The Sri Lanka Railways Department has issued a special circular prohibiting officials and employees from using social media during duty hours and sharing sensitive information related to railway operations.

The move follows observations that certain railway officials had been sharing sensitive operational information on social media while on duty.

According to the circular, railway employees are prohibited from posting information relating to railway operations, internal decisions or official documents on social media from train control rooms, engine control rooms, workshops or any other railway premises.

The circular further stipulates that only the General Manager of Railways, the Railway Spokesperson and the Information Officer are authorised to provide official railway information to external parties or the media.

by Norman Palihawadane

An alleged associate of the drug network operated by underworld figure Badowita Asanka has been arrested by officers of the Walana Anti-Corruption Unit.

The suspect, identified as Lakmal, was arrested during a raid carried out following information received by Chief Inspector Indika Weerasinghe, the Officer-in-Charge of the unit.

The operation was conducted under the direct supervision of ASP Rohan Olugala, Director of the Walana Anti-Corruption Unit.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspect allegedly worked as a distributor within Badowita Asanka’s drug network and handed over the daily proceeds from the operation to Asanka, police said.

More than 15 grammes of suspected crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) were allegedly recovered from the suspect’s possession at the time of his arrest.The suspect is currently being detained for questioning at the Mount Lavinia Police Headquarters as further investigations continue.

Sri Lanka has recorded 94,666 dengue cases and 72 deaths so far this year, according to the latest dengue surveillance data available as of midnight on August 26.Data released by the National Dengue Control Unit shows that 9,330 cases were reported in August, while July recorded the highest monthly caseload so far this year, with 29,962 cases.

June recorded 21,533 cases, followed by 8,590 in May, 5,651 in April, 6,013 in March, 5,721 in February and 7,866 in January.

The Western Province continues to account for more than half of the country’s dengue burden, with 50,098 cases, representing 52.92% of the national total.

The Southern Province recorded 13,811 cases (14.59%), followed by the Central Province with 8,602 (9.09%) and Sabaragamuwa Province with 7,770 (8.21%).

The North Western Province has reported 4,727 cases, while the Eastern, Uva, North Central and Northern provinces have recorded 3,938, 2,665, 1,687 and 1,368 cases respectively.

At district level, Gampaha remains the worst-affected, with 20,170 cases, accounting for 21.31% of the national total.

Colombo follows with 18,775 cases (19.83%), while Kandy has recorded 6,892 cases (7.28%), Matara 6,112 (6.46%), Kalutara 6,111 (6.46%), Galle 5,185 (5.48%) and Ratnapura 5,029 (5.31%).

Kegalle has reported 2,741 cases, followed by Kurunegala with 2,674, Hambantota with 2,514, Puttalam with 2,053, Batticaloa with 1,515 and Badulla with 1,483.

The surveillance report has also identified 76 high-risk Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas during Week 33 of 2026. The report further provides data on the average number of dengue patients recorded at midnight, indicating the continued pressure on health facilities amid the ongoing outbreak.