News

Lankan woman’s fake pregnancy, stolen ID rock Kuwait

Published

8 months ago

2025/07/28

A Sri Lankan woman has made headlines in Kuwait after authorities uncovered a 33-year-long fraud in which she deceived a Kuwaiti man, faked a pregnancy, and illegally obtained Kuwaiti citizenship, Gulf News reported yesterday.

The extraordinary case has exposed major vulnerabilities in Kuwait’s identity and nationality systems. It has also led to the revocation of citizenship from the woman’s purported daughter, after DNA testing confirmed that the child was not biologically related to either the woman or the man listed as her father.

The woman, identified as Costa, first entered Kuwait in 1992 on a domestic worker visa. Just two years later, she was deported following an absconding case filed against her.

However, in 1996, she re-entered the country under a new name and passport. With no biometric screening systems in place at the time,

she was able to pass through immigration unnoticed.

Shortly after her return, Costa married a Kuwaiti taxi driver. Under Article 8 of Kuwait’s Nationality Law, a foreign woman could apply for citizenship if she was married to a Kuwaiti man and had a child with him. Costa used this provision to lay the foundation for what authorities now describe as one of the boldest cases of identity fraud in the nation’s history.

To exploit the law, Costa convinced her husband she was pregnant. In reality, she had arranged with another Sri Lankan woman — who was genuinely expecting — to deliver the baby in a Kuwaiti hospital using Costa’s Civil ID.

The newborn girl was falsely registered as the daughter of Costa and her Kuwaiti husband. Neither had any biological link to the child, although the husband remained unaware of the deception.

In 2000, Costa applied for Kuwaiti citizenship, based on her marriage and supposed motherhood. Her application was approved, and she officially became a Kuwaiti national.

In 2008, after years of marital tension, Costa divorced her husband and admitted that the child was not his. Although he reported the revelation to the authorities, no legal action was taken at the time.

It wasn’t until 2021 that he filed a formal complaint, prompting an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Department. DNA testing confirmed that the child was not biologically related to either Costa or her ex-husband.

In 2024, the Supreme Committee for Citizenship Affairs ruled that Costa had fraudulently acquired Kuwaiti nationality through deception, forgery, and impersonation. Her citizenship was revoked. Soon afterwards, the citizenship of her daughter—now an adult — was also annulled.

Authorities subsequently identified the girl’s biological mother as a Sri Lankan woman who had been in Kuwait at the time of delivery but was later deported. The daughter is now being issued Sri Lankan identification documents.

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CEYPETCO Fuel prices increased from midnight today (21)

Published

27 mins ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).

Accordingly,

Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)

Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)

Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)

Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)

Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts

Published

7 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 12.30 p.m. 21 March 2026, valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 21 March 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:

 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.

 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

Published

12 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8.

The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran.

“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring and fuelled fears of a widening conflict.

US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington’s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries as “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.

Amid the turmoil, many countries have refused to get directly involved in the war while calling for urgent de-escalation.

On Friday, Switzerland announced that it would halt any weapons exports to the US that could be used in military operations against Iran, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality.

“The export of war materiel to countries involved ⁠in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict”, the Swiss government said.

Sri Lanka’s president also cited his country’s neutrality in the decision to deny the US request to land the two aircraft at Matalla airport earlier this month.

Dissanayake said he had received another request that same day, on February 26, from Iran to seek permission for three naval vessels to make a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka.

“With two requests before us, the decision was clear,” he said, noting that the government denied both to avoid taking sides as signs of escalating conflict emerged.

“Had we said ‘yes’ to Iran, we would have had to say ‘yes’ to the US, as well”, Dissanayake added.

In early March, Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian crew off IRIS Dena after it was torpedoed by a US submarine off the country’s coast, killing at least 84 people.

Days later, Sri Lanka evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, after the ship requested assistance from Colombo.

[Aljazeera]