LANKA WITNESS • OPINION • CULTURE • HISTORY

THE SONGS WE REMEMBER — AND THE HISTORY WE SHOULD NOT FORGET

As a new film revives the music of an earlier generation, Vijaya Kumaratunga and Premakeerthi de Alwis deserve more than nostalgia. Their killings remain part of Sri Lanka’s unfinished history.

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LANKA WITNESS • START HERE

Three stories worth your time

Original reporting and analysis first. Then the day’s important Sri Lankan news from across the media.

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The Parliament of Sri Lanka building at Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

LANKA WITNESS • BUDGET 2027 • COST OF LIVING • TAXES

Rs. 162,500, Not Rs. 200,000: The 2027 Budget Offers Modest Relief, Record Promises and Questions the Government Must Now Answer

The President’s five-hour Budget speech raised the tax-free threshold, kept welfare spending up and promised a record Rs. 2 trillion in public investment. But it stopped short of the income tax relief ministers had talked about, left the main VAT rate where it was, and came with headline figures that news outlets could not even agree on.

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LANKA WITNESS • RULE OF LAW • SECURITY LAWS • PARLIAMENT

Cleared for a Simple Majority, Not Cleared of Doubt: What the Supreme Court Said About the Terrorism Bill

The Supreme Court has found that parts of the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill are inconsistent with the Constitution, but that Parliament can pass it by a simple majority if four amendments are made. That is a legal green light, not a verdict that the Bill is fair, necessary or safe.

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LANKA WITNESS • PENSIONS • COST OF LIVING • BUDGET 2027

Rs. 2,500, From July: Why Recent Pensioners Are Being Asked to Wait Again

Public servants who retired between 2020 and 2024 will get a Rs. 2,500 monthly interim allowance, but not until July 2027, and their full pension revision has been pushed to the 2028 Budget. For people living on fixed incomes, the delay is the story.

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ONE DESK • MANY SOURCES

Latest from Sri Lanka

Important stories gathered in one place so overseas Sri Lankans can scan the day without opening a dozen news sites.

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NewsWire

Suspect who escaped police custody arrested over murder of woman at Nuwara Eliya lodge

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Central Bank warns public against fake AI-generated videos impersonating Governor

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2027 Budget debate begins in Parliament today

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SLC welcomes Supreme Court determination on Cricket Bill as major milestone for reforms

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Brooklyn building collapse : 2 children among the dead as search concludes

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Balangoda Kassapa Thera & 6 others remanded, ordered to undergo psychiatric & drug tests

READ AT SOURCE →Ada Derana

Govt. likely to enter into another agreement with IMF, Deputy Finance Minister says

READ AT SOURCE →Onlanka

Sri Lanka Customs officer arrested for accepting Rs. 30,000 bribe

READ AT SOURCE →Lanka News Web

Rs. 3 Billion to Replace Aging Ambulances, 100 New Vehicles for Suwa Seriya

READ AT SOURCE →Lanka News Web

Free dual citizenship proposed for spouses, children & grandchildren of Sri Lankans

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2027 Budget Second Reading Debate Begins Today; Deficit Projected at Rs. 1.753 Trillion

READ AT SOURCE →Daily FT

Personal tax relief in Budget 2027

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MORE LANKA WITNESS ORIGINALS

Analysis and accountability reporting

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PUBLIC LIFE • HISTORY

When a Country Was Ordered to Stop

Strikes, unofficial curfews, coercion and the democratic boundary between protest and fear.

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From Revolution to the President’s Office

How an insurgent movement entered democratic politics and ultimately national government.

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Sri Lanka’s New Counterterrorism Bill: Repeal Is Not the Same as Reform

The decisive test is whether replacement law genuinely narrows coercive powers.

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From Facebook: Voices on Government Policy

Public posts by others on Facebook, shared for discussion. Views are the authors’ own; Lanka Witness has not verified every claim. English summaries and transcripts are by Lanka Witness.

In English: SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa on poor working conditions for prison officers and inadequate facilities for detainees Video in Sinhala.

Full English transcript coming soon.

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In English: Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa: voters gave the government a mandate to develop the country, but its economic policies are hurting people Video in Sinhala.

Full English transcript coming soon.

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In English: Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on rising unemployment and the lack of new jobs for young people Video in Sinhala.

Full English transcript coming soon.

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In English: Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa: pressure to change the Speaker no-confidence motion is the executive interfering with Parliament Video in Sinhala.

Full English transcript coming soon.

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Cartoon of the Day

Cartoon of the Day — 13 November 2026: The 2027 Budget gives public servants who retired between 2020 and 2024 a Rs. 2,500 monthly interim allowance only from July 2027, with their full pension revision due to begin in phases from the 2028 Budget, even though the government admits their pensions lag behind those of later retirees. People on fixed incomes deserve a clear cost and timetable for closing that gap sooner.