the industry has been absorbing rising costs for some time, but fuel and logistics expenses are now driving inflation across trade routes from Colombo to Dubai and beyond.

Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) president Shammi Silva and the board’s executive committee formally resigned following a decision made in a special committee meeting the previous day. The move came after Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake requested Silva’s resignation amid allegations of financial irregularities and growing public anger. The two sides reportedly reached an understanding for a cordial departure during a meeting last Friday.

The Sri Lankan government is now set to appoint an interim committee to oversee the cricket board’s operations. Former parliamentarian Eran Wickramaratne is expected to lead the committee, according to the report. Additionally, former national cricket legends Sidath Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama may be given key roles to help drive reform within the board.

No official announcement has yet been made regarding the composition of the interim committee or the specific responsibilities of the proposed members.

Sri Lankan authorities arrested 22 Buddhist monks at Colombo International Airport for allegedly carrying more than 110 kilograms of cannabis. Officials said the group had returned from Thailand, and each suitcase contained over five kilograms of the illegal substance. The operation was conducted based on intelligence from a confidential source, marking the largest drug seizure ever recorded at the airport.

Police reported that the drugs were hidden inside the monks’ luggage. The seized cannabis is valued at more than 3.45 million US dollars. Sri Lanka enforces strict penalties for drug-related crimes, including indefinite detention without charge and lengthy prison sentences upon conviction.

According to the Daily News, this is the first time Buddhist monks have been arrested at the airport for possessing illegal drugs, highlighting an unprecedented incident in the country’s ongoing efforts to combat narcotics trafficking.

Sri Lanka Cricket is set to introduce a major overhaul of its player contract structure, according to a report published on April 26, 2026. Under the proposed system, players will no longer receive bonuses for defeating lower-ranked teams such as Bangladesh. Instead, they could face penalties if they lose to such teams. Bonuses will only be awarded for victories against the top four teams in the ICC rankings.

The new structure specifies that defeating the world’s number one Test team away from home will earn players up to 150,000 US dollars, while wins against the second, third, and fourth-ranked teams will bring 100,000, 75,000, and 60,000 dollars respectively. For home series, the amounts are lower. Similar arrangements will apply to One Day Internationals and Twenty20 matches. Match fees have also been revised, with different rates for wins, draws, and losses across formats.

Additionally, players will receive a 25,000-dollar bonus for reaching the top of the ICC rankings and 20,000 dollars for maintaining positions between second and fifth.

Sri Lanka has repatriated 238 Iranian sailors who had been stranded in the country following damage to an Iranian naval vessel caused by a U.S. submarine torpedo attack. Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara said 32 sailors rescued from the warship IRIS Dena and 206 from IRIS Bushehr left Sri Lanka on Tuesday aboard a chartered flight. Fifteen Iranian sailors remain in Sri Lanka to operate the Bushehr, which is anchored near Trincomalee.

According to Iranian authorities, the IRIS Dena was destroyed in the attack, killing 104 sailors, of whom 84 bodies have been recovered and sent home. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that the Bushehr crew were sheltered under the 1907 Hague Convention for humanitarian reasons. Iran’s ambassador Alireza Dilkhoush confirmed that Tehran and Colombo had been in talks over the sailors’ return.

Analysts view Sri Lanka’s decision as a humanitarian gesture that underscores its diplomatic neutrality amid regional tensions.

Sri Lanka has reinstated fuel rationing and raised fuel prices by about 33 percent following the outbreak of war between the United States, Israel, and Iran on February 28. Iran’s decision to halt most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for 20 percent of global oil and gas, has severely disrupted supplies to the island nation, which imports 60 percent of its energy needs through the strait. The government has introduced a QR-based rationing system similar to that used during the 2022 economic crisis, limiting weekly fuel allocations for vehicles and implementing a no-work-on-Wednesday policy to conserve fuel.

Officials say the government is absorbing part of the international price increase, resulting in monthly losses of $63 million. Bus fares have risen by more than 12 percent, while liquefied petroleum gas prices are up 8 percent. Negotiations are under way with Russia for fuel imports, and Sri Lanka has declined Iran’s offer due to lack of transport capacity. Experts warn that continued disruption could raise food prices by 15 percent and threaten food security, as fertiliser supplies are also affected.

President Anura Dissanayake’s administration is expanding storage capacity and pursuing agreements with India and the UAE to renovate facilities, but economists caution that the crisis’s duration remains unpredictable.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced that his country has taken a neutral position regarding the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. Speaking in parliament after a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, he dismissed accusations that Sri Lanka was favoring any side in the conflict.

Dissanayake addressed criticism suggesting that Sri Lanka delayed permission for an Iranian ship due to a defense agreement with the United States. He clarified that both Iran and the United States had recently requested permission for their naval vessels to dock in Sri Lankan ports, and the government refused both requests to maintain neutrality.

The president emphasized that rejecting both sides’ requests demonstrated Sri Lanka’s commitment to a balanced foreign policy amid rising regional tensions.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told parliament on Friday, March 20, 2026, that the country had rejected a US request to deploy two fighter jets at a civilian airport in southern Sri Lanka. The United States had sought permission in late February to station the aircraft, equipped with anti-ship missiles, transferred from a base in Djibouti. Dissanayake said the decision was made to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutral stance.

The president also revealed that on the same day, Iran and India had requested permission for three Iranian warships to dock at Colombo Port after completing joint naval exercises. He explained that granting permission to one side would have required allowing the other, so both requests were denied. His statement received applause from the 225-member parliament.

Earlier in March, a US attack near Sri Lanka’s southern coast sank an Iranian warship, killing at least 84 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 survivors, and another Iranian vessel was later allowed to enter Sri Lankan waters for safety reasons, with 219 sailors currently sheltered in Colombo.

Sri Lankan cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya has shared a message of interfaith harmony during the holy month of Ramadan. The former national team star joined his Muslim friends in fasting and shared a photo on social media showing him at an iftar table with Farveez Maharoof and others, waiting for the Maghrib call to prayer. The post, made on Tuesday evening, highlighted his long-standing tradition of fasting with friends since his playing days.

Jayasuriya’s gesture received widespread praise on social media, where many described it as a symbol of brotherhood, empathy, and mutual respect. The act was seen as a reflection of how the spirit of Ramadan extends beyond religious rituals to embrace shared humanity and compassion.

Currently involved in coaching, Jayasuriya is awaiting new professional opportunities after leaving his role with the Sri Lankan national team. Reports suggest he may join Bangladesh’s coaching panel, though no official confirmation has been made.

The Sri Lankan government has announced a four-day workweek to save fuel, designating every Wednesday as a public holiday. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the country must be prepared for difficult times while maintaining hope. Under the new directive, schools and universities will operate four days a week, while essential services such as hospitals, police, and immigration will continue as usual. Wednesday was chosen to avoid a continuous three-day office closure.

The government has also made a national fuel pass mandatory for drivers, setting allocations of 15 liters for private cars and 5 liters for motorcycles. Many citizens have criticized these limits as insufficient. A similar measure was implemented during the 2022 economic crisis. Other Asian countries have also taken steps to address fuel shortages, including Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The global energy crisis has intensified after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in Iran pushed oil prices to nearly 100 dollars per barrel, further straining regional economies.