News
Six Lankan youth held under slave like conditions rescued from desert farm in Kuwait
Six Lankan youth,detained, beaten, not given food and wages and forced to work in a farm run in a desert near the border with Iran in the state of Kuwait have been rescued with great effort and sent home.
The youth had arrived at the BIA at 03.30 am yesterday on board a Jazeera Airways flight J-9551 from Kuwait, Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau sources said adding that their officials had taken the youths to their homes.
All of them are residents of Kinniya in Trincomalee, and had gone for these jobs in Kuwait through an illegal broker from their home area. They had been employed in a farm run by a Sheikh in Kuwait.
The operation to rescue them had been arranged following a telephone call made by the group of Sri Lankans from this farm to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait during the night.
It was not an easy task to rescue the Sri Lankans who were detained in this farm in the difficult desert area where there are no roads.
It is reported that a special military operation was launched with the support of a Major General, the head of Kuwait’s highest security forces, to deal with the influence of the powerful Sheikh of the State of Kuwait and the difficulties in the surroindings.
Also, with the assistance of the chief security officer and the Kuwaiti government, it was made possible to obtain their travel documents to despatch the group home.
Abdul Halim, the second diplomatic officer of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait, and Janaka Samarasekara, the third secretary, also have helped to rescue mission.
At present, three other youth also from Kinniya, who were kept in the farm in this manner, have now come to Sri Lanka and with the information elicited from them, the Trincomalee Police are investigating the illegal broker who sent them there.
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 01 Jan 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended 11 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, off Kovilan of Kareinagar, Jaffna.
The Northern Naval Command spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. In response, naval craft of the Northern Naval Command were deployed to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters off Kovilan.
Meanwhile, compliant boarding made by naval personnel resulted in the seizure of one Indian fishing boat and apprehension of 11 Indian fishermen who continued to engage in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
The seized boat (01) and Indian fishermen (11) were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Myliddy, Jaffna for onward legal proceedings.
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Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund
Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.
The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.
According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.
Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.
The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.
In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.
The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.
The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.
Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.
By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️
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