News
Media groups vow to block Online Safety Bill amid rising concerns
Leading media groups and trade unions vowed last week to block an Online Safety Bill (OSB) amid rising chaos and concerns over the implications of the proposed law.Addressing a press conference in Colombo last Tuesday, Free Media Movement (FMM) spokesman Ananda Jayasekera said that the key media organizations in Sri Lanka along with some trade unions joined hands under the theme of “Stand against Oppressive Law” to stop the bill being enacted as a law.
“It is harmful for the freedom of expression and it creates a fear psychosis among the citizens and media on what they express online,” Jayasekera said adding that the FMM has filed a petition against the bill.
He said 34 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against the bill citing the proposed legislation is infringing fundamental human rights including freedom of expression.
Duminda Sampath, President of the Sri Lanka Working Journalist Association urged the 225 members of current parliament to go through the bill and assess the implications for themselves in the future.
“The high number of petitions shows that citizens understand something better than the 225 parliament members,” Sampath said.
“This bill must be defeated in the parliament. If it is passed, there will be only selective justice given we have witnessed some laws like Emergency Regulations and ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) being applied in this country.”
“This is an act to hide the government’s corruption.”
President of Young Journalists Association of Sri Lanka, Tharindu Jayawardena said: “This bill is urgently brought in. This was not consulted with the stakeholders at all. We don’t need this bill.”
“We don’t know how the minister discussed the bill without any members of the media,” Jayawardena said.
“What the government is trying to do now is to show its hands are clean and they have consulted us. This is a dangerous law and it has to be stopped by any means. We will have to do something in addition to the legal means to stop this.”
News
Cabinet nod to increase the number of new automated passenger clearance gates at the Bandaranayake International Airport to 12
Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted at their meeting held on 19.05.2025 to purchase four (04) automated passenger clearance gates for Bandaranayake International Airport.
In addition, it is expected to extend the automated passenger clearance gates facility so far given only to the Sri Lankans
parallel to the e – passport issuance system to be introduced in the year 2027 also to the foreigners who travel to and from this country.
Furthermore, considering also the number of air passengers rapidly increasing with the fast – forwarding business and tourism field, the appropriateness to increase the total automated passenger clearance gates up to twelve (12) in number has been recognized.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers, approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs to initiate the procurement and installation of 12
automated passenger clearance gates altogether with the already approved four (04) and another eight (08) automated passenger clearance gates adhering to the formal procurement procedure
Based on the observations submitted by the Task Force on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing for Terrorism, approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted at their meeting held on 18.12.2024 to amend the Trust Ordinance No. 9 of 1917 including amendments proposed by the Financial
Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, clearance of the Attorney General has been granted for the Trust (Amendment) Draft Bill formulated by the Legal Draftsman.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Justice and National Integration
to publish the said draft bill in the government gazette notification and thereby, submit the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
Action was taken to provide a fuel relief for the fuel consumers during the months of April, May and June of 2026 to redress by minimizing the impact caused to the day today life of the citizens of this country as well as the entire economy due to the price hike of petroleum fuel in the global market resulting from the war situation in the Middle East.
Government mediation is essential for minimizing the impact on the day to today life of citizens in this country due to that war situation not being ended further. Therefore, it has been planned to redress on the sale price for Auto Diesel and Industrial Diesel for a period of 03 months by the Government to provide relief to the public as well as to maintain the prices at a bearable level to the consumers without escalating the fuel prices in this country compared to the escalation of fuel prices
in the international market.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to
allocate provisions subject to the monthly limitations respectively as rupees 15 billion for the month of October, rupees 13.5 billion for the month of November and rupees 12.15 billion for the month of December to provide the said relief
Cabinet nod to increase the number of new automated passenger clearance gates at the Bandaranayake International Airport to 12
Draft Bill for amending the Trust Ordinance
Implementing further relief programme to Public sffected by the Middle East conflict situation
Establishment of a Spectrum Management and Monitoring System and a Quality of Service and Quality of Experience System for the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
Appointment of a Committee for the Restitution of Sri Lankan Cultural Heritage Held Abroad
Ten-Year National Action Plan on the Social Protection Sector (2026–2035)
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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