Rear Admiral Rohan Joseph formally assumed duties as the Director General Training of the Sri Lanka Navy at Navy Headquarters today, 12 October 2026.

Rear Admiral Joseph joined the Sri Lanka Navy as an officer cadet of the 12th intake of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and was commissioned on 22nd October 1996. Prior to his appointment as Director General Training, he served as the Director General Sri Lanka Coast Guard.

The Central Bank yesterday reported that the country had received a total of USD 6,865.4 million in workers’ remittances from January to September this year.

The CBSL said that it was an increase of USD 1,053.7 million compared with the corresponding period last year, when such remittances totalled USD 5,811.7 million.

The workers’ remittances received in September this year amounted to USD 734.4 million, up from USD 695.7 million recorded in September last year, reflecting a year-on-year increase in remittance inflows.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has declared that the continued detention of some Tamil-language books by Sri Lanka Customs is a direct violation of the author’s fundamental rights. The case involves author B. Piratheepan from Kilinochchi, whose consignment of 288 imported books printed in Chennai, India, was seized by customs officials over claims that the publications could “damage national harmony”.

The disputed consignment comprised four titles: ‘Ippothum Inge Irandu Thesangalthaan’, ‘Elluttal Nan Yuttam Ceykiren’, ‘Bayangaravaathi’, and ‘Cyanide’. While ‘Bayangaravaathi’ and ‘Cyanide’ were eventually released after the Arts Council of Sri Lanka classified them as works of fiction, authorities maintained a strict detention order on 75 copies of ‘Ippothum Inge Irandu Thesangalthaan’ and 147 copies of ‘Elluttal Nan Yuttam Ceykiren’.

During the HRCSL inquiry chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya, it was revealed that multiple state bodies—including Sri Lanka Customs, the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs—passed responsibility back and forth without establishing clear jurisdiction. The Commission noted that the initial seizure was largely driven by a lack of Tamil language competence within state institutions and an institutional fear regarding a divided map of Sri Lanka depicted on a book cover.