President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says request made on February 26, two days before US and Israel launched war on Iran.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake signed an order under the tough Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to hold retired Army Major General Suresh Sallay for 90 days for questioning by detectives

Sri Lanka is evacuating 208 crew members from an Iranian naval ship — IRINS Bushehr — stranded near its territorial waters, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on March 5, 2026, a day after a U.S. submarine torpedoed another Iranian warship off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, killing at least 84 sailors and widening the war in West Asia into the Indian Ocean region.

Sri Lanka’s parliament abolished pensions for all legislators and their widows on Tuesday, in line with a government pledge to prune the perks of politicians. “When people see the quality of debate and what members say in this House, they don’t think MPs deserve a pension,” Justice Minister Harsana Nanayakkara told parliament as it voted to stop pensions with immediate effect. The leftist government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake repealed the 49-year-old Parliamentary Pensions Act just...

Sri Lanka evacuated 208 crew members of an Iranian navy vessel on Thursday, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, a day after a US submarine struck and sank another Iranian frigate, killing dozens of sailors.