The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has expressed serious concern over the recently gazetted the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (“PSTB”) and followed by the Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill (“OCB”).
Pointing out that both Bills have since been placed on the Order Paper of Parliament, the BASL has said both Bills have been presented as legislative reforms, individually and collectively, and they would confer extraordinary powers of arrest, detention and surveillance upon the Executive, curtail judicial oversight at the very stages when the protection of individual liberty is most critical, and create criminal liability with far-reaching implications for freedom of association, expression and movement.
The BASL has opposed the enactment of both Bills in their present form. For full statement please access island.lk 👇
News
CERT alert to restrict Internet access to critical, high-risk systems that cannot be updated
Published
2 mins ago
on
2026/10/23
Sri Lanka CERT has requested public and private sector organisations, as well as website developers, to pay attention to security vulnerabilities identified in relation to the PHP software commonly used for developing websites and web applications.
The text of CERT statement issued yesterday: “Due to the security vulnerabilities referenced by the identification codes CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, there is a severe risk of unauthorised system access, data theft, and disruption of functionality.
Under such circumstances, Sri Lanka CERT urges the relevant parties to promptly take the following measures to minimise the risk.
= Identify all systems and web applications using PHP and verify their running versions.
= Immediately update systems and web applications in accordance with proper procedures using the software patches released for these security flaws. For this purpose, update instructions provided on the official PHP website (https://www.php.net) must be followed.
= Check system logs to monitor for any unusual activity.
= Restrict internet access to critical, high-risk systems that cannot be updated.”
Director of the Forecasting Division of the Department of Meteorology, Meril Mendis yesterday said that the low-pressure area currently located near Sri Lanka had moved towards the northwest and was gradually moving westwards, causing rain in several parts of the country.
Mendis said so addressing a special media briefing on the prevailing weather conditions held at the Department of Government Information yesterday (22).
The official said an Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) was currently affecting the country, resulting in continuous rainfall in several areas.
Heavy showers exceeding 100 mm have been recorded in some areas, while rain is expected to continue throughout today (23) across the country, he added.
Mendis further stated that a low-pressure area could develop near the Andaman Islands by October 23 due to the influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The system could subsequently intensify into a depression.
Although the system is not expected to have a direct impact on Sri Lanka, the prevailing wind flow across the island was likely to cause rainy conditions in the southwestern parts of the country to continue until October 27, he said.