Former National Transport Commission (NTC) Chairman Renuka Perera was remanded until September 29 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court after being arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged corruption in the issuance of bus route permits.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued the remand order after considering submissions by CIABOC officials and defence counsel.

According to CIABOC, Perera was arrested over allegations that he unlawfully issued route permits during his tenure as NTC Chairman, causing a financial loss to the government while conferring an unlawful benefit on an outside party.

Perera was arrested around 9.55 am yesterday (17) over allegations that he issued 56 passenger transport service permits for buses to operate on the Southern Expressway in violation of prescribed procedures and without collecting the applicable annual fees as a single payment.

CIABOC said the alleged offences were committed in contravention of the National Transport Commission Act No. 37 of 1991 and recommendations contained in a Cabinet decision dated September 19, 2014.

Perera, a senior member of the SLPP, currently serves as the party’s Administrative Secretary. He previously served as Chairman of state-owned dairy producer and marketer MILCO.

The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs has approved the Order governing the calling for investment proposals for the exploration and development of petroleum resources in Sri Lanka, parliamentary sources said yesterday.

The approval was granted at a meeting of the committee held at Parliament recently (11), chaired by Minister of Ports, Civil Aviation and Energy Anura Karunathilaka.

The Order was made by the Minister of Energy under Section 48 of the Petroleum Resources Act, No. 21 of 2021, read together with Section 17 of the same Act, and had already received Cabinet approval. It was subsequently published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2497/37 dated July 16, 2026.

Under the new framework, any party seeking to explore or develop petroleum resources in one or more identified blocks must submit an investment proposal along with payment of the administrative fee specified in the relevant bid invitation.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Illyas, Members of Parliament, senior officials of the Ministry of Energy and other representatives.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and the Law Council of Australia entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on the sidelines of the 39th LAWASIA Conference. The Memorandum was signed by Tania Wolff, President of the Law Council of Australia and Rajeev Amarasuriya, President of the BASL.

The Law Council of Australia, established in 1933 and based in Canberra, is the apex national body representing the legal profession of Australia.  It represents more than 107,000 Australian lawyers through its constituent law societies and bar associations together with ‘Law Firms Australia’. The Law Council of Australia represents the Australian legal profession on national and international issues, and promotes the administration of justice, access to justice and general improvement of the law.

The Memorandum was entered into promote cooperation and exchange between the lawyers of the two countries, and to facilitate the exchange of legal information and materials between the two professions, founded upon the mutual commitment of the Parties to the Rule of Law and to the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary.